GIANTS STOMP INTO TOWN
Rockets look to take advantage of weary Giants, get 1st win this season vs. rivals, a night after dramatic win.
The Vancouver Giants waltzed into Prospera Place and earned a 2-1 decision on Wednesday night, ending the Kelowna Rockets’ five-game home-ice winning streak and also handing head coach Adam Foote his first loss at home.
It might seem as though the Western Hockey League schedule makers have it in for the Rockets. For the second time in less than a week, the Rockets faced a high-flying division-leading team.
Last weekend, the Rockets rolled into Everett and played the Silvertips tough, but also lost 2-1.
“We played a good hockey team, it was a close game and we were right there,” said Rockets coach Adam Foote. “We hung in there. It was a chance to get a point or get a win.
“They’re the top teams in their divisions and we take them to 2-1, and that’s the positive we’ve gotta look at.”
An eerie feeling came over the building in the first period when Rockets goaltender Roman Basran was handed a delay-of-game penalty, courtesy of a puck inadvertently shot out of play. The mistake proved costly as Vancouver defenceman Dylan Plouffe capitalized on the power play when his one-timer from the point beat Basran high glove side to give the Giants the lead at 8:17.
Two minutes later, Kelowna responded in rather a rare fashion.
Kaedan Korczak, Leif Mattson and Nolan Foote broke into the Giants’ zone 3-on-1 while Braydyn Chizen was in the sin bin. Mattson fed Foote, who ripped a one-timer past Trent Miner for his team-leading 16th goal of the season.
It was just the Rockets’ second shorthanded goal of the season. Last season, Kelowna scored a league-high 17 times while shorthanded, four of those coming off the stick of Mattson.
Vancouver (18-6-2) scored the winner midway through the second period when Alex Kannok-Leipert separated Korczak from the puck. Czech import forward Milos Roman collected the disc and fired a laser high glove on Basran.
Roman is red-hot, having now scored in four straight games.
The teams played scoreless the rest of the way. The Rockets entered the affair with a 1-12-1 record when trailing after two periods. The Giants are now 12-1 when leading after 40 minutes.
Veteran defenceman Dalton Gally was disappointed with the verdict, but upbeat about the team’s performance.
“They’re a really good hockey team,” Gally said. “Good skating defencemen and good up front and they know how to bury goals.
“They come really fast on the forecheck. We knew they were going to do that. We had some options to reverse the flow, but when they come hard, they come hard. We have to absorb that pressure and hopefully our forwards get back like they did much of the night. They did get us hemmed in a couple of times, but we staved them off and we didn’t let it in the back of the net.
“But I thought the guys came out hard, I really do. They just barely got one on us, a 2-1 game. I’m proud of the guys, I liked the compete level. It just wasn’t enough, sadly, today.”
The Rockets (11-15-1-0) remain tied with Prince George for third place in the B.C. Division and trail second place Victoria by one point. The Cougars lost 4-0 in Spokane and the Royals dropped a 2-1 decision to the Saskatoon Blades on Wednesday night.
ICE CHIPS: The three stars in Kelowna were Basran, Vancouver D Bowen Byram and Roman . . . . The Rockets were 0-for-3 on the power play. The Giants went 1-for-5 . . . . Attendance was 4,466 . . . . Rockets scratched C Ted Brennan, D Cayde Augustine and RW Dallon Wilton . . . . Kelowna continues to occupy the second wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference . . . . Next home game is Saturday against Saskatoon and it’s the Teddy Bear Toss game at Prospera Place.