Malc
01-26-2009, 03:25 PM
Things seem to be going from bad to worse for the Kelowna Rockets. The Rockets trailed early, rallied late, but ultimately fell 5-4 in a shootout to the Chilliwack Bruins on Friday night.
Swedish forward Alexander Wikland was the hero for the host Bruins, beating Rockets goalie Mark Guggenberger with a backhand deke, as Chilliwack beat Kelowna for the first time in five tries this season, while extending the Rockets' losing skid to a season-high four games.
"We're at that point right now where things aren't going our way," said Rockets head coach Ryan Huska, whose club had owned Chilliwack this season, winning all four previous meetings and outscoring the Bruins by a combined 19-2. "As of late, we've had a tougher go, and our guys just have to make sure they really focus on doing everything the right way."
Despite salvaging a single point thanks to Tyler Myers' game-tying goal with 20 seconds left in regulation and Guggenberger on the bench in favour of an exta attacker, there wasn't much good coming out of Friday's defeat. Unlike on Wednesday, when the Rockets dropped a 6-4 decision to the league-leading Vancouver Giants at Prospera Place, the positives were few and far between in Chilliwack.
One plus was the fact Jamie Benn and Colin Long proved they weren't prepared to play second fiddle for long. Benn scored twice, his team-leading 26th and 27th goals of the season, and Long also lit the lamp and set up Myers' equalizer with his team-leading 38th assist and 59th point. The dynamic duo, who were flanked by Stepan Novotny and later Mitchell Callahan on Friday, had taken a backseat this week to the Rockets' newly formed top line of Mikael Backlund, Cody Almond and Ian Duval. The BAD line debuted Wednesday, combining for eight points with each member bulging the twine. But against the Bruins, the trio was just bad, as Backlund, Almond and Duval were a combined minus-nine. Duval managed an assist on Long's power-play marker to get Kelowna on the board late in the first period, but there was no bailing the visitors out.
ICE CHIPS: Kelowna's scratches were RW Kyle St. Denis (hand, 1-2 weeks)and LW Ryley Grantham (hand, 1 week)... Kelowna was 2-for-5 on the power play; Chilliwack was 0-for-5... The three stars were Gore, Benn and Krgovich.
http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories_local_sports.php?id=160328
Swedish forward Alexander Wikland was the hero for the host Bruins, beating Rockets goalie Mark Guggenberger with a backhand deke, as Chilliwack beat Kelowna for the first time in five tries this season, while extending the Rockets' losing skid to a season-high four games.
"We're at that point right now where things aren't going our way," said Rockets head coach Ryan Huska, whose club had owned Chilliwack this season, winning all four previous meetings and outscoring the Bruins by a combined 19-2. "As of late, we've had a tougher go, and our guys just have to make sure they really focus on doing everything the right way."
Despite salvaging a single point thanks to Tyler Myers' game-tying goal with 20 seconds left in regulation and Guggenberger on the bench in favour of an exta attacker, there wasn't much good coming out of Friday's defeat. Unlike on Wednesday, when the Rockets dropped a 6-4 decision to the league-leading Vancouver Giants at Prospera Place, the positives were few and far between in Chilliwack.
One plus was the fact Jamie Benn and Colin Long proved they weren't prepared to play second fiddle for long. Benn scored twice, his team-leading 26th and 27th goals of the season, and Long also lit the lamp and set up Myers' equalizer with his team-leading 38th assist and 59th point. The dynamic duo, who were flanked by Stepan Novotny and later Mitchell Callahan on Friday, had taken a backseat this week to the Rockets' newly formed top line of Mikael Backlund, Cody Almond and Ian Duval. The BAD line debuted Wednesday, combining for eight points with each member bulging the twine. But against the Bruins, the trio was just bad, as Backlund, Almond and Duval were a combined minus-nine. Duval managed an assist on Long's power-play marker to get Kelowna on the board late in the first period, but there was no bailing the visitors out.
ICE CHIPS: Kelowna's scratches were RW Kyle St. Denis (hand, 1-2 weeks)and LW Ryley Grantham (hand, 1 week)... Kelowna was 2-for-5 on the power play; Chilliwack was 0-for-5... The three stars were Gore, Benn and Krgovich.
http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories_local_sports.php?id=160328