Hitmen steal one in Kelowna

Another home game in Kelowna, another loss for the Kelowna Rockets.

The not-so-friendly confines of Prospera Place became the scene of a Calgary Hitmen victory Friday night, a decision the Rockets would dearly have loved to reverse.

“It would have been nice to leave here tonight with a win,” said Rockets bench boss Jason Smith after the tilt that saw the Rockets record drop to 4-2-0-1. “We did some good things in the offensive zone for parts of the game, but we have to be a little harder, a little dirtier in the scoring areas to win those puck battles and loose pucks.”

Calgary entered the game on the heels of a 4-2 win in Kamloops against the Blazers, a victory that had elevated its record to 2-5-1 on the season.

At 4:36 of the first period, Mark Kastelic shoved a bouncing puck under Brodan Salmond to put the visitors up 1-0. It was the first time all season the Rockets have given up the first goal of the game.

Kyle Topping (1G, 2A)

The Rockets tied the affair at 10:33 when Kyle Topping snuck a backhand pass in the neutral zone to Kole Lind. The Vancouver Canucks 2017 second-round pick raced into the Calgary zone, drove to the net and dished off toward Nolan Foote. As Foote arrived at the far post, the puck bounced into the Hitmen net off his skate blade.

In the middle frame, Kelowna tilted the ice for much of the period and forced the play. Calgary didn’t get a shot on goal until midway through the period.

But it was Nick Schneider in the Calgary goal who slammed the door on the Rockets, stifling the likes of Lind, Topping and Dillon Dube and rookie Kyle Crosbie. Schneider, who was signed to an NHL entry deal by the Calgary Flames after attending camp as a free agent, held the fort until his team mates could mount a charge.

Nick Schneider (31 saves)

Rookie forward Hunter Campbell won the puck just inside the Kelowna blueline and skated in on a partial breakaway where he beat Salmond high to give Calgary a 2-1 lead. A couple minutes later, the Hitmen struck again, when import Vladislav Yeryomenko entered the Rockets zone and directed a shot on goal. Salmond could not corral the puck and another Vancouver Canucks’ draft pick, Jakob Stukel, stuffed the rebound into an empty net.

The Rockets did manage a second period tally, at 14:57. Lind gained the Calgary blueline and found Topping as he raced to the net. Topping beat Schneider cleanly, high to the stick side to narrow the gap to 3-2.

Topping has been productive this season for Kelowna, bringing offensive push and scoring depth to the mix. He’s collected three goals and five assist, along with a plus-7 rating in seven games.

“It’s been good,” Topping said “I’m surrounded by some good players like (Kole) Lind and (Nolan) Foote, their nice guys. You get them the puck and good things are going to happen.”

For his part, it was evident that Smith was frustrated with the loss.

“There was lots of rebounds there and we didn’t capitalize on them,” he said. “We created opportunities and spent time in the offensive zone and possessed the puck. I think there were times for us to put the puck in the net when the goalie was out of position. We didn’t hang around enough and when you don’t do that, you don’t score goals.”

Calgary extended the lead at 11:49 of the third period when Cael Zimmerman beat Salmond along the ice for his first WHL goal. It would serve as the game winner, but it was a shot that should have been stopped.

Kelowna didn’t quit, scoring at 13:39. Topping sprung Jack Cowell and the second year forward deked Schneider and buried the puck for his fourth of the season.

Kelowna was 1-for-6 on the power play. Calgary has the top penalty killing unit in the WHL with an 88.1% proficiency through 9 games. The Hitmen went 0-for-5 with the man advantage.

Post Game Interview: Jason Smith (click here)

Post Game Interview: Kyle Topping (click here)

Rockets fuel…Kelowna outshot Calgary 34-26…Three stars were Schneider, Lind, Stukel…Announced attendance was 5,221…Topping collected three points on the night…The Rockets are 1-2-0-1 at home and 3-0 on the road…The Rockets traveled overnight to Portland for games today and Sunday, then Tuesday in Kennewick, Washington against the Tri City Americans…Next home games is Oct. 20 against the Winterhawks which, combining regular season and the playoffs, sets up as head coach Jason Smith’s 100th game behind the Rockets bench.