Rockets’ playoff series with Thunderbirds tied 2-2 as series shifts to Seattle Friday
Kelowna evens Western Conference final with home-ice victory in Game 4
Carl Stankowski is no longer undefeated in regulation — despite his best efforts again — and this Western Conference final is now a best-of-three.
The Kelowna Rockets peppered the Seattle Thunderbirds’ rookie goalie with 35 shots for the second night in a row but generated higher-quality chances and capitalized on enough for a 4-2 win Wednesday to even their third-round series at 2-2. Game 5 goes Friday in Kent, Wash., with Game 6 back in Kelowna at Prospera Place on Sunday (5 p.m.) If necessary, a seventhand-deciding game would be in Kent on Tuesday.
Game 4 felt more lopsided than the final score indicated — even though the shots finished relatively close at 35-29 — and that’s a credit to Stankowski, who kept Seattle within striking distance by stopping a half-dozen Grade-A scoring opportunities, including a few in a dominant second period for Kelowna.
The Rockets led 2-1 and 3-1 at the intermissions, only getting one goal in the middle frame despite outshooting the visitors 15-2.
“We did a better job of getting to the net, but I think we still have another level that we can get to by putting pucks to the net and getting bodies there,” said Rockets head coach Jason Smith. “Better job tonight, but we can still step it up a notch.”
Prior to Wednesday, Stankowski had not lost in regulation through 18 career WHL appearances, including a 10-0-1 record in these playoffs — the only previous blemish being Saturday’s overtime loss to the Rockets.
Stankowski shook that off and was extremely sharp, at times stellar in Game 3, stopping 34 shots in Seattle’s 2-1 win.
The 17-year-old made 31 saves in Game 4, his best being a desperation stop in diving back to steal a sure goal from Nolan Foote — similar to Michael Herringer’s robbery of Collin Shirley in the first round against Kamloops.
“That was an amazing save, you have to give him credit for that,” said Foote, the only Kelowna player who knew Stankowski prior to this series, having attended training camp together for the World Under-17 Challenge this past fall.
“He’s a really good goalie, he’s really shift, and he’s been doing really good for them.”
Foote did sneak one puck past Stankowski, a one-timer that found a hole just inside the near post — for his first career WHL playoff goal — to get the Rockets on the board on a first-period power play.
Kole Lind, with a go-ahead goal just 28 seconds after Foote scored, Nick Merkley and Tomas Soustal, to make it 4-1 early in the third, also tallied for the Rockets.
Michael Herringer was solid in goal, making 27 saves — none bigger than a glove grab on Keegan Kolesar just prior to Soustal scoring at the other end.
Kolesar was kept off the scoresheet in Game 4 after netting both goals in Seattle’s 2-1 victory on Tuesday, including the winner with just 20 seconds remaining in regulation.
Ryan Gropp opened the scoring for Seattle and Scott Eansor had the T-Birds’ other goal midway through the third period, making for a more suspenseful finish. Both these teams had erased two-goal deficits in the third periods of Games 1 and 2 in Kent, but Kelowna locked it down thanks in part to a late Seattle penalty that helped kill the clock.
ICE CHIPS: Kelowna stuck with the same lineup as Game 3, scratching D Braydyn Chizen (leg, indefinite), C Jack Cowell, LW Conner Bruggen-Cate, RW Liam Kindree (affiliated player), D Kaedan Korczak (AP) and G James Porter (AP) . . . . The Rockets changed up two of their forward lines for Game 4, with Kole Lind moving up to play with Dillon Dube and Tomas Soustal, while Carsen Twarynski dropped down with captain Rodney Southam and Nolan Foote . . . . Seattle scratched D Ethan Bear (undisclosed injury), G Rylan Toth (lower-body, indefinite), C Elijah Brown, C Tyler Carpendale and D Jake Lee. With Bear out, D Anthony Bishop, who hails from Kelowna, drew into the lineup for his third appearance of these playoffs and first of this series. Bishop played very sparingly . . . . Earlier Wednesday, Kelowna D Devante Stephens signed his first NHL contract, a three-year entry-level deal with the Buffalo Sabres, who drafted him in the fifth round (122nd overall) in 2015. Had he not been signed by June 1, Stephens would have re-entered the draft . . . . Tickets for Game 6 go on sale at 9:30 a.m. today.