Iginla Lifts Rockets Late
Published on February 20, 2024 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Kelowna Rockets News Release
Kelowna Rockets left wing Ty Hurley (left) vs. the Tri-City Americans
(Kelowna Rockets, Credit: Steve Dunsmoor)
Tij Iginla's last-second heroics lifted the Kelowna Rockets to victory over the Tri-City Americans on Monday evening at Prospera Place.
Tied at two, Iginla took off on a breakaway to net the game-winner with 14 seconds remaining on the clock.
"It was a bit of a weird play, I knew there was like 15 or 20 seconds left," said Iginla about his game-winning goal in his postgame interview. "The puck was coming around to the spot and I was kind of supposed to be there, Mally [Kris Mallette] was yelling a little bit from the bench and I heard him. But then it bounced over the guy's stick and it was a weird play at the bench, I think he thought maybe it was too many men or something so he left it, and I was in on pretty much a breakaway and was lucky enough to get it by him."
Hiroki Gojsic from the right corner sent the puck out front to Michael Cicek (7)who made a play off of his skates and backhanded the opening goal of the game 6:11 into the first period. Seattle Kraken product Lukas Dragicevic (12) skated from his zone along the right side, cutting along the point he skated into the slot letting go of a shot that beat Jari Kykkanen at 11:04.
After the Rockets thwarted an American shorthanded attempt, Hiroki Gojsic fed the puck up the middle to spring Luke Schelter (11) on a breakaway to restore the Rockets lead 3:33 into the second frame.
Calgary Flames prospect Parker Bell (23) skated to the left corner then back out to the bottom of the faceoff circle letting go of a backhand shot to tie the game 6:55 into the third period. In the final minute of the frame, from behind his net, defenceman Ethan Mittelsteadt rimmed it along the glass. With the Americans making a change, Rockets leading goal scorer Tij Iginla picked up the puck in front of the Tri-City bench taking off on a breakaway, beating Kyle Kelsey with 14 seconds left in regulation.
https://twitter.com/Kelowna_Rockets/status/1759746233516859788
ADDITIONAL STATS
The Rockets record is now 25-28-3-0
Rockets goaltender Jari Kykkanen stopped 34 of 36 shots fired his way to pick up his 20th win of the season
Tri-City was 0/3 with the man advantage, while the Rockets power play went 1/4
The Americans outshot the Rockets 36-27
This was the third of five meetings between the two this season, with Kelowna leading the season series 2-1. The Rockets will face the Americans next on March 2 on the road.
UP NEXT
Kelowna will host the surging Vancouver Giants on Friday for the annual Canadian Mental Health Association game before the BC Division-leading Prince George Cougars visit for the Rockets RE/MAX Presents: Nickelodeon Nights for Children's Miracle Network game on Saturday.
Single Game Tickets for all Rockets games can be purchased:
Online at selectyourtickets.com
By calling Select Your Tickets at 250-762-5050
Or by visiting the Select Your Tickets box office at the Prospera Place box office. The box office is open 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and opens at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday home game days.
Six and twelve game Mini Packs for the Kelowna Rockets season are now on sale through Select Your Tickets.
Images from this story
 Kelowna Rockets left wing Ty Hurley (left) vs. the Tri-City Americans (Steve Dunsmoor) |
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