Rockets survive Seattle scare

“We’d be fooling ourselves if we said we played our best game tonight,” Hay said.

Still, the Rockets found a way to generate enough offense and survive extended stretches of pressure.

Tij Iginla, Mazden Leslie and Carson Wetsch each finished with a goal and an assist.

Kelowna jumped out to a 2-1 lead after the opening period and carried that same score into the second intermission, even as the Thunderbirds began to tilt the ice.

“We got off to a really good start,” Hay said. “I thought we deserved to be up 2-1. For most of that first period, I thought we were controlling the game.”

That early control disappeared in the middle frame.

“In the second period, we took four penalties,” Hay said about his team being out-shot 11-4. “How can you create any offense when you’re killing that many penalties?”

Kelowna went a perfect five-for-five on the penalty kill, but Hay was far from satisfied with how the group handled those moments.

“I didn’t like some of our clears,” he said. “We really struggled at times to clear the puck when it was right on our stick. There was no need to struggle like that.”

The Rockets were forced to defend for long stretches and had difficulty establishing any rhythm at even strength.

“Mentally, we weren’t as sharp as we should have been,” Hay said. “Maybe the legs weren’t going either. We just weren’t as good as we needed to be.”

Despite the pressure, Kelowna escaped the second period still clinging to its 2-1 lead.

The turning point came early in the third period.

Iginla fired a shot that found its way off the end glass, striking the T-Birds goalie and making it 3-1.

“I think that goal gave us confidence,” Hay said. “It almost took some weight off our shoulders. Sometimes you get a little bit of luck, and that one helped us.”

The goal was Iginla’s team leading 36th of the season, and extended his home-ice point streak to 11 games.

From there, the Rockets played with more composure and managed the game more effectively. An empty net goal in the final minute sealed the 4-1 final.

“I love those empty net goals,” Hay said. “Especially when you can put it right down the middle of the ice.”

Even with that success, Hay said the group remains focused on the bigger picture.

“Where you finish is really important,” he said. “Home ice advantage is a big plus for our organization and for our team.”

Seattle arrived in Kelowna fighting to stay in the playoff race, and Hay said that desperation makes teams outside the playoff picture extremely difficult to handle.

“They’re fighting for their lives,” he said. “They’ve got good players and a lot of pride in their group. You can’t expect any game to be easy.”

One of the quieter storylines of the night belonged to defenceman Rowan Guest, who finished the game a plus four while logging tough minutes against Seattle’s top players.

“I really like him,” Hay said. “He’s settled into a role and an identity on our team. He’s a big, physical defenceman, he competes hard, and he has really good hockey sense. He can play against the top players in the league and defend really well.”

As the Rockets continue to climb, Hay also stressed the importance of guarding against comfort.

“Winning is hard, and it’s easy to get satisfied,” he said. “You can’t just expect to go out there and beat every team. It’s gonna be hard.

“So when you get into this situation in the playoffs, you might come out in the first playoff game, and you don’t play well, and then you’ve got to respond, and I think it’s games like this that make you aware of how you have to respond.”

by Regan Bartel

Rockets survive Seattle scare

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