T-Birds pluck Rockets

By DubNation

Calvin Pickard was perfect on Wednesday night. The Kelowna Rockets were simply horrible. Together, they added up to an ugly loss.

At Prospera Place, Pickard made 23 saves for Seattle, while defenceman Brenden Dillon recorded two assists, as the Thunderbirds blanked the Rockets 5-0. The result snapped Kelowna’s five-game winning streak, while Pickard’s whitewash was, incredibly, his first shutout of the season despite being one of the league’s top goaltenders.

For that, the Rockets can only blame themselves — Kelowna had little traffic in front of Pickard, who had a fairly easy outing.

“We didn’t have any time in the offensive zone for us to get traffic (in front of Pickard). That’s the problem to start with,” said Rockets head coach Ryan Huska. “We played the way our players kind of wanted to play... play as individuals instead of making sure we’re playing straight lines and getting pucks in deep. It wasn’t a good night for us.”

Huska added that his team will be in for a tough skate today, as the Rockets prepare for their final two regular-season games, a home-and-home set against the Vancouver Giants.

Burke Gallimore, with his 33rd goal of the season, Chance Lund, Travis Toomey, Luke Lockhart and Marcel Noebels scored for Seattle (27-33-4-5), which led 2-0 and 3-0 at the period breaks. The shutout loss was Kelowna’s sixth of the season. It was also the second time this month that the Rockets (42-27-0-1) were blanked on home ice, having lost 1-0 to Chilliwack on March 4. Jordon Cooke made 28 saves for Kelowna.

For Pickard, Wednesday’s shutout was pure bliss.

“It’s very relieving (to finally get one),” said Pickard, the league leader in minutes played, shots and saves. “I’ve been close a lot of times, and to actually get that almost at the end of the regular season is very nice.

“This year, I’ve faced quite a few shots, but I think it’s helped me that I’ve played almost every game as well. A lot of teams try to get a lot of pucks on me and go to the net, crash the net and look for rebounds, but, tonight, we did a really good job.

“The shots I faced — what were they? Twenty-three? Our team really earned the win.”

The win also allowed Seattle to keep its slim playoff hopes alive. With 63 points, the T-Birds are in ninth place in Western Conference standings, and they trail the Prince George Cougars by three points for the eighth-and-final playoff berth.

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