Malc
04-08-2011, 01:41 PM
By DOYLE POTENTEAU
If Game 1 is any indicator, this is shaping up to be a classic.
Adam Brown made 45 saves for Kelowna, stopping at least four for-sure goals, and the Rockets stunned the Portland Winterhawks 5-1 to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven playoff series on Thursday night. The second-round affair resumes Sunday night, and if it turns out to be even half as entertaining as last night‘s contest, fans are in for a treat.
How entertaining was the game? Well, it was everything playoff hockey should be: Hard hitting and intense, with great goals and great goaltending, all played before a loud, emotional crowd.
"I agree; it was a good first game," said Rockets head coach Ryan Huska, whose team needed hot goaltending over the first 40 minutes to keep Portland at bay. "Early on, Adam made a lot of saves for us that allowed us to get our feet wet a little bit. Then, I thought as the game went on, our players started to believe a little bit more that they could compete, and I thought our third period was our best period."
"That was quite the Game 1," said Brown, who made 21 saves in the middle frame. "They came out hard and we came out hard. They had push early in the second, then we weathered the storm and took over in the third."
Asked if he found the result surprising - the Winterhawks are heavily favoured to beat Kelowna, yet the Rockets won the opener by a big margin - Brown said no.
"To everybody else, it might be a surprise," said Brown. "We have a lot of belief in our room here and we believe in each other. We know we can beat anybody if we play our best."
Shane McColgan, with a natural hat trick that spanned all three periods, Zak Stebner, who opened the scoring at 3:08 of the first with a power-play goal, and Evan Bloodoff scored for Kelowna, which led 2-1 and 3-1 at the period breaks. Tyler Wotherspoon, who made it 1-1 at 7:08 of the first, replied for Portland, which outshot Kelowna 46-36. Mac Carruth turned aside 31 shots for the Winterhawks.
While the Rockets and any hockey fan would have found the game highly entertaining, the Winterhawks didn‘t enjoy the result.
"There‘s always nerves in the first game of a series," said Winterhawks forward Ryan Johansen, who was kept off the scoresheet and was a minus-three. "But we have to make sure we keep getting to the dirty areas and around the crease and try to bang one home. Brown played a really strong game for them and next time we‘ll make sure we‘re capitalizing on our chances."
ICE CHIPS: Kelowna lost LW Zach Franko to a suspected concussion in the first period on a hit by Portland LW Brad Ross. Ross was issued a charging major and game misconduct. Huska said that Franko wasn‘t likely to play on Sunday.
Game scratches - Kelowna: D Mitchell Chapman, C Gal Koren, RW Jason Siebert (wrist), C Andreas Stene and C Max Adolph. Portland: D Josh Hanson, D Brett Ponich, LW Oliver Gabriel, LW Taylor Leier, RW Seth Swenson and C Jason Trott.
http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories_local_sports.php?id=347162
If Game 1 is any indicator, this is shaping up to be a classic.
Adam Brown made 45 saves for Kelowna, stopping at least four for-sure goals, and the Rockets stunned the Portland Winterhawks 5-1 to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven playoff series on Thursday night. The second-round affair resumes Sunday night, and if it turns out to be even half as entertaining as last night‘s contest, fans are in for a treat.
How entertaining was the game? Well, it was everything playoff hockey should be: Hard hitting and intense, with great goals and great goaltending, all played before a loud, emotional crowd.
"I agree; it was a good first game," said Rockets head coach Ryan Huska, whose team needed hot goaltending over the first 40 minutes to keep Portland at bay. "Early on, Adam made a lot of saves for us that allowed us to get our feet wet a little bit. Then, I thought as the game went on, our players started to believe a little bit more that they could compete, and I thought our third period was our best period."
"That was quite the Game 1," said Brown, who made 21 saves in the middle frame. "They came out hard and we came out hard. They had push early in the second, then we weathered the storm and took over in the third."
Asked if he found the result surprising - the Winterhawks are heavily favoured to beat Kelowna, yet the Rockets won the opener by a big margin - Brown said no.
"To everybody else, it might be a surprise," said Brown. "We have a lot of belief in our room here and we believe in each other. We know we can beat anybody if we play our best."
Shane McColgan, with a natural hat trick that spanned all three periods, Zak Stebner, who opened the scoring at 3:08 of the first with a power-play goal, and Evan Bloodoff scored for Kelowna, which led 2-1 and 3-1 at the period breaks. Tyler Wotherspoon, who made it 1-1 at 7:08 of the first, replied for Portland, which outshot Kelowna 46-36. Mac Carruth turned aside 31 shots for the Winterhawks.
While the Rockets and any hockey fan would have found the game highly entertaining, the Winterhawks didn‘t enjoy the result.
"There‘s always nerves in the first game of a series," said Winterhawks forward Ryan Johansen, who was kept off the scoresheet and was a minus-three. "But we have to make sure we keep getting to the dirty areas and around the crease and try to bang one home. Brown played a really strong game for them and next time we‘ll make sure we‘re capitalizing on our chances."
ICE CHIPS: Kelowna lost LW Zach Franko to a suspected concussion in the first period on a hit by Portland LW Brad Ross. Ross was issued a charging major and game misconduct. Huska said that Franko wasn‘t likely to play on Sunday.
Game scratches - Kelowna: D Mitchell Chapman, C Gal Koren, RW Jason Siebert (wrist), C Andreas Stene and C Max Adolph. Portland: D Josh Hanson, D Brett Ponich, LW Oliver Gabriel, LW Taylor Leier, RW Seth Swenson and C Jason Trott.
http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories_local_sports.php?id=347162