KELOWNA, BC – A fast start is always a good thing on home ice, and that is exactly what the Kelowna Rockets hoped to inflict upon the Spokane Chiefs Friday at Prospera Place.
Indeed, the first frame provided a flurry of action that included six goals, seven minor penalties, a gruesome fight and a disallowed goal.
But it was the Chiefs that overwhelmed the Rockets early, scoring three times in the first 5:17 to surge ahead and chase starting goaltender Roman Basran en route to a 7-3 decision.
“Yeah, we started slow for sure,” said Rockets head coach Adam Foote. “We were bad right from the net through.”
Basran is a key member of the Rockets, the goaltender the organization has leaned upon all season. Clearly, Basran is the go-to-guy, but that doesn’t mean he’s immune to some harsh words from the bench boss.
“He’s got to be better,” Foote said when asked about Basran on the night.” You want to be a number one, you got to be better.”
On the power play, Adam Beckman circled in the attacking zone then dished off to defenceman Ty Smith at the blueline. Smith snuck a wrister through traffic and Jack Finley redirected the shot past Basran at the 1:25 mark.
Less than a minute later, Brad Ginnell gained the blueline and drifted an innocent-looking shot that fooled Basran glove side. At 5:17, Luke Toporowski carried the puck in deep and beat Basran glove side again.
Just 22 seconds later, defenceman Tyson Feist and Jordan Chudley squared off at centre ice. Feist (6-foot-2, 181 pounds) decked Chudley (6-foot-3, 170 pounds) with a right hand. It was a one-punch knockout and Chudley had to be helped from the ice. For the record, Feist celebrated his 19th birthday Jan. 14, just a few days after joining the Rockets. Chudley will turn 19 on Feb. 10.
The bout seemed to liven up the Rockets, who quickly scored a pair of power play goals to narrow the gap to 3-2.
Kyle Topping went bar down past Lukas Parik in the Spokane cage at 9:15, a laser from the top of the face off circle. The tally was Topping’s first goal in four games since returning to the lineup Jan. 24.
Pavel Novak ripped a shot stick-side past Parik three minutes later.
Beckman collected his 35th of the campaign with six minutes to play, restoring Spokane’s two-goal lead.
The Rockets worked a give-and-go to perfection deep in the attacking zone and appeared to narrow the gap once more at 14:55.
But the goal was waived off and Kelowna was assessed a bench minor for too many men on the ice. Matthew Wedman was sent off for hooking 26 seconds later and it was all the Rockets could do to kill off the lengthy two-man disadvantage.
“Yeah, we had too many men,” Foote acknowledged, when asked about the disallowed goal. “We had two guys jump for the same position.”
The Rockets settled things down for much of the second stanza and Alex Swetlikoff chipped the puck past Parik at 12:26 to make it a 4-3 contest. But Bear Hughes and Michael King scored late in the period for Spokane to stake the Chiefs to its second three-goal lead on the night.
If there was a silver lining for Kelowna (23-22-1-2), it may have been the signs of life that came from the power play units.
“That’s a positive coming out,” Foote said. “We’ve got to keep it going and we’ve got to have guys that start better.”
For the Chiefs, now (26-17-4-1) Beckman was the star of the show. The youngster from Saskatoon is not shy about playing in Kelowna, a building that tends to attract in the neighbourhood of 5,000 fans per outing.
“It’s a real nice building, they have a good facility,” Beckman said. “And you know, the crowd here, it’s always pretty good, so we know it’s going to be a fun night.”
With a goal and three assists on the night, Beckman passed Zane Franklin of the Kamloops Blazers in the WHL scoring derby. With 76 points on the season, he trails only James Hamblin of the Medicine Hat Tigers by a single point.
Beckman, selected in the third round of the 2019 NHL Draft, 75th overall by the Minnesota Wild, will celebrate his 19th birthday May 10. Franklin and Hamblin are both 20 years of age.
Beckman is used to the rarefied air of scoring races, having captured the Saskatchewan Midget AAA League scoring title during his final year before landing in the WHL. In his second season with the Chiefs, this of the breakout variety, he remains confident in his development amongst the group in Spokane.
“I’m trying to continue to work on being a complete player,” Beckman said. “I know my team mates have done a good job creating chances for me, they’ve done a great job helping me out.”
When the Chiefs travel through the Okanagan, forwards Eli Zummack and Jack Finley are always charged up – a couple of locals products with deep hockey roots in the Kelowna region. Beckman knows these games are important to his team mates.
“I think any time you get to go home and play, you kind of get excited about that,” Beckman said. “They’re pretty jacked up to be playing here and it’s kind of motivation for us a well.
“We want to win for them.”
For Kelowna, the tilt is the first of seven straight against non-divisional foes and the first of five straight against U.S. Division opponents. The teams will travel overnight to Spokane (26-17-4-1) for a return engagement Saturday.
Rockets Fuel…The three-stars were Beckman, Finley and Korczak…The Rockets were 2-for-6 on the power play, while the Chiefs were 3-for-6…Kelowna scratched F Liam Kindere, F Nolan Foote, F Michael Farren and D Devin Steffler…Former Rockets Leif Mattson and James Porter suited up for Spokane. Mattson was dealt by Kelowna shortly after the trade that brought Matthew Wedman to the Okanagan. Porter, who was dealt by the Rockets to Moose Jaw in November, landed in Spokane a week before the WHL trade deadline…Kelowna is now 11-10-0-1 on home ice and 12-12-1-1 on the road…Rockets power play has had more success on home ice than on the road. Kelowna has the 10th best power play at home and the 19th best on the road…Rockets are 19-5 when they score first and 3-15 when they trail after the first period…Through 22 games at home this season, Kelowna is averaging 5,181 fans per game.
SUMMARY
First Period
1. SPO Fineay 11 (Smith, Beckman) 1:25 (pp)
2. SPO Ginnell 13 (King, Kral) 2:44
3. SPO Toporowski 16 (Zummack, N. King) 5:17
4. KEL Topping 6 (Korczak. Novak) 9:15 (pp)
5. KEL Novak 18 (Korczak, Wedman) 12:23 (pp)
6. SPO Beckman 35 (Larson) 13:58
Penalties: KEL Lee (delay of game) :35. McMillen (delay of game) 3:15. KEL Feist, SPO Chudley (fighting majors) 5:39. SPO Mattson (interference) 7:46. SPO Smith (tripping) 10:48. KEL (bench minor – too many men) served by Peterek 14:55. KEL Wedman (hooking) 15:21. SPO Mattson (high-sticking) 17:01.
Second Period
7. KEL Swetlikoff 11 (Poole, Korczak) 12:26
8. SPO Hughes 15 (Beckman, Kral) 13:59 (pp)
9. SPO M. King 10 (Hughes) 19:54
Penalties: SPO Russell (tripping) 2:40. KEL McDonald (holding) 12:39
Third Period
10. SPO Finley 12 (Beckman, Smith) 8:24 (pp)
Penalties: KEL Swetlikoff (slashing) 7:42. SPO N. King (holding) 13:15. SPO MacNeil (tripping) 18:55.
Shots on Goal
KEL: 8-6-8: 22
SPO: 12-12-6: 30.
Goaltenders:
KEL: Basran (5:17) 4/7; Schwebius (54:43) 19/23.
SPO: Parik (60:00) 27/30
Attendance at Prospera Place: 5,279
Rockets Record By Division
vs BC Division: 10-14-1-1
vs US Division: 8-5
vs Central Division: 1-1-0-1
vs East Division: 4-2
Rockets Remaining Games vs B.C Division (10)
Kamloops: Home 1; Away 1.
Victoria: Home 1; Away 2.
Vancouver: Home 1. Away 1.
Prince George: Home 1; Away 2.
