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㽶ƵֱTips halt Rockets㽶Ƶֱ seven-game win streak

Kelowna remains two points back of Prince George for top spot in BC Division
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Kelowna Rockets captain Rodney Southam battles Everett㽶Ƶֱs Connor Dewar in WHL action Wednesday night at Prospera Place. -Image credit: Warren Henderson/Capital News

A first-place finish in the B.C. WHL㽶Ƶֱs Division is still within reach for the Kelowna Rockets.

But after a loss on home ice on Wednesday night, they㽶Ƶֱll need some help to overtake the Prince George Cougars.

Carter Hart stopped 26 shots to lead the Everett Silvertips at Prospera Place, ending the Rockets㽶Ƶֱ seven-game winning streak.

After building up a 3-1 lead through 40 minutes, Everett shut the Rockets down in the third period, allowing just five shots on Hart.

㽶ƵֱI don㽶Ƶֱt think we played a good enough game to win,㽶Ƶֱ said Rockets head coach Jason Smith. 㽶ƵֱWe were in the game but we were struggling to get anything going because we weren㽶Ƶֱt executing well enough.㽶Ƶֱ

㽶ƵֱWhen you㽶Ƶֱre chasing the game against them and get behind, it㽶Ƶֱs a tough team to play against,㽶Ƶֱ Smith added. 㽶ƵֱThey play really well defensively, they block lots of shots, they make it hard for you to get the puck to the net.㽶Ƶֱ

㽶ƵֱTips defenceman Kevin Davis beat Michael Herringer with a shot from the point to open the scoring at 5:30 of the first period.

The Rockets answered just 11 seconds later when Dillon Dube converted a feed from Carsen Twarynski for his 20th of the season.

But Aaron Irving㽶Ƶֱs 18th goal of the season, another blast from the blueline, midway through the opening period put Everett ahead to stay.

A pair of goals by Dominic Zwerger, the second into an empty net at 18:54 of the third, rounded out the scoring.

㽶ƵֱYou can take this as a lesson and move forward,㽶Ƶֱ Jason Smith said of his team㽶Ƶֱs first loss since Feb. 25 to the Seattle Thunderbirds. 㽶ƵֱWe talked about it in the room after the game that we got away from a little bit of the detail, the structure and executing at the level that allows you to have success.㽶Ƶֱ

The Rockets (43-22-5-0) remain two points back (93-91) of the Cougars with two games to play. Kelowna will play a home-and-home against the Vancouver Giants to close out the regular season, while Prince George will do the same against Kamloops.

If the Rockets and Cougars finish tied for first, Kelowna would win the B.C. Division based on the season series between the teams.

Kelowna will host Vancouver Friday, then close out the regular season against the Giants Saturday in Langley.





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