Malc
12-18-2011, 01:21 PM
By Larry Fisher
Turns out, the Kelowna Rockets still had some gas left in the tank.
In their final stop of a six-game road trip across the Prairies, and short seven regulars from their lineup, the Rockets blitzed the Saskatoon Blades on Saturday night, chasing backup goaltender Adam Todd in the first period en route to a 5-1 victory.
It was a team effort with Kelowna getting goals from five different players, including three power-play tallies, to salvage a satisfactory 2-2-0-2 record on this trip.
"Outstanding," Rockets assistant coach Dan Lambert said of his club‘s effort less than 24 hours after working overtime in Prince Albert, only to suffer a 3-2 shootout loss against the Raiders on Friday night. "I wasn‘t surprised. I had a really good feeling going into this game for some reason. The guys were relaxed and they felt good about themselves. Even though we hadn‘t been rewarded every game, they believed in themselves and that‘s key, I believe, to have success as a team."
Saturday‘s game was Kelowna‘s fourth in five nights and yet the Rockets skated with plenty of spunk in their stride after spending 10 days on the road, leading 3-1 and 4-1 at the period breaks. Now the Rockets (14-16-2-3) get a much-needed, well-deserved break, going their separate ways from Saskatoon before reuniting in Kelowna for a home game on Tuesday, Dec. 27th against the Spokane Chiefs.
Against the Blades, Tyson Baillie, with his sixth goal of the season, and Carter Rigby, with his 10th, on a man advantage, gave Kelowna a lightning-quick 2-0 lead just three minutes 20 seconds into the opening frame.
That‘s all the offence Adam Brown would need, stopping 37-of-38 shots for first-star honours, while his counterpart‘s tenure was cut short with Rigby‘s goal. Todd, a former Pursuit of Excellence product, was benched in favour of Andrey Makarov after making only one save, while Makarov stopped 21 for the Blades (20-14-0-1).
"Brownie made some huge saves for us and really stepped up his game here tonight," Lambert said of Kelowna‘s starter who watched backup Jordon Cooke earn three of a possible four points in Kelowna‘s previous two games. "Every good team has good goaltending and we definitely have that here."
Chris Collins cut the deficit to 2-1 at 4:16 of the first period, but Brett Bulmer, with his 13th, on another Kelowna power play, answered for the Rockets at 7:30.
Colton Sissons, with his 10th power-play marker and team-leading 20th goal, and converted forward Jesse Lees, with his second, also scored for Kelowna. Shane McColgan added two assists to his total, for 36 points in 34 games, and was named second star, with Saskatoon‘s Collins third.
"The boys played great, Brownie was fantastic and our power play stepped it up - it was just a lot of good things that happened out there," said Lambert, adding the team saved its best for last in scoring its only regulation win of the trip, after previously edging Regina 3-2 in overtime on Wednesday.
"Throughout this trip, we battled hard and we were in every game I thought. But our power play wasn‘t able to get us some goals whereas it did tonight, and that was basically the difference in the hockey game."
When the dust settled, Kelowna earned points in four of six games - also dropping a shootout decision (4-3) in Swift Current to start the trip - and couldn‘t complain with the results given its injury-ravaged roster.
"We had a couple (affiliated players) and we were under the (roster limit) pretty much every game, but the guys worked really hard," Lambert said. "Now with these seven to 10 days off (over Christmas), it‘s going to be huge for our guys. Just for them to go home and get re-energized and refocused and hopefully have a great second half."
ICE CHIPS: Kelowna scratched RW Filip Vasko (world juniors, Slovakia), D Damon Severson (hand), LW Tyler Goulbourne (upper-body), C Colton Heffley (lower-body), C Cody Chikie (upper-body), C Spencer Main (upper-body) and D Myles Bell (lower-body).
Kelowna dressed one 15yo (Justin Kirkland), and five 16 yo's (Tyson Baillie, Madison Bowey, Stewart Coyle, Austin Ferguson, and Jesse Lees).
http://old.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories.php?i=395303
Turns out, the Kelowna Rockets still had some gas left in the tank.
In their final stop of a six-game road trip across the Prairies, and short seven regulars from their lineup, the Rockets blitzed the Saskatoon Blades on Saturday night, chasing backup goaltender Adam Todd in the first period en route to a 5-1 victory.
It was a team effort with Kelowna getting goals from five different players, including three power-play tallies, to salvage a satisfactory 2-2-0-2 record on this trip.
"Outstanding," Rockets assistant coach Dan Lambert said of his club‘s effort less than 24 hours after working overtime in Prince Albert, only to suffer a 3-2 shootout loss against the Raiders on Friday night. "I wasn‘t surprised. I had a really good feeling going into this game for some reason. The guys were relaxed and they felt good about themselves. Even though we hadn‘t been rewarded every game, they believed in themselves and that‘s key, I believe, to have success as a team."
Saturday‘s game was Kelowna‘s fourth in five nights and yet the Rockets skated with plenty of spunk in their stride after spending 10 days on the road, leading 3-1 and 4-1 at the period breaks. Now the Rockets (14-16-2-3) get a much-needed, well-deserved break, going their separate ways from Saskatoon before reuniting in Kelowna for a home game on Tuesday, Dec. 27th against the Spokane Chiefs.
Against the Blades, Tyson Baillie, with his sixth goal of the season, and Carter Rigby, with his 10th, on a man advantage, gave Kelowna a lightning-quick 2-0 lead just three minutes 20 seconds into the opening frame.
That‘s all the offence Adam Brown would need, stopping 37-of-38 shots for first-star honours, while his counterpart‘s tenure was cut short with Rigby‘s goal. Todd, a former Pursuit of Excellence product, was benched in favour of Andrey Makarov after making only one save, while Makarov stopped 21 for the Blades (20-14-0-1).
"Brownie made some huge saves for us and really stepped up his game here tonight," Lambert said of Kelowna‘s starter who watched backup Jordon Cooke earn three of a possible four points in Kelowna‘s previous two games. "Every good team has good goaltending and we definitely have that here."
Chris Collins cut the deficit to 2-1 at 4:16 of the first period, but Brett Bulmer, with his 13th, on another Kelowna power play, answered for the Rockets at 7:30.
Colton Sissons, with his 10th power-play marker and team-leading 20th goal, and converted forward Jesse Lees, with his second, also scored for Kelowna. Shane McColgan added two assists to his total, for 36 points in 34 games, and was named second star, with Saskatoon‘s Collins third.
"The boys played great, Brownie was fantastic and our power play stepped it up - it was just a lot of good things that happened out there," said Lambert, adding the team saved its best for last in scoring its only regulation win of the trip, after previously edging Regina 3-2 in overtime on Wednesday.
"Throughout this trip, we battled hard and we were in every game I thought. But our power play wasn‘t able to get us some goals whereas it did tonight, and that was basically the difference in the hockey game."
When the dust settled, Kelowna earned points in four of six games - also dropping a shootout decision (4-3) in Swift Current to start the trip - and couldn‘t complain with the results given its injury-ravaged roster.
"We had a couple (affiliated players) and we were under the (roster limit) pretty much every game, but the guys worked really hard," Lambert said. "Now with these seven to 10 days off (over Christmas), it‘s going to be huge for our guys. Just for them to go home and get re-energized and refocused and hopefully have a great second half."
ICE CHIPS: Kelowna scratched RW Filip Vasko (world juniors, Slovakia), D Damon Severson (hand), LW Tyler Goulbourne (upper-body), C Colton Heffley (lower-body), C Cody Chikie (upper-body), C Spencer Main (upper-body) and D Myles Bell (lower-body).
Kelowna dressed one 15yo (Justin Kirkland), and five 16 yo's (Tyson Baillie, Madison Bowey, Stewart Coyle, Austin Ferguson, and Jesse Lees).
http://old.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories.php?i=395303