Photo credit: Kyle Smutzki

By Regan Bartel

Playing to level of competition

Rockets prove a point in road win in Portland

Feb 1, 2024 | 8:00 AM

It was the next biggest win of the season for the Kelowna Rockets.

After laying an egg, not once but twice last week against the last-place Kamloops Blazers, it was a chance to redeem themselves, all be it against the top team in the Western Conference.

Riding solid goaltending from Jari Kykkanen, timely scoring, and exceedingly good discipline, the Rockets earned a 4-3 win over the Portland Winterhawks Wednesday night at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

“That was huge,” assistant coach Josh MacNevin said about earning the two points. “Their record shows how good of a hockey club they have over there. They don’t quit. They just keep coming. They are structured. They love the run and gun.”

Outside of an early partial breakaway from 20-year-old Winterhawks forward James Stefan just 17 seconds into the opening face-off, the Rockets’ defensive core played a solid 60 minutes.

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“We maybe opened it up a bit too much there at times, but we stifled their run and gun style,” MacNevin added. “We worked hard. We won one-on-one battles. It was great to see.”

Instead of Andrew Cristall, Gabriel Szturc, and Tij Iginla, the team’s top three-point producers leading the charge, it was secondary scoring that paved the way to the upset victory.

“You need that,” MacNevin confessed. “It is something you need down the stretch. Your point guys are not always going to be able to do what they do. Especially against these top teams. We are in Portland, so they are matching lines. They have their [defensive] pairing on who they want, and it makes it tougher on them, so you need that secondary scoring to come up big.”

Kayden Longley, Ethan Mittelsteadt, Horoki Gosjic, and Luke Schelter found the back of the net, snapping the Winterhawks six-game home-ice winning streak. Schelter’s goal, his 8th of the season, came against his old team.

“He is such a good kid,” MacNevin speaking glowingly about Schelter, who they traded for in December. “He works hard and you know what you are getting from him every time. It is nice to see him rewarded by getting into those hard areas. Net-front is a tough spot to be, yet he gravitates towards it, takes his licks and was rewarded with it tonight.”

Two of the team’s four goals were scored on odd-man rushes, with Ethan Mittelsteadt using leading scorer Andrew Cristall as a decoy before firing the puck home for his third of the season before Ethan Neuten’s well-timed shot hit the pads of the goaltender before the rebound was slammed home by Kayden Longley.

“Part of the schtick with their [Winterhawks] run and gun style, they have four guys in the play all the time, and it can generate offense,” MacNevin added. “If you transition quick enough, stick to structure, play together, make 10-foot passes…you don’t need any home run passes.”

Both teams were in odd territory heading into the third period. The Rockets were playing with the lead on the road for only the sixth time this season, while the Winterhawks were trailing on home ice for only the fifth time.

“I don’t think there was a bit of doubt,” MacNevin commented when asked by RocketFAN how his team felt with a slim 4-3 advantage after two periods. “Playing in the games we have played in, and having to come back in the third period as much as we have, I think guys are really comfortable in the third period no matter where we are at.”

Involved in their 25th-one-goal game of the season, the Rockets rode the solid play of goaltender Jari Kykkanen in their 22nd victory of the season.

“We as coaches prepare the same way no matter who we face,” MacNevin explaining why his team appears to play harder and smarter against teams higher in the standings. “I think some of the players maybe think, you don’t want to be the goat. If you do things you shouldn’t be doing on the ice, and doing the little things right, the finger is going to be pointed at you.”

Despite a 20-point difference in the standings before the puck dropped, the road team proved to themselves that when push comes to shove, they can play with the big boys.

“A win like this reinforces what we are saying to them all the time,” MacNevin concluded.

“Keep it simple. We are a really good team, and its nice when it works out.”