Rockets edge Blazers

The Kelowna Rockets snapped a four-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the Kamloops Blazers at Prospera Place Saturday night.

“We played the right way,” said Rockets head coach Adam Foote. “The whole group proved that if we play the right way against a pretty good hockey team, we can give ourselves a chance to win.”

Including pre-season games, Kamloops had reeled off ten straight wins over Kelowna.

Dillon Hamaliuk scored his first goal in 11 games, as Kelowna put a halt to a four-game losing streak.

“They’ve had our number for sure,” Foote said. “They have a veteran club that plays the right way every night. We should gain a lot of confidence off this.”

Logan Stankoven opened the scoring for Kamloops 8:35 into the first period with a power-play goal, but the Rockets responded quickly with two goals to take the lead.

Jake Poole deflected the puck with one hand past Blazers netminder Dylan Garand to tie the affair then Dillon Hamaliuk put Kelowna up 2-1 just 1:16 after Poole’s tally.

For Hamaliuk, it was his first goal in 11 games.

“When you come off an injury like he did, the first few games with a new team, your tank might not really be full,” Foote said of Hamaliuk. “It caught up to him. It’s normal.

“You could tell something was off, but now he’s skating with more pace and I think he’s coming, I think we’ll see some good things.”

Overage forward Ryan Hughes responded for the Blazers just before the end of the period.

Kyle Crosbie scored his first goal of the season in Kelowna’s 4-3 win over Kamloops.

In the second period, Kyle Crosbie cashed in on a feed from Leif Mattson when the pair went in two-on-one. Due to Kyle Topping’s injury and Pavel Novak’s suspension, Crosbie found himself skating with Mattson and Nolan Foote. It was Crosbie’s first of the season.

Kamloops clawed back when Orrin Centazzo tallied his 12th of the season to make it 3-3 after 40 minutes.

The Rockets connected for the game-winner at 13:46 when Alex Swetlikoff slid the puck under Garand’s pad on the backhand.

The Rockets record is now 10-8-1-1, while Kamloops is 14-7.

Roman Basran stopped 27 of 30 shots for Kelowna, which outshot Kamloops 39-30.

Alex Swetlikoff’s sixth goal of the season stood as the game-winner against Kamloops.

Rockets Fuel
Three stars were Poole, Hughes and Swetlikoff…Kelowna was 0-for-4 on the power play, while Kamloops was 1-for-3…Dylan Garand made 35 saves for the Blazers…Novak served the first game of his eight-game suspension after a checking from behind penalty last weekend in Kamloops…Off the ice, it was also a successful evening as fans donated 500 toys and $2,057.40 in cash to the Wawanesa Toy Drive for the Kelowna Salvation Army…Attendance was 5,613…Kelowna will be back in action on Wednesday night when they host the Victoria Royals for Hat-Trick Wednesday. Puck drop is 7:05 pm.

 

 

(DUBNetwork thanks Paige Bednorz of the Kelowna Rockets for supplying post-game audio.)