Malc
10-27-2010, 01:58 PM
by Wayne Moore
The Kelowna Rockets continue to get outworked and out muscled on home ice.
The latest team to escape Prospera Place with two points -- the Eastern Division cellar-dwelling Brandon Wheat Kings.
Brandon played a perfect road game, snapping a nine game losing streak in a 3-1 victory over the Rockets before 6,021 frustrated fans.
Former Kamloops Blazer Shayne Wiebe snapped a 1-1 tie 49 seconds into the third period when he roofed a wrist shot to the far corner from the left faceoff dot.
Brenden Walker sealed the deal hitting an empty net with 0.4 seconds left.
The Rockets appeared to tie the game 4:46 into the third period. With the teams playing four-on-four, Geordie Wudrick fired a shot that Wheaties net minder Liam Liston blocked. The puck flew straight out into the slot, bounced off Cody Chikie and into the wide open cage. After consulting with his linesmen, referee Andy Thiessen waved the goal off.
A video review confirmed the non-goal.
Chikie didn't think so.
"They said when I went in I brought my hand up and my shoulder up as well," says Chikie.
"They thought it went off my hand or I meant to push it in intentionally. It went right off my chest and it should have been a goal. That's the way the game goes."
Chikie says when things are going well those kinds of breaks go in your favour.
The Rockets opened the scoring when Shane McColgan potted his third of the season gathering a loose puck at the bottom of the left faceoff circle and beating Liston to the far side.
Mark Stone tied it five minutes later banging home a rebound past Brown.
The Rockets were in the game to the end, at least on the scoreboard, however, head coach Ryan Huska says the team did not play well all night long.
"Lets be honest, we didn't work tonight. It was an awful effort, I can't put it any other way," says an obviously frustrated Huska.
"There's no fire from our group right now. We're not playing good hockey as a team right now. We don't have work ethic and that's the biggest thing really. We didn't work, we didn't compete and we weren't physical."
Huska singled out Wudrick and Chikie as two players who stepped up their game and played better Tuesday.
He says it's not enough that only a handful of players are playing the way they should each night.
"We always have three or four guys who are better and the rest of the guys are not so good. We have to find a way to get everybody going at the same time."
Brown was stellar again in goal for the Rockets, kicking out 24 shots on the night.
The Rockets went 0-4 on the power-play. Brandon‘s penalty kill outchanced Kelowna‘s power play in the dying minutes with the outcome still very much in doubt.
Things don't get any easier for the 4-8 Rockets.
They hit the road later this week for a pair of back-to-back games in Portland Friday and Saturday.
http://www.castanet.net/news/Sports/57814/Road-weary-Wheaties-upset-Rockets
http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories_local_sports.php?id=305473
The Kelowna Rockets continue to get outworked and out muscled on home ice.
The latest team to escape Prospera Place with two points -- the Eastern Division cellar-dwelling Brandon Wheat Kings.
Brandon played a perfect road game, snapping a nine game losing streak in a 3-1 victory over the Rockets before 6,021 frustrated fans.
Former Kamloops Blazer Shayne Wiebe snapped a 1-1 tie 49 seconds into the third period when he roofed a wrist shot to the far corner from the left faceoff dot.
Brenden Walker sealed the deal hitting an empty net with 0.4 seconds left.
The Rockets appeared to tie the game 4:46 into the third period. With the teams playing four-on-four, Geordie Wudrick fired a shot that Wheaties net minder Liam Liston blocked. The puck flew straight out into the slot, bounced off Cody Chikie and into the wide open cage. After consulting with his linesmen, referee Andy Thiessen waved the goal off.
A video review confirmed the non-goal.
Chikie didn't think so.
"They said when I went in I brought my hand up and my shoulder up as well," says Chikie.
"They thought it went off my hand or I meant to push it in intentionally. It went right off my chest and it should have been a goal. That's the way the game goes."
Chikie says when things are going well those kinds of breaks go in your favour.
The Rockets opened the scoring when Shane McColgan potted his third of the season gathering a loose puck at the bottom of the left faceoff circle and beating Liston to the far side.
Mark Stone tied it five minutes later banging home a rebound past Brown.
The Rockets were in the game to the end, at least on the scoreboard, however, head coach Ryan Huska says the team did not play well all night long.
"Lets be honest, we didn't work tonight. It was an awful effort, I can't put it any other way," says an obviously frustrated Huska.
"There's no fire from our group right now. We're not playing good hockey as a team right now. We don't have work ethic and that's the biggest thing really. We didn't work, we didn't compete and we weren't physical."
Huska singled out Wudrick and Chikie as two players who stepped up their game and played better Tuesday.
He says it's not enough that only a handful of players are playing the way they should each night.
"We always have three or four guys who are better and the rest of the guys are not so good. We have to find a way to get everybody going at the same time."
Brown was stellar again in goal for the Rockets, kicking out 24 shots on the night.
The Rockets went 0-4 on the power-play. Brandon‘s penalty kill outchanced Kelowna‘s power play in the dying minutes with the outcome still very much in doubt.
Things don't get any easier for the 4-8 Rockets.
They hit the road later this week for a pair of back-to-back games in Portland Friday and Saturday.
http://www.castanet.net/news/Sports/57814/Road-weary-Wheaties-upset-Rockets
http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories_local_sports.php?id=305473