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Malc
04-06-2009, 01:37 PM
By Doyle Potenteau

Another close game, another wild ending. Another win for the Tri-City Americans.

For the second time in as many nights, Taylor Procyshen scored the game-winning goal for Tri-City as the Americans defeated the Kelowna Rockets 3-2 in WHL playoff action on Saturday night. And like Tri-City’s 4-3 victory in Game 1 on Friday, Procyshen’s tally in Game 2 was on the power play and came in the dying minutes.

Only unlike Game 1, where Kelowna rallied from a 3-1 deficit, it was Tri-City scoring three unanswered goals to win. And the comeback came courtesy of a Rockets’ turnover five minutes into the third period.

Down 2-0, Tri-City gained life when Kelowna’s Mitchell Callahan misplayed a puck in front of goaltender Mark Guggenberger. With the puck lying just outside of Kelowna’s crease and between the two Rockets, Brooks Macek swooped in and knocked in his second goal of the playoffs. That marker gave the home team life.

However, according to Rockets head coach Ryan Huska, the game-swinging error took place just seconds earlier.

"It was a Cody Almond giveaway at the offensive-zone blue-line. That’s what started the whole play," said Huska, whose team trails the best-of-seven series 2-0. "You play with fire when you’re creating turnovers against this team."

Regardless who turned it over, the Americans capitalized.

"It was a turning point for me," said Tri-City head coach Don Nachbaur. "But we also had chances in the first two periods. We didn’t get frustrated, we didn’t come in (after the second period) and hang our heads; we knew what we had to do. I thought we came out right from the get-go in the third and stuck with it.

"We were patient in our end and we executed when we found that loose puck. At the end of the day, I think we did exactly what we were supposed to do: Win both home games."

That the Americans did. However, a bounce here or there, and the Rockets could have easily taken a 2-0 lead. But on Saturday, Huska said Tri-City was full value for the win.

"To be quite honest, I thought they were the better team for the full 60 minutes," said Huska. "They were hungrier than we were. Their better players were really good again tonight. And they were in control of the game for the most part."

Jamie Benn, with his fourth goal of the playoffs, and Almond, with his third, scored for Kelowna, which plays host to Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday. Petr Stoklasa, at 9:44 of the third, also scored for Tri-City. Procyshen’s goal came at 17:17 with Kelowna’s Ian Duval in the box for hooking in the defensive zone. On Friday, Procyshen’s game-winning, power-play goal was scored at 18:07.

The Americans did not release Procyshen, 20, for post-game interviews, with Americans general manager Bob Tory stating the 5-foot-10 right winger from Emerald Park, Sask., was receiving medical attention.

The Rockets received a bit of good news prior to Saturday’s contest, as centre Mikael Backlund returned from what Kelowna called a lower-body injury. Asked how he felt after missing Game 1, the 6-foot-1 forward said he wasn’t his best.

"It was fun to play, but I wasn’t 100 per cent," said Backlund, who skated well at times but didn’t provide much offensive punch. "I don’t know why we didn’t win. We should have blocked one of the goals, and it’s hard to tell why (we lost) right after, but it’s too bad we lost.

"We can do so much better, and we’re such a better team (than this)."

The Rockets opened the scoring early in the first period, Benn on the power play at 5:39. With Justin Feser in the penalty box for interference, Almond won the faceoff in Tri-City’s zone and Benn grabbed the loose puck inside the right circle. From there, he quickly zipped to the slot, then beat Pickard by tucking the puck inside the far post.

In the second, Almond made it 2-0 at 16:32 with a labelled shot on an odd-man rush. The goal came just seconds after a penalty to Rockets defenceman Brandon McMillan expired at 16:14.

Tri-City, however, rallied in the third and levelled the score. After Macek scored, Stoklasa tipped in a hard Tyler Schmidt shot from the high slot. Procyshen rounded out the scoring by roofing the puck from the left face-off circle.

Guggenberger made 31 saves for the Rockets, while Chet Pickard turned aside 24 shots for the Americans – who faced heavy pressure in the final 75 seconds when the Rockets pulled their goalie for an extra attacker.

The move almost paid off, as Tyler Myers appeared to have picked the left corner, but Pickard came up with a solid blocker save.

"It was tough. The crowd was nuts and it seemed like it took forever for the refs to drop the puck (at one point)," said Pickard. "But it was good. They battled down right to the wire and I had to make a pretty big (cross-crease) save on Myers with a few seconds left.

"It was exciting... it was a tough game. The highs and lows were pretty dramatic... going down 2-0 into the third. But it’s exciting. I don’t expect anything less when you play a great team like Kelowna."

ICE CHIPS: Kelowna’s scratches were RW Kyle St. Denis (concussion, indefinite) and D Aaron Borejko. Tri-City’s scratches were D Brett Plouffe (leg), C Jason Reese (leg/knee), LW Spencer Asuchak (knee), RW Brock Zimak and G Drew Owsley... The three stars were Procyshen, Almond and Tri-City’s Mitch Fadden... Kelowna was 1-for-3 on the power play; Tri-City was 1-for-5.

http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories_local_sports.php?id=177030

Malc
04-06-2009, 01:38 PM
By Doyle Potenteau

Win or get prepared for a long summer. That‘s what it comes down to for the Kelowna Rockets on Tuesday night.

For the Tri-City Americans, tomorrow evening is a different story.

Holding a 2-0 lead in their second-round series with Kelowna, Tri-City is in a win-win scenario for Game 3 at Prospera Place.

Win, and the Americans hold a 3-0 stranglehold in the best-of-seven series. Lose, and they still hold the series lead.

Game 4 goes Wednesday night in Kelowna, with Game 5, if necessary, set for Friday back in Kennewick, Wash., where the Americans are 34-6-0-1 on home ice this season. The Rockets‘ home record this season is 30-7-0-1.

“It won‘t be easy (winning in Kelowna),” said Tri-City head coach Don Nachbaur after the Americans rallied to win Saturday night‘s Game 2, scoring three unanswered goals in the third period for a 3-2 victory on home ice. “They‘re an excellent hockey team that can hurt you at any moment in the hockey game.

“They have a lot of talent and skill over there, and we have a lot of try on our side. We won‘t let our foot off the throttle. It‘ll be a tough game. We know going into Kelowna, it‘s not an easy building to win in. But it‘s just another game in the series.”

Coincidentally or not, Nachbaur underlined why the Americans lead 2-0 and why the Rockets now face the daunting task of needing to win the next four of five games: Tri-City has a lot of try on its side. In other words, the Americans are the harder working team – especially Tri-City‘s top players – when it comes to crunch time.

Take the power play, for example. The Rockets are 2-for-6 through two games, while the Americans are 3-for-10.

While there‘s only a one-goal difference, the Americans have had four extra chances – give Kelowna four extra chances, and maybe, or maybe not, the series has a different result.

But it‘s just not solely the number of chances, it‘s also how urgent and how well Tri-City executes when it‘s on the power play, which has been the defining factor in this series. Of their three extra-man goals, two were game-winning markers scored late in the third period by regular-season leading scorer Taylor Procyshen.

Friday‘s game-winning goal came at 18:07 when Rockets defenceman Tyler Myers was hit for boarding Mitch Fadden into the endboards. Saturday‘s winner at 17:17 came with winger Ian Duval in the box for hooking.

Friday‘s was questionable, as Myers first hit Fadden well before the endboards, and Fadden appeared to lose his balance. Myers then nudged Fadden, who fell head first into the boards. However, had the roles been reversed, odds are the Rockets would have also been calling for a penalty.

In both Friday‘s and Saturday‘s cases, though, the Americans were pressuring the Rockets into making mistakes, and their efforts paid off.

Especially on Saturday, when Kelowna built up a 2-0 lead.

“That‘s really disappointing, when we had a 2-0 lead,” said Rockets centre and captain Colin Long, who has just one point, an assist, through two games. “It‘s just stupid mental errors and a couple of bad mistakes, and that‘s the game.

“For whatever reason, we just make poor decisions in the third and it costs us.”

Long isn‘t the only Rocket struggling offensively against the Americans; so is Duval, who has zero points. Brought in at the trade deadline to bolster Kelowna‘s offence, the 20-year-old from Winnipeg has been offensively absent. In 16 playoff games with Calgary last season, he had just three points with one goal and two assists.

In fact, when Kelowna‘s top six regular-season scorers are compared to Tri-City‘s top six regular-season scorers in Games 1 and 2, the Americans‘ half dozen have outpointed the Rockets‘ 13-7, or almost 2-to-1. In the regular season, Kelowna‘s top six (Long, Jamie Benn, Cody Almond, Duval, Tyson Barrie and Brandon McMillan) scored a combined 401 points.

That tally doesn‘t include centre Mikael Backlund, who averaged more than a point a game with 30 points in 28 games since coming over after the 2009 world junior hockey championship.

Meanwhile, Tri-City‘s top six (Procyshen, Jason Reese, Fadden, Johnny Lazo, Adam Hughesman and Kruise Reddick) tallied 391 regular-season points.

“They‘re not outplaying us; their top players have been better than our top players this (past) weekend,” said Backlund, who returned to action on Saturday after missing Friday‘s series opener with an undisclosed lower-body injury. Backlund, who may be recovering from a sore lower back, skated well at times in Game 2, but wasn‘t his normal offensive self.

“We have to change that,” continued Backlund. “The series is far from over, and I think we‘re still going to win it.”

Fadden, however, has other ideas.

“We‘re going to take (Saturday‘s) performance and take it into Kelowna,” said Fadden, who has been the series‘ best player thus far. The six-foot centre from Salmon Arm has four assists, and has been an offensive dynamo for his team. He was also the third star in both games.

“We‘re going to take it one game at a time, one period at a time,” continued Fadden, 21, “and we‘ll be ready to go Tuesday.”

http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories_local_sports.php?id=177182