While it looked rather bleak early on for the Kelowna Rockets against the Central Division leading Medicine Hat Tigers at the Canalta Centre, the determined visitors would ultimately find a way to claw back for 4-3 overtime.
It has been commonplace this season for the Rockets to use early starts on home ice to dismantle opponents, but on this night it was the Tigers who took control early with two goals in the first five minutes.
Mark Rassell, now 20 and in his final WHL season, opened the scoring 42 seconds in when he beat Kaedan Korczak to the puck and surprised goaltender Brodan Salmond with a quick shot between his pads. It was Rassell’s 40th goal of the season.
Rassell added his second of the night when he corralled a loose puck near the goal line and bounced it in off Rockets Kyle Topping in the crease at the 5:43 mark.
Rassell has scored 41 goals this season, along with 20 assists in 46 games. The Calgary native collected 61 points total last season while appearing in all 72 regular season games.
The Rockets responded late in the period when Leif Mattson tallied his 16th of the season. Mattson picked up a loose puck along the boards in the Tigers zone, waited on a defender to commit, then calmly slid the puck along the ice past goaltender Michael Bullion at 19:45.
Medicine Hat extended its lead late in the second stanza when Jaeger White finished off an odd-man rush with a one-timer past Salmond at 17.39.
Entering the game, the Tigers were 14-3-1 when leading after 20 minutes and 18-1-2 when ahead after two periods.
When trailing after 40 minutes, Kelowna has been unimpressive this season, compiling a 1-12-1 record. However, down 3-1 heading into the final frame, Kelowna outplayed the Tigers to force extra time.
Kole Lind gave the Rockets some life at 5:32 when he contolled the puck deep in Tigers zone, beat two defenders as he drove the net, then made a crafty deke around Bullion before depositing a forehand shot for his 25th of the season.
The goal extended Lind’s point-scoring streak to 17 games. He leads the Rockets in scoring with 67 points in 39 games.
Three minutes later, Connor Bruggen-Cate beat Bullion cleanly high stick side from the top of the faceoff circle to equalize. Bruggen-Cate’s 14th goal of the season, a career high, was the game’s only power play goal.
Defenceman Gordie Ballhorn, 20, chipped with assists on both third period markers.
In overtime, Cal Foote took a feed from Carsen Twarynski, skated in on a breakaway and while being hauled down, forced a shot on goal. Bullion got a stick on the shot but the puck caught the top of the goal to give Kelowna the extra point on the night.
It was Foote’s 10th of the season and second overtime winner this month since returning to the Rockets lineup after his stint with Team Canada at the World Junior Championship.
It was the Rockets second 4-3 overtime victory on its current three-game trip through Alberta. Kelowna won in Lethbridge on Wednesday over the Hurricanes,with another third period comeback. On the season, the Rockets have lost only once to an Albert-based team, a 4-3 loss on home ice to the Calgary Hitmen back on October 13.
Brodan Salmond, 19, went the distance for the Rockets, making 29 saves, perhaps none bigger than the stop in overtime when Rassell skated in on a breakaway. It was just Salmond’s 11th appearance of the season, a campaign derailed by a knee injury early on.
Kelowna (31-14-2-1) now leads the B.C. Division by five points over the Victoria Royals and is seven ahead of the Vancouver Giants. With 65 points, the Rockets also lead the Western Conference standings by one point over the Everett Silvertips. The two conference leaders will play a home-and-home set next weekend.
Next up for the Rockets is a tilt in Red Deer against the Rebels on Saturday night.
Ice chips…Kelowna is 14-10-2 on the road this season…The Rockets are 7-2 in overtime this season…Three stars were Rassell, Foote and Bullion, who faced 37 shots…Dillon Dube did not play for the Rockets, scratched for the second straight game. Erik Gardiner, Kelvin Hair, James Porter, Roman Basran and Liam Kindree were the other scratches…Announced attendance was 3,041…Next home game is on Tuesday night against the Tigers, 7:05pm at Prospera Place.
