The Kelowna Rockets manhandled the Kamloops blazers on opening night at Prospera Place, jumping out to a 6-0 lead after two periods before settling for a 6-2 victory.
“We had a really good start to the game,” said Kole Lind, the team’s leading scorer last season. “I thought we were moving our feet well. We were getting pucks deep and really working down their defencemen. It started to show in the second; they were getting pretty tired. We were battling in front of the net and I thought all around it was a good game.”
Kelowna scored early in the first period at 3:25, just two seconds after the Blazers had successfully killed off the first penalty of the game. Liam Kindree drifted a shot toward the net, the puck bounced off Nolan Foote then the back boards, where Kyle Topping stuffed the biscuit past goaltender Dylan Ferguson.
On the power play at 11:39, Cal Foote moved the puck to Jack Cowell in the slot and the second-year forward directed the puck on goal. Veteran import Tomas Soustal was on the spot to deflect the puck just inside the post to make it a 2-0 Kelown lead.
Kelowna scored four times in the second period, which served to signal Ferguson’s exit in favour of Kyle Dumba.
Cal Foote chipped the puck to Lind near centre ice where the Vancouver Canucks second rounder gained the Blazers zone and zipped a shot from the faceoff dot past Ferguson. Then at 6:49, Lind gathered a loose puck along the boards, moved the puck toward the goalmouth where Topping knocked it in past a bewildered Ferguson. Rookie Wil Kushniryk also figured in the goal, his first career WHL point.
Later in the period at 17:14, Nolan Foote took a pass from Lind and looked toward Liam Kindree racing through the slot. Foote’s pass glanced in off Kindree’s skate and into the net for his first WHL goal. A minute later, Soustal and Cal Foote created a loose puck that eluded Ferguson and Cowell nudged it into the wide open net to give Kelowna a 6-0 lead.
Kamloops scored twice in the third period, breaking Brodan Salmond’s shutout bid. Justin Sigrist’s first WHL goal came at 13:24 and Nolan Kneen beat Salmond at 16:40.
Rocket fuel… Announced attendance was 5,238…The teams will meet again tonight in Kamloops at the Sandman Centre…Rookie Connor Zary of the Blazers and Soustal each earned misconducts during the game for mouthguard violations. Many players use brightly coloured mouthguards and it is not difficult to see which players refuse to keep this equipment in their mouths. Years of lip service appears to have evolved into rules enforcement with some teeth…Kelowna outshot Kamloops, 37-35…Topping finished with three points…Cowell, who centered Lind and Soustal on the first power play unit, finished with two points…Import defenceman Libor Zabransky was a quiet, steady plus-3 on the night…Second year forward Erik Gardiner did not play for Kelowna. He’s out for three more weeks with a lower body injury…Cal Foote had three assists…The three stars were Cal Foote, Salmond and Lind…Ferguson, drafted by the Las Vegas Golden knights in the seventh round, stopped 21 of 27 shots…The game marked the beginning of the Rockets organization’s 27th season in the WHL; 22 of which have been played in Kelowna…Last season on opening weekend, the Blazers hammered Kelowna in Kamloops by a score of 9-2. The Rockets came back the next night to earn a 5-1 victory…Over the past five regular seasons, Kelowna has owned the Blazers, sporting a 27-9-1 record…The Rockets named defenseman Cal Foote team captain, along with alternates Dillon Dube, Gordie Ballhorn and James Hilsendager…Dube was not in the lineup as he remains at training camp with the Calgary Flames…Soustal is the first import 20-year-old the Rockets have dressed since Jan Fadrny appeared in 56 games during the 2000-01 season.
