Photo credit: Steve Dunsmoor

By Regan Bartel

All hands on deck in home ice win

Rockets thumb Chiefs

Nov 16, 2025 | 6:00 AM

The Kelowna Rockets spent much of last season on the wrong end of lopsided scores. Not this season. Not on this night. A 7-1 romp over the Spokane Chiefs at Prospera Place snapped a five-game winless skid on home ice and gave the crowd something they hadn’t seen in a long time, a true runaway.

The Rockets delivered a performance that, in the words of associate coach Don Hay, showed “a real good team effort” from top to bottom.

“We were disappointed in not playing better Friday night,” Hay said on the postgame show. “We were able to get the point, but we should have been better earlier and more consistent. I thought the guys responded really well. Derrick [Martin] did a good job getting the guys prepared to play tonight. It seemed like everybody was able to contribute.”

The Rockets dominated the second period with five goals, turning a solid start into a full-on avalanche. Hay pointed to puck management as a key factor.

“The forwards did a good job managing the puck. The D did a good job getting it to the forwards, and the forwards got it deep,” he said. “We outshot them 15–8 in the second. We just wore them down. We played more in their zone than they played in ours, and that’s important when you play three games in three nights.”

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Kelowna scored in every possible fashion – on the rush, off the forecheck, and twice on the power play. The first power-play goal was one Hay highlighted as being badly needed by a group still trying to find consistency.

He also pointed to the late-second-period strike by Daniel Pekar as a standout.

“That was a beautiful play by Jacob Henderson. A real heads-up play, and Pekar really wired that shot. It was nice to see guys get rewarded.”

Even the 7-0 cushion couldn’t completely satisfy the coaching staff, as one goal against prevented a shutout for Harrison Boettiger.

“The only thing that’s disappointing is we gave up one,” Hay said. “It would have been nice to get the shutout for the young Boettiger. But he played really well. He was there when we needed him.”

Despite the blowout, Hay praised his club for staying sharp in the third period.

“It’s easy to get a little bit lazy and stop your backchecking or start cheating out of your zone, but I thought the guys did a real good job being disciplined and doing the right things,” he said. “One of the main focus points before the game was: let’s do the right thing, let’s play the right way.”

Owen Folstrom’s goal, created off a turnover he forced on the forecheck – earned special mention.

“He did a great job,” Hay said. “He created the turnover and took it right to the net. When you start scoring goals, it’s contagious. Everybody gets hungry.”

Several players benefitted from that hunger. Tij Iginla’s feed to Hiroki Gojsic on a two-on-one was singled out as an example of the team’s growing confidence.

“That was just a great pass and a great shot,” Hay noted. “Hiroki scored two really nice goals.”

The Rockets peppered Spokane with 45 shots, numbers that reflect a shift from previous seasons.

“Last year there was a lack of puck possession, but the numbers were quite low,” Hay said. “There’s never a bad thing to take a shot.”

The challenge now is duplicating the effort. The Rockets board the bus and head straight to Everett for a Sunday matchup against a Silvertips team that thrives on volume shooting.

“You’ve got to play a real disciplined game,” Hay said. “They come at you with a lot of work ethic. They shoot the puck a lot and try to intimidate you by making you play in your zone. We want to establish ourselves in their building, then bring it back to Kelowna.”

And if he could photocopy tonight’s performance?

“I wish we could do that,” Hay said with a laugh.

For one night, at least, the Rockets established themselves to themselves, a phrase Hay used that perfectly captures a club trying to carve out a new identity.

And on home ice, in front of another strong weekend crowd, they took a big step toward proving it’s possible.