Malc
02-20-2011, 03:08 PM
by Doyle Potenteau
That slow start Kelowna had Friday night? The Rockets more than made up for it on Saturday evening.
Evan Bloodoff scored twice for Kelowna, with both goals coming in the first period, as the Rockets bolted out of the starting gate with an early 2-0 lead, then added to it in a 6-3 victory over the Vancouver Giants. One night earlier, the Rockets stumbled through the opening frame in a 3-2 loss to the Spokane Chiefs.
“The first period was a lot different (than Friday’s),” said Bloodoff, the game’s first star. “We came out flat (against Spokane); nobody was really skating or hitting. But tonight, we knew we had to come out a lot harder because of (Friday night).
“We were all pretty pumped up to play. We knew they were going to come out hard, so we had to match that. We tried to play defensively and stay out of the penalty box because they have a pretty good power play.”
“We brought it to them right off the bat and we kept that up for most of the game,” added Rockets forward Colton Sissons, the game’s third star who generated several scoring chances. “We knew that we had to come out right from the first through the third, and that was the key to the win.”
Geordie Wudrick, with his 32nd goal of the season, Spencer Main, Zach Franko and Mitchell Callahan also scored for Kelowna, which scored three times in the third after holding period leads of 2-0 and 3-1. With the win, the Rockets leapfrogged the Giants for first place in B.C. Division standings — yet again in what’s been a flip-flop battle this season.
“It’s definitely nice to be in first,” added Sissons. “Hopefully we can stay there a bit longer now.”
Defenceman David Musil, with his fifth of the season, Dalton Sward, with his 10th, and Michael Burns, with his 12th, replied for Vancouver, which was lethargic for the first 30 minutes in losing to Kelowna for the second time in a week. On Wednesday, the Rockets scored a 4-2 win in Vancouver.
Adam Brown made 27 saves for the Rockets, who now hold a 4-2 lead in their eight-game season series with Vancouver. Mark Segal turned aside 27 shots for the Giants.
Understandably, the Giants were a quiet bunch after Saturday’s loss, including head coach Don Hay.
“I thought Bloodoff really played well for them. He was the hardest worker on the ice,” said Hay, whose players had little time or space when they had the puck. “His work ethic really set the tone for the game.”
Asked about the back-and-forth battle for first, Hay said “we have to make sure we continue to find ways to have success. We have to keep moving ahead. Kelowna is a good hockey team and they play well against us.
“We seem to be able to find ways to win other games, and we have to continue to do that.”
While Kelowna’s play in the first period ultimately gave the home team a lead it would never relinquish, the Giants had a shot at tying up the game.
Trailing 4-1 early in the third after Main scored for the Rockets, burying a shot as the trailer on a three-on-two rush at 2:38 of the frame, the Giants bounced back with two goals. Sward poked home a rebound at 5:53 to make it 4-2, then Burns zipped in a low shot from the slot at 11:23 to cut Kelowna’s lead to one.
After that, though, the Giants’ rally fell apart with two consecutive penalties — one to Andrej Stastny at 12:11 for elbowing, then a double minor to Spencer Bennett for high sticking at 12:50. Skating behind Tyson Barrie while trying to harry him from behind just as Kelowna’s captain was about to carry the puck into Vancouver’s end, Bennett clipped the offensive defenceman in the face, cutting him on the chin.
Already on the power play, the Rockets were handed a five-on-three for 1:19. And with 33 seconds left in Stastny’s penalty, Franko roofed a cross-crease pass to make it 5-3. Less than a minute later, and still on the power play, Callahan scored and restored Kelowna’s three-goal lead.
“Later in the game we got better, but, for sure, in the first period, I’m not sure if they were that much faster than us or we were that much slower than them,” said Giants captain Brendan Gallagher. “I don’t know what it was, but we never had our jump, and that’s unacceptable this late in the season to be using that as an excuse. Whatever it is, we have to fix it quickly.
“We have to win these games against Kelowna if want it to continue (competing for first place). We haven’t been happy with our efforts, but we’ve been able to battle back every time, so, hopefully, we can continue to do it, then take care of the games against Kelowna later in the season.”
Saturday’s contest also saw Rockets head coach Ryan Huska get uncharacteristically animated after Gallagher collided with Brown during a scoring chance in the first period. Brown, who was knocked to the ice, appeared shaken, but he got up and continued playing.
After the collision, Huska loudly barked at a referee, letting him know what he thought of the play.
“In Adam’s situation... Gallagher does a great job of going to the net all the time,” said Huska. “But the onus is on the player to make sure they don’t hit the goaltender. Sometimes the referees need a little bit of a reminder of that.”
“That’s just part of my game, going to the net,” said Gallagher, a well-spoken, 5-foot-8 right-winger from Delta that every WHL team would love to have on its roster. “There was no intentions of hitting the goalie; I just wanted to score a goal. As I was going across, I kinda got airborne and I might have bumped him a little bit. It was unintentional, but that kinda happens quite a bit with my game.”
Huska did like, though, his team’s start, unlike Friday’s, a frame which cost Kelowna a shot at two points.
“It was much better,” he said. “I thought we had good jump early tonight in particular. But it just wasn’t one line; it was all four lines. That was important for us.”
Now, what about taking firm control of first place?
“I don’t know,” said Huska, whose team leaves Monday for a four-game swing through the Central Division, with stops against Kootenay (Tuesday), Medicine Hat (Wednesday), Red Deer (Friday) and Calgary (Saturday. “That’s what I said to them after the game: ‘Please, can we hold onto it now?’ I think it’ll probably be like this, I’d assume, for the remainder (of the regular season). Both teams play hard, and hopefully we can get some wins on this Alberta trip.”
http://dubnation-news.blogspot.com/2011/02/rockets-double-up-giants.html
That slow start Kelowna had Friday night? The Rockets more than made up for it on Saturday evening.
Evan Bloodoff scored twice for Kelowna, with both goals coming in the first period, as the Rockets bolted out of the starting gate with an early 2-0 lead, then added to it in a 6-3 victory over the Vancouver Giants. One night earlier, the Rockets stumbled through the opening frame in a 3-2 loss to the Spokane Chiefs.
“The first period was a lot different (than Friday’s),” said Bloodoff, the game’s first star. “We came out flat (against Spokane); nobody was really skating or hitting. But tonight, we knew we had to come out a lot harder because of (Friday night).
“We were all pretty pumped up to play. We knew they were going to come out hard, so we had to match that. We tried to play defensively and stay out of the penalty box because they have a pretty good power play.”
“We brought it to them right off the bat and we kept that up for most of the game,” added Rockets forward Colton Sissons, the game’s third star who generated several scoring chances. “We knew that we had to come out right from the first through the third, and that was the key to the win.”
Geordie Wudrick, with his 32nd goal of the season, Spencer Main, Zach Franko and Mitchell Callahan also scored for Kelowna, which scored three times in the third after holding period leads of 2-0 and 3-1. With the win, the Rockets leapfrogged the Giants for first place in B.C. Division standings — yet again in what’s been a flip-flop battle this season.
“It’s definitely nice to be in first,” added Sissons. “Hopefully we can stay there a bit longer now.”
Defenceman David Musil, with his fifth of the season, Dalton Sward, with his 10th, and Michael Burns, with his 12th, replied for Vancouver, which was lethargic for the first 30 minutes in losing to Kelowna for the second time in a week. On Wednesday, the Rockets scored a 4-2 win in Vancouver.
Adam Brown made 27 saves for the Rockets, who now hold a 4-2 lead in their eight-game season series with Vancouver. Mark Segal turned aside 27 shots for the Giants.
Understandably, the Giants were a quiet bunch after Saturday’s loss, including head coach Don Hay.
“I thought Bloodoff really played well for them. He was the hardest worker on the ice,” said Hay, whose players had little time or space when they had the puck. “His work ethic really set the tone for the game.”
Asked about the back-and-forth battle for first, Hay said “we have to make sure we continue to find ways to have success. We have to keep moving ahead. Kelowna is a good hockey team and they play well against us.
“We seem to be able to find ways to win other games, and we have to continue to do that.”
While Kelowna’s play in the first period ultimately gave the home team a lead it would never relinquish, the Giants had a shot at tying up the game.
Trailing 4-1 early in the third after Main scored for the Rockets, burying a shot as the trailer on a three-on-two rush at 2:38 of the frame, the Giants bounced back with two goals. Sward poked home a rebound at 5:53 to make it 4-2, then Burns zipped in a low shot from the slot at 11:23 to cut Kelowna’s lead to one.
After that, though, the Giants’ rally fell apart with two consecutive penalties — one to Andrej Stastny at 12:11 for elbowing, then a double minor to Spencer Bennett for high sticking at 12:50. Skating behind Tyson Barrie while trying to harry him from behind just as Kelowna’s captain was about to carry the puck into Vancouver’s end, Bennett clipped the offensive defenceman in the face, cutting him on the chin.
Already on the power play, the Rockets were handed a five-on-three for 1:19. And with 33 seconds left in Stastny’s penalty, Franko roofed a cross-crease pass to make it 5-3. Less than a minute later, and still on the power play, Callahan scored and restored Kelowna’s three-goal lead.
“Later in the game we got better, but, for sure, in the first period, I’m not sure if they were that much faster than us or we were that much slower than them,” said Giants captain Brendan Gallagher. “I don’t know what it was, but we never had our jump, and that’s unacceptable this late in the season to be using that as an excuse. Whatever it is, we have to fix it quickly.
“We have to win these games against Kelowna if want it to continue (competing for first place). We haven’t been happy with our efforts, but we’ve been able to battle back every time, so, hopefully, we can continue to do it, then take care of the games against Kelowna later in the season.”
Saturday’s contest also saw Rockets head coach Ryan Huska get uncharacteristically animated after Gallagher collided with Brown during a scoring chance in the first period. Brown, who was knocked to the ice, appeared shaken, but he got up and continued playing.
After the collision, Huska loudly barked at a referee, letting him know what he thought of the play.
“In Adam’s situation... Gallagher does a great job of going to the net all the time,” said Huska. “But the onus is on the player to make sure they don’t hit the goaltender. Sometimes the referees need a little bit of a reminder of that.”
“That’s just part of my game, going to the net,” said Gallagher, a well-spoken, 5-foot-8 right-winger from Delta that every WHL team would love to have on its roster. “There was no intentions of hitting the goalie; I just wanted to score a goal. As I was going across, I kinda got airborne and I might have bumped him a little bit. It was unintentional, but that kinda happens quite a bit with my game.”
Huska did like, though, his team’s start, unlike Friday’s, a frame which cost Kelowna a shot at two points.
“It was much better,” he said. “I thought we had good jump early tonight in particular. But it just wasn’t one line; it was all four lines. That was important for us.”
Now, what about taking firm control of first place?
“I don’t know,” said Huska, whose team leaves Monday for a four-game swing through the Central Division, with stops against Kootenay (Tuesday), Medicine Hat (Wednesday), Red Deer (Friday) and Calgary (Saturday. “That’s what I said to them after the game: ‘Please, can we hold onto it now?’ I think it’ll probably be like this, I’d assume, for the remainder (of the regular season). Both teams play hard, and hopefully we can get some wins on this Alberta trip.”
http://dubnation-news.blogspot.com/2011/02/rockets-double-up-giants.html