Photo credit: Russ Alman

By Regan Bartel

Wild not going down without a fight

Rockets head home to clinch in game six

Apr 6, 2024 | 12:00 PM

The Kelowna Rockets are facing a team with a championship pedigree.

While trading away some of their high-end talent to build for the future, the Wenatchee Wild still know how to win. A birth in the Western Hockey League final will do that for you. When pushed, the defending Eastern Conference champions won’t fold like a cheap tent.

“They played desperate,” Rockets Assistant Coach Josh MacNevin said after the game. “We have to pick ourselves up and get back at it in Kelowna on Sunday. I am sure the fans will be good and will give us that extra energy because that is what you need at this time of the year.”

In the most emotionally filled game of the series, it would take an unlikely source to play the role of hero. Power-forward Steven Arp’s innocent-looking wrist shot beat Rockets goaltender Jari Kykkanen to the blocker side just 54 seconds into overtime in the Wild’s 5-4 win.

The Rockets lead the series three games to two, with game six at Prospera Place tomorrow afternoon (2 pm).

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“I don’t think we were at our best,” MacNevin admitted after his team struggled mightily over the game before rallying to tie it with three-third period power play goals, including Tij Iginla’s tying marker with 47 seconds left in regulation time. “There backs were against the wall. They came to play. There are definitely some things we didn’t do well, but we need to get back to our game.

“We’ve done it all year,” he added. “We’ve been through this [adversity], so clear the mechanism and away we go and get back at it.”

While the power play exploded in the third period and manufactured all four goals in the game for the visitors, it also struggled at times despite having 11 chances to essentially put the Wild away.

“We started executing,” MacNevin said about the team finally clicking with the extra-man when it was needed with goaltender Jari Kykkanen at the bench for the extra attacker. “We were one and done with it early. We were taking early shots and bad shots, and they were getting blocked, or we weren’t getting on the rebounds.”

Captain Gabriel Szturc scored twice with the extra man late in the game when Wild forward Evan Friesen took an ill-advised high sticking double-minor with 3:21 left on the clock. Szturc, who was held pointless in an opening-round playoff series a season ago against Seattle, has a point in all five games (4+3=7) against Wenatchee.

“We needed to set up and make some plays and get into our structure.” MacNevin added. “We were too focused on pushing the envelope. We just have to sit back and relax. Let the game come to us. As the game went along, we got better.”

Unfortunately, after tying the score and forcing overtime, the ice sheet needed to be cleaned. Had more time been on the clock, and with Wenatchee clearly back on their heels, had the period been allowed to continue, the Rockets would have likely scored again.

“We had a bit of momentum there. We almost scored again after the power plays. We were feeling good…it was over quick so we couldn’t really determine where we were as a team.”

With game six on the docket, the Rockets will likely have to play without forward Luke Schelter, who received a game misconduct in the first period when he delivered a blindsided hit to Wild snipper Kenta Isogai. The 19 year-old from Japan, left the game and didn’t return after scoring a shorthanded goal. Isogai has four goals in the series and may be doubtful for the rematch.

“Luke Schelter is not that type of player,” MacNevin added about what could be construed as a cheap hit. “He wasn’t targeting the player. They [Wild] are going to defend their teammate, but they are targeting certain [Rockets] players, and that’s what I didn’t like about it. Emotions were high.”

With a chance to eliminate Wenatchee for a second time, the two teams face off against one another tomorrow afternoon (104.7 The Lizard pre-game show starts at 1:35 pm) in the sixth head-to-head meeting in the last 10 days.

“It is a seven-game series. First one to four,” MacNevin pointed out.

“We’ve done a great job at home. We need that fan support cheering us on and giving us that extra energy. The fans here [in Wenatchee] gave their team a little bit of juice, and we need that back home.”