By Regan Bartel

17 goals allowed in last three games

Slow start in loss to Warriors

Dec 17, 2025 | 6:00 AM

The Kelowna Rockets couldn’t climb out of an early hole Tuesday night in Moose Jaw, falling 6-2 to the Warriors in the fourth game of an Eastern Division road swing.

Kelowna trailed 2-0 after the opening period and never fully recovered, despite pushing hard offensively and finishing the night with 42 shots on goal. The loss drops the Rockets to 2-2-0-0 on the trip heading into Wednesday night’s matchup in Saskatoon.

Associate head coach Don Hay said the tone of the game was set early.

“Overall, it was sloppy,” Hay said. “I thought the first period lacked energy. We had two big fights that should energize your bench, but it didn’t translate into how we played.”

The Warriors took advantage of defensive breakdowns, particularly around the net and in transition. Hay pointed to Kelowna’s inability to protect the middle of the ice and track back with urgency.

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“They’re a team that leaves the zone quickly,” he said. “If you turn pucks over, they’re gone, and their transition game is very good. On their third goal, our backchecking was slow, and their defense beat our forwards up the ice as a late man.”

Kelowna showed signs of life in the second period, outshooting Moose Jaw and cutting into the deficit, but a key goal against stalled that momentum.

“I thought we played a pretty good second period,” Hay said. “But that third goal hurt us. From there, our urgency to play defense just wasn’t good enough. It has to be better.”

Even with the heavy shot total, the Rockets struggled to generate quality second chances.

“We got 42 shots, but we didn’t do enough around the net,” Hay said. “We need more second opportunities and more bodies in front. Both penalty kills were good, and even on our power play we generated shots, but we didn’t find a way to score.”

As the Rockets pushed late, the game opened up, leading to Moose Jaw’s final goals.

“When you start chasing, you start pinching and taking chances,” Hay said. “At 4-2, you’re thinking maybe you have a chance. At 5-2 and 6-2, it’s out of reach.”

Offensively, Kelowna got goals from depth players, including a strong finish by the fourth line. Hay said consistency across the lineup was missing.

“I don’t know who our top players were tonight,” he said. “Levi Benson played a solid game. Owen Folstrom had moments, and Kalder Varga scored a really nice goal off a good pass up the ice. But it just wasn’t enough. We didn’t have enough players doing enough good things.”

Hay added there were no excuses after time off.

“We were well rested,” he said. “There’s no reason for our details to slip like that. We just have to be better.”

Defensive coverage remained the biggest concern, especially on goals scored from right around the crease.

“On a couple of those goals, nobody was at the net,” Hay said. “Josh Banini didn’t have a chance. When you give up chances like that, you’re not going to win many games, home or away.”

With a winter storm approaching, the Rockets quickly turned their focus to the next challenge.

“We’ve got to get to Saskatoon, get our rest and get our meals in us,” Hay said. “Right now we’re 2–2 on the trip, and we want to be better than that going home. Saskatoon plays a tighter game, so we’ll have to work for everything we get.”

The Rockets face the Blades Wednesday night before ending the trip Friday in Prince Albert.