WHL Kelowna Rockets

Thunderbirds Hold Off Rockets

December 31, 2022 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Kelowna Rockets News Release


Kelowna Rockets' John Babcock, Carson Golder and Seattle Thunderbirds' Kyle Crnkovic in action
Kelowna Rockets' John Babcock, Carson Golder and Seattle Thunderbirds' Kyle Crnkovic in action
(Kelowna Rockets, Credit: Steve Dunsmoor)

The Seattle Thunderbirds downed the Kelowna Rockets 2-1 on Friday night at Prospera Place in Kelowna, BC.

Seattle, the number-one-ranked team in the CHL, took a 2-0 lead in the first period. Andrew Cristall cut the T-Birds lead in half in the second period, but Seattle pushed back with two unanswered goals.

The Rockets penalty kill was busy once again, having to hit the ice five times on the night. They successfully shut down the T-Birds four times, but the eventual game-winning goal was scored with a Rocket sitting in the penalty box.

"Same story every time," said Rockets head coach Kris Mallette in his postgame interview. "Play a decent first period, a couple of unlucky goals and then get into penalty trouble. It just doesn't work for our group, it's as simple as that."

ADDITIONAL STATS

The Thunderbirds let a shot go from the left faceoff dot that went off of Rockets starter Talyn Boyko's glove and trickled into the blue paint, Jordan Gustafson(13) crashed the net to put Seattle on the board first 3:47 into the game. Lucas Ciona(15) shovelled another rebound past Boyko to put the T-Birds up by two.

The Rockets hit the power play after a fight between Ciona and Jackson Romeril that saw Ciona be assessed an extra two minutes for the aggressor. Andrew Cristall(23) capitalized on the man advantage, pulling the Rockets within one. Ciona(16) added his second of the night with a one-timer from the slot while on the power play.

Ethan Mittelsteadt(1) put Seattle up by three with the lone goal of the third period.

ADDITIONAL STATS

Seattle outshot Kelowna 39-22

The Rockets were 1/1 on the power play, while the Thunderbirds were 1/5

Lucas Ciona was the game's first star, Max Graham was the second and Andrew Cristall was the third star

The Rockets record is now 12-16-3-0

Talyn Boyko made 35 shots on 39 saves

It was Jackson DeSouza's 100th WHL game

Seattle now leads the season series 3-0

UP NEXT

The Rockets and T-Birds will faceoff again tomorrow night at the accesso ShoWare Center for the final game of the season series between the two - puck drop is set for 6:00 pm.

The next Rockets home game is Tuesday, January 3rd when the Victoria Royals visit Prospera Place. It will also be a Fan First Menu night with $2 hot dogs and $5-$6 options from Blue Ribbon. The Fan First Menu is available at all Monday to Wednesday regular season games.

Single-game tickets for all Rockets home games are on sale at Select Your Tickets. Tickets can be purchased online through www.selectyourtickets.com, at the Prospera Place box office, or by phone at 250-762-5050.

Check out the Kelowna Rockets Statistics




Images from this story

Kelowna Rockets' John Babcock, Carson Golder and Seattle Thunderbirds' Kyle Crnkovic in action
Kelowna Rockets' John Babcock, Carson Golder and Seattle Thunderbirds' Kyle Crnkovic in action
(Steve Dunsmoor)		   



Western Hockey League Stories from December 31, 2022


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