Photo credit: Steve Dunsmoor

By Regan Bartel

A point earned the hard way

Goalies steal the night as Rockets fall in shootout

Jan 3, 2026 | 6:00 AM

Some nights, the game doesn’t deserve a loser.

This was one of them.

The Kelowna Rockets and Kamloops Blazers traded chances, saves and momentum for more than 65 minutes Friday night before the Blazers finally pulled out a 3-2 shootout win. It took a skills competition to decide it, after both teams threw everything they had at two goaltenders who wouldn’t blink.

By the end of it, the clock read 83 shots combined.

Josh Banini was a big reason why the Rockets earned a point. The Kelowna netminder stopped 38 of 40 shots through regulation and overtime, calm and square as traffic crashed around him. At the other end, Logan Edmonstone was just as sharp, turning aside 41 Rockets shots to give Kamloops the extra point.

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“I thought that was one of those games that could have gone either way,” said Rockets assistant coach Brandon McMillan. “The guys fought hard tonight. We had our chances. Banini played really well in our net, and when it goes to a shootout, it can swing either way.”

Kelowna came into the night one point back of the Blazers. They leave two back. One bounce, one shot, one shootout move, that’s the difference.

The Rockets didn’t wait long in this one.

Fifty seconds in. That’s all it took for Hayden Paupanekis to open the scoring. He jumped on a chance early and buried it for his 12th of the season, setting the tone for a game that never really settled down.

Kamloops answered later in the first, and the teams headed to the room tied 1-1, already showing signs this one was going to be a track meet.

The second period felt the same. Push. Push back. No space. No breathing room.

Hiroki Gojsic tied the game in the second period with his 12th of the season, with neither team able to score in the third period or the thrilling overtime where both teams had great chances to win it.

The Rockets went 0-for-4 on the power play, including a big chance in the third period that could have ended it.

“We had a good opportunity in the third period on the power play to close it out,” McMillan said. “We weren’t successful, but I thought we executed pretty well and had some good chances.”

Kamloops finished 1-for-3 with the man advantage, and that single power-play goal ended up mattering.

“We had looks and just didn’t capitalize,” McMillan said. “We could do a better job getting more eyes in front of the goalie and making him work a little harder.”

One thing the Rockets did clean up was discipline. After a messy night earlier in the week, they stayed out of the box and stayed in the game.

“We were definitely better,” McMillan said. “You don’t want to be in the box that much. It kills momentum and makes it hard to get everyone involved. Tonight, we did a good job playing hard in between the whistles.”

Banini was especially sharp against Kamloops’ top players, including WHL scoring leader JP Hurlbert, who was held off the scoresheet.

“He’s a shooter,” McMillan said. “He’s around the puck, and whenever he has it, he’s an opportunistic player. You saw him get behind our defense a few times.”

The shootout finally ended it, with Kamloops finding the net twice and taking the extra point. Shane Smith was the only scorer for the home team in the skills competition.

In regulation though, Paupanekis continued to look dangerous every time he touched the puck.

“He’s skating with the puck well, seeing the ice well, making plays,” McMillan said. “He’s around the puck a lot. It’s tenacity, speed, size — all of it.”

There were positives elsewhere too. Newly acquired defenceman Keith McInnis made his Rockets debut after a long travel day and didn’t look out of place.

“I thought he was very good for us,” McMillan said. “He didn’t have a normal game-day routine, but he was steady. He had a good stick, closed things off defensively, and made some good plays offensively.”

The good news? There’s no time to sit on this one.

The Rockets and Blazers are right back at it Saturday.

“If we clean a few things up through the neutral zone and move the puck quicker, we’ll have a better chance,” McMillan said.