No shortage of offense

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For assistant coach Brandon McMillan, the result was encouraging, particularly after the team’s sluggish opening.

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“It’s definitely a sleepy start,” McMillan said. “We didn’t have a lot of energy. It was one of those weird games. We just felt like we were off.”

Trailing 2-0, the Rockets needed something to spark their offence. A power-play goal provided exactly that, helping Kelowna settle into its game and begin building momentum.

“We were able to get our game going after that power-play goal and then start to stack on some shifts and make some good plays,” McMillan said. “We finished the period off well.”

One of the night’s biggest positives was seeing Braunhausen rewarded for his persistence around the net.

The Rockets forward had been generating opportunities without seeing many of them find the back of the net. Tuesday, he made the most of his chances, scoring twice.

“He’s an unbelievable hockey player, plays the game right, and he’s been getting his chances, which is always a good thing,” McMillan said. “He’s had opportunities and looks, and that’s all you can do. Just keep getting those looks and those opportunities, and eventually it’s going to come through.”

The assistant coach believes Braunhausen’s willingness to shoot, create offence and play the game the right way will eventually pay dividends.

“Whether he’s scoring or he’s passing, he’s a great player and it’s nice to see him finally get rewarded.”

The power play was another major contributor. Kelowna finished four-for-six with the man advantage, doing much of its damage through a straightforward approach.

Rather than looking for the perfect passing play, the Rockets generated traffic, fired pucks toward the net and went to work on rebounds.

“Our power play was unbelievable, four-for-six,” McMillan said. “Nothing was crazy fancy. It was just guys shooting pucks from up top and traffic around the net, fighting loose rebounds.”

He pointed to goals created by Henderson and other players shooting from the point, with teammates positioned to capitalize on second opportunities.

“It’s not always going to be these crazy, beautiful pass-sea-pass-through-a-stick, through-a-skate, backdoor plays,” McMillan said. “It’s shoot a puck, you’ve got an extra guy. Get people around the net and try and bang those rebounds.”

The offensive outburst was impressive, but the five goals surrendered on the other side of the scoreboard left the coaching staff with some things to address.

Even when Kelowna built an 8-4 advantage, Moose Jaw responded with another goal, serving as a reminder that no lead is entirely comfortable.

“You think when you go up 8-4, you can kind of relax, but there’s still half the game left,” McMillan said. “There’s no lead safe in hockey.”

While McMillan was pleased with the offensive production, he wasn’t prepared to overlook the defensive shortcomings.

“When you win or lose, there’s always things you can correct,” he said. “You’re always happy you’re scoring goals, but you don’t want to score goals at the sacrifice of allowing goals.”

The Rockets are trying to build a team capable of playing a tighter defensive game when the stakes become higher.

“We’re trying to build a team that’s going to be really good in the playoffs and play that tight-knit defence,” McMillan said. “You don’t like giving up five goals.”

The victory also allowed Kelowna to collect both points in regulation, something McMillan was happy to see.

“It’s great to win the two points and get it done in regulation time.”