Third period collapse in Wenatchee

The Rockets carried a 2-1 lead into the third period on goals from Ryan Oothaudt and Ty Halaburda, had limited Wenatchee to just 10 shots through two periods, and had done almost everything you would expect from a team trying to climb the Western Conference standings in the final stretch of the season.

Then, in a stunning 20-minute swing, it all disappeared.

Wenatchee exploded for five third-period goals, flipping the game on its head and snapping the Rockets’ season-high six-game winning streak.

Assistant coach Brandon McMillan tried to put into words how a controlled road game turned into chaos.

“You know, it kind of felt a little bit eerie,” McMillan told RocketFAN afterwards. “It was a tight game going into the third period… I thought we started the third period pretty well. We had a couple of really good shifts and had opportunities to score. And then they got one on the board… they seemed to get a couple pretty quick and gain some momentum.”

Wenatchee tied the game early in the third, and from that point forward, the Wild’s belief grew with every shift. What had been a patient, defensive contest turned into a track meet, and it was the home side that thrived in the open ice.

“They got one on the board, and then they got a couple pretty quick,” McMillan said. “And then we started trying to do too much… to try and chase it down. That’s where we ended up giving up a few more.”

For Kelowna, the breakdown wasn’t about structure for 60 minutes. It was about a handful of moments and a handful of decisions that snowballed.

“We just didn’t defend in front of our net very well,” McMillan explained. “And then we got a few odd-man rushes against us where we’re trying to do too much in the offensive zone. Those kill you in tight hockey games. We have to manage the puck better.”

When asked which goal truly broke the game open, McMillan pointed not to the tying goal, and not even to the go-ahead marker, but to the fifth goal of the period.

“Even when it was 4–2, we felt like we had enough firepower to get another two,” he said. “It was that fifth one. We turned the puck over, they came down on an odd-man rush and scored.”

Compounding the frustration was the context.

Earlier in the night, Kelowna learned that the Prince George Cougars had dropped their game, opening the door for the Rockets to leapfrog into third place in the Western Conference.

Instead of capitalizing, the Rockets watched a prime opportunity slip away.

“Going into the third, huge opportunity for our group,” McMillan said. “To take a step forward and leapfrog them in the standings. Hopefully this is another learning lesson for us — how to play third periods, especially when we’re thin in an away barn.”

Despite the five-goal outburst, McMillan was careful not to frame the loss as a question of effort.

“They’re a hardworking hockey team, that’s their MO,” he said of Wenatchee. “I don’t think they outworked us tonight. I think they outworked us in a few key areas, where they scored key goals.”

Once Wenatchee tied the game at 2-2, the energy in the building surged. The Wild’s confidence grew.

For a Rockets team that had been riding a strong stretch through February and building momentum toward the playoffs, the loss was jarring, but not, in McMillan’s view, defining.

“I don’t think it diminishes what we did this month,” he said. “It’s getting to that point in the season where you’ve got to move on to the next day. Every game is a playoff game.”

Kelowna now turns its attention to a critical mid-week matchup against the Spokane Chiefs, a club McMillan believes could very well be a first-round playoff opponent.

“We need to be ready for them and really show them our best game,” he said.

Saturday night in Wenatchee was a reminder that good teams can still be undone, not by being outplayed for 60 minutes, but by losing the plot for just a few.

by Regan Bartel

Third period collapse in Wenatchee

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