Rockets routed in Prince George
Kelowna will look to respond in tonight’s rematch after 7-2 loss
The Kelowna Rockets were perfect on the power play Friday night, but they were far from perfect in every other aspect — getting pounded 7-2 by the Prince George Cougars to open a two-game road set.
The rematch goes tonight and the Rockets will be out for redemption after one of their worst efforts of the season in the opener.
Kelowna went 2-for-2 on the power play, getting goals from Nolan Foote, with his teamleading 21st and 12th on the power play, and Leif Mattson, with his 18th (sixth on the power play).
Kyle Topping assisted on both goals to increase his team-leading point total to 44, but that was the end of the good news for the Rockets (17-20-3-1).
The Cougars (15-22-1-2) dominated from start to finish in closing to within five points of the Rockets for third place in the B.C. Division standings. Prince George also has a game in hand on Kelowna.
The Cougars were clearly amped up to start a six-game homestand, coming off an 11-game road trip that dated back to early December.
Prince George came out firing and opened up a 4-0 lead through 20 minutes, outshooting Kelowna 17-5 in the first period and chasing Rockets starter Roman Basran with three goals on 11 shots. The shots were 11-2 when that goaltending change occurred, and Basran’s replacement, James Porter, allowed the first shot he faced to make it 4-0.
It didn’t get any better for Kelowna in the second period, with the Rockets failing to register a single shot through 13 minutes of the middle frame.
The Cougars extended their lead to 5-0 before Mattson got the Rockets on the board in the final minute of the second period.
Prince George made it 6-1 before Foote’s goal, and the host Cougars tacked on one more for good measure to round out the scoring.
The final shots were 37-20 for P.G., which led by as many as 25-6 in the second period.
ICE CHIPS: Kelowna scratched LW Erik Gardiner (upper-body, did not travel to P.G.), RD Libor Zabransky (healthy) and RD Matt Barberis (trade deadline acquisition, to debut next weekend).