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WHL Kelowna Rockets

Rockets Clinch Playoff Spot with Win over Vancouver

March 6, 2022 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Kelowna Rockets News Release


Vancouver Giants goaltender Will Gurski vs. the Kelowna Rockets
Vancouver Giants goaltender Will Gurski vs. the Kelowna Rockets
(Kelowna Rockets, Credit: Steve Dunsmoor)

The Kelowna Rockets secured a spot in the 2022 WHL Playoffs with a 5-3 win over the Vancouver Giants on Saturday night at Prospera Place in Kelowna, BC.

A pair of milestones were reached tonight; Pavel Novak skated in his 100th WHL game, while Colton Dach notched three assists to hit 100 career points.

Holding a 2-0 lead after the first, the Giants pushed back with an early second-period goal. The Rockets responded with a pair of goals in the middle frame, but Vancouver once again made it a one-goal game after scoring a pair before the end of the second period. The Rockets added another in the last period of play.

Colton Dach set Pavel Novak (24) up with an easy tap in power play goal 2:26 in the game. Andrew Cristall (17) then added another power play marker.

Jaden Lipinski (2) kicked off a busy second period with a goal 1:55 into it. Szturc (13) and Cristall (18) responded for Kelowna, but the Giants pushed back with goals from Ty Thorpe (14) and Cole Shepard (7).

Jake Poole (13) restored the Rockets two-goal lead five minutes into the third. Cristall completed the hat-trick, cashing in the empty netter, but the referees waived it off due to the play being offside.

Talyn Boyko made 31 saves on 34 shots. The Rockets outshot Giants 41-34.

Kelowna was two-for-three with the power play, while Vancouver was one-for-five

The 2022 WHL Playoffs will be played in a Conference Playoff format. The Conference Playoff format was last used during the 2014 WHL Playoffs, with the Division Playoff format in place since the 2015 WHL Playoffs. Click here to learn more about the WHL Playoff Format.

The Rockets will be back in action tomorrow when they head to Langley to face the Giants once again, puck drop is set for 4:00 pm. You can watch the game on CHL TV or listen on AM1150.

The next Rockets home game is Saturday, March 12th when the Rockets host the Kamloops Blazers at 7:05 pm. Tickets are available at selectyourtickets.com, at the Prospera Place box office or by phone at 250-762-5050. Select Your Tickets is open 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and opens at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday home game days.

Check out the Kelowna Rockets Statistics




Images from this story

Vancouver Giants goaltender Will Gurski vs. the Kelowna Rockets
Vancouver Giants goaltender Will Gurski vs. the Kelowna Rockets
(Steve Dunsmoor)		   



Western Hockey League Stories from March 6, 2022


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