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WHL Kelowna Rockets

Rockets Earn 6-4 Victory Over Blazers

December 30, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Kelowna Rockets News Release


Kelowna Rockets' Jackson DeSouza and Ethan Mittelsteadt on the ice
Kelowna Rockets' Jackson DeSouza and Ethan Mittelsteadt on the ice
(Kelowna Rockets, Credit: Steve Dunsmoor/Kelowna Rockets)

The Kelowna Rockets played their first home game at Prospera Place in exactly a month, collecting a 6-4 victory over the Kamloops Blazers on Saturday night.

Kelowna fell behind 2-0 early in the first period after the Blazers scored back-to-back goals 62 seconds apart before the five-minute mark of the game.

"I thought we were real tentative in the first period, real slow to support the puck," said Rockets head coach Kris Mallette in his Taco Delhi postgame interview. "As the game wore on, credit to the players. I'm going to single a line out for sure, Ty Hurley, Trae Johnson and Kayden Longley, those guys were the ones that stirred the drink tonight. Hardly played in the first, but were the difference in the rest of the game."

The fourth line of Hurley, Johnson and Longley each registered a +2 plus/minus on the night, with Longley potting the game-winner.

Rookie goaltender Jake Pilon made 29 saves on 33 shots to pick up his third win of the campaign.

GAME SUMMARY

John Babcock and Shea Van Olm dropped the gloves 1:54 into the game. At 3:17, Ashton Tait's (2) backhander in tight on the left side of the net put the Blazers on the board. Kamloops pushed their lead to two 62 seconds later when Dylan Sydor's (17) deflection went up and over Jake Pilon's shoulder while on the power play.

Early into the second period John Babcock (3) followed up his blocked shot to put the rebound past Dylan Ernst. Minutes later Marek Rocak's (7) drive while on the power play worked had just enough steam to work its way through Ernst. While playing four-on-four hockey Sydor (18) pounced on a rebound sitting in front of Jake Pilon to push Kamloops back ahead 7:06 into the middle frame. Tij Iginla (26) responded for Kelowna on the power play after the rebound popped out to him at the backdoor of the Blazers net.

Ethan Mittelsteadt (2) from the point let a shot fly to give the Rockets their first lead of the game 29 seconds into the third period. Kayden Longley (2) in his first game since November 14, netted the eventual game-winner just under a minute and a half after Mittelsteadt's goal. Gabriel Szturc (16) and Sydor (19) traded goals later into the period.

ADDITIONAL STATS

The Rockets record is now 16-16-2-0

Kelowna's power play was 2/5 on the night, while Kamloops was 1/2 with the man advantage

The Rockets outshot the Blazers 35-33

The two will face each other next on January 26 at Propsera Place, the season series is tied 1-1

Rockets leading scorer Andrew Cristall picked up a pair of assists to extend his point streak to fifteen games that has seen him record 26 points (8G, 19A) over that span

UP NEXT

The Rockets will be back in action at Prospera Place tomorrow night, where they'll host the Calgary Hitmen at 7:05 pm. The first intermission will feature a wiener dog race, fans are invited to visit up behind section 112 before the game to meet some of the dogs competing in the event.

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.

Check out the Kelowna Rockets Statistics




Images from this story

Kelowna Rockets' Jackson DeSouza and Ethan Mittelsteadt on the ice
Kelowna Rockets' Jackson DeSouza and Ethan Mittelsteadt on the ice
(Steve Dunsmoor/Kelowna Rockets)		   



Western Hockey League Stories from December 30, 2023


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