It’s five in row and counting now for the Kelowna Rockets.
That is, five losses in a row.
The downward spiral continues and collectively, the group seems to be…ahem…at a loss to figure things out.
When Tyler Benson scored at 3:56 of the overtime period, the Vancouver Giants completed a 4-3 comeback victory to lift a gorilla off its back. It was Vancouver’s first win in Kelowna in 27 tries.
“Our oldest player, Ty Ronning, has been here for five years and hasn’t won here,” said Benson. “It’s nice to finally get one going into the playoffs where we might face this team.”
“I was just trying to find some open ice there,” Benson said of the game-winner. “(Jared) Dymtriw made a great pass to me and I had a lot of time there. I got it on net and it squeaked through.”
It was the Rockets fifth straight loss, a season-high. And, perhaps worse, it was another blown lead by the B.C. Division leaders.
“I think we struggled to play a complete game again,” said Rockets head coach Jason Smith. “We got off track, especially in the third period and we didn’t manage the puck and didn’t defend well enough to maintain the lead.”
Erik Gardiner opened the scoring at 2:19 in front of 4,723 spectators at Prospera Place, stuffing in a loose puck for his seventh of the season. It was his fourth goal in 14 games since returning in February from a 39-game absence. Prior to the injury, Gardiner has been scoring at a point-per-game pace.
The Giants replied at 7:44. Owen Hardy took a drop pass from Tyler Popowich deep in the corner, drove the Rockets net, and slid his 11th past James Porter.
Vancouver took the lead early in the second stanza. Matt Barberis made a great play at the blueline to keep the puck in the Rockets zone. Davis Koch picked it up and moved it over to Brayden Watts, who found Ty Ronning parked at the far post. The newly-signed member of the New York Rangers tapped it in for his 56th of the season.
Kelowna answered on perhaps the strangest goal of the season at Prospera Place.
Carsen Twarynski one-timed a pass from Kole Lind, but the puck sailed high and wide of the goal. When it caromed off the glass above the Giants net, defenceman Brennan Riddle took a swipe at it with his glove. It was unclear if he made contact with the puck, but it dropped on to goaltender David Tendeck’s back and bounced over the goal line to make it a 2-2 game.
At 19:12 of the period, Twarynski scored his second power play tally of the game, burying his 42nd of the campaign high glove side past Tendeck.
Vancouver carried the play in the third period, but Porter was terrific in the Rockets cage. He made 13 saves, a handful of the spectacular variety, but Kelowna could not garner an insurance marker.
“I’m feeling good about my game these past couple of games,” said Porter. “It’s frustrating not getting the win. They play hard and work hard.”
The only shot that eluded Porter in the final frame came at 16:22. Rookie defenceman Alex Kannok-Leipert followed up the rush in the attacking zone and collected a rebound in front of Porter. He ripped home his fifth of the season, knotting the affair at 3-3 to set the stage for Benson’s clincher.
Vancouver secured its first post-season berth in four years last week and will likely finish third in the B.C. Division. Its opponent in the first-round has not yet been determined, as the Giants will battle the second-place finisher.
The Giants have six games remaining, starting with a three-game road trip into Washington where it faces the Tri City Americans twice and the Spokane Chiefs once. After a game in Kamloops against the Blazers, Vancouver winds up the regular season with a home-and-home set against the Rockets on the final weekend of the schedule.
The Rockets did salvage an important point on the night. Combined with the Spokane Chiefs 5-2 victory over Victoria, Kelowna is now three points ahead of the Royals atop the B.C. Division standings. The Rockets have five games left, three of them at home with a home-and-home pair this weekend against the Blazers.
Post Game Interview: James Porter – click here
Post Game Interview: Jason Smith – click here
Rocket Fuel…Kelowna outshot Vancouver, 38-36…Three stars were Twarynski, Porter and Ronning…The Rockets are now 23-8-0-2 at home, 28-4-0-1 when leading after two periods and 18-7-2 against the B.C. Division…Kelowna is 4-4-1-1 in its last 10 games…Scratches were Kelvin Hair, Kyle Pow, Colum McGauley, Nolan Foote and Roman Basran…Kole Lind appeared in his 200th career WHL game.
(DUBNetwork thanks Kevin Bain and the Kelowna Rockets for the audio/video.)
