A St. Patrick’s Day Pummeling in Kelowna
On the Western Hockey League schedule’s penultimate night of the regular season, the Kelowna Rockets played host to the Vancouver Giants in a game that meant absolutely nothing in the standings.
In fact, the two teams met the previous evening in Langley on the same terms, where Kelowna earned a 5-2 victory despite keeping a handful of its elite on the sidelines as healthy scratches.
The Giants returned the favour in Kelowna, resting Ty Ronning, Tyler Benson, Brayden Watts along with elite rookie defencemen Bowen Byram and Alex Kannok-Leipert.
Indeed, with playoff positions already secured, the final weekend of the regular season can be of interest based as much on who teams choose not to dress.
“We’ve played better hockey the last week and a half,” said Rockets head coach Jason Smith. “February was a tough month, but we’ve got things straightened out a little bit. We’re competing and playing better as a team.”
Kelowna dominated territorially in the first frame, directing 18 shots at Giants starter, Trent Miner.
Only defenceman Libor Zabransky solved the youngster, taking a pass from Jack Cowell and ripping a shot inside the post stick side to complete a 3-on-1 rush at 14:43. For Zabransky, the rookie Czech import who played in all 72 regular season games, it was his second goal of the season.
The Rockets exploded in the second stanza with four goals, taking a 5-1 lead into the final frame. Leif Mattson (24), Dillon Dube (37), Gordie Ballhorn (7) and Kyle Topping (22) tallied to put the game out of reach.
In the third period, Dube, Kole Lind (39) and Mattson completed the Rockets onslaught. Mattson’s tally was shorthanded, his fourth of the season on the penalty kill and the Rockets 17th shorthanded goal of the season. Kelowna, the Moose Jaw Warriors and Brandon Wheat Kings led the WHL with 17 shorties on the season.
Kelowna had clinched first place in the B.C. Division earlier in the week, earning home ice advantage along with the luxury of resting a few veterans before the post-season begins. The Rockets, 43-22-5-2, have won 40 games for six straight seasons and head into the post-season on a five-game winning streak.
The Giants finished with a record of 36-27-6-3, its highest win total since the organization collected 40 wins during the 2011-12 campaign.
Kelowna will play host to the Tri City Americans in the first round of the playoffs, a series that begins on Thursday night. Vancouver will face the Victoria Royals in the first round, a team it has already faced 10 times this season.
First Round Playoff Schedule:
Game 1: Tri-City @ Kelowna (Thursday, March 22)
Game 2: Tri-City @ Kelowna (Saturday, March 24)
Game 3: Kelowna @ Tri-City (Wednesday, March 28)
Game 4: Kelowna @ Tri-City (Thursday, March 29)
Game 5**: Tri-City @ Kelowna (Saturday, March 31)
Game 6**: Kelowna @ Tri-City (Sunday, April 15)
Game 7**: Tri-City @ Kelowna (Tuesday, April 3)
** if necessary
Rockets Fuel…Kelowna wore St. Patrick’s Day themed uniforms for its Jersey Off the Back promotion. Lucky fans whose names were drawn during the tilt received the game worn jersey on the ice after the game…Kelowna outshot Vancouver, 44-22…The Rockets were 1-for-1 on the power play. The Giants went 0-for-2…Milos Roman scored for Vancouver late in the second period…Three stars were Dube, Mattson and Ballhorn…Ballhorn, like Zabransky, appeared in all 72 regular season games for Kelowna, the only two members of the Rockets to accomplish the feat this season…Dube’s first goal of the game was the 100th regular season goal of his WHL career. He has also scored 14 times in the post-season…Scratches were James Hilsendager, Wil Kushniryk, Kyle Pow, Colum McGauley, Roman Basran, Carsen Twarynski and Bradyn Chizen…Affiliate players Cayde Augustine and Dallon Wilton suited up for the second straight night…The Rockets finish the regular season 26-7-1-2 at home and 23-7-2 against the B.C. Division…Kelowna was 5-2-1 against Vancouver this season.
