Chances were there. Goals weren’t

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But the checklist was long.

Rockets await start of Memorial Cup

Chances were there. Goals weren't

3h ago

Enough talk. Time for action

As they say in Everett, 'Let's play hockey!

Apr 10, 2026

Rockets face road test in games 3 and 4

Goaltending, discipline and depth driving 2-0 series lead over Blazers

Mar 30, 2026

Get great goaltending. Limit time and space. Score on a team that basically treated goals against like they were optional. Only the Prince Albert Raiders allowed fewer during the regular season than the Tips.

And the power play?

It had to be good.

Not average. Not “we’ll get one eventually.” Good.

It wasn’t.

It showed signs of life, eventually, but by then Games 1, 2 and 3 were already in the rearview mirror, and not in a good way.

Game 1, a 4-1 loss, actually told you something important. The Rockets had a chance. But their best players couldn’t find the back of the net. Tij Iginla and Vojtech Cihar, who had a field day against Kamloops, suddenly ran into a problem named Anders Miller.

And Miller didn’t go anywhere.

First star in three of the five games. A 1.82 goals-against average. A .947 save percentage. Basically, every time the Rockets thought they had something, Miller politely said, “No.”

With Iginla and Cihar getting matched up against Everett’s best, Carter Bear, Julius Miettinen and Matias Vanhanen, they spent more time without the puck than with it. That’s not ideal when your job description is “create offence.”

Meanwhile, Everett’s top guys were doing exactly that.

Miettinen scored in all four of the first games. At some point, it stopped being surprising and started feeling inevitable.

Game 2? Same story.

A 4-2 loss, but again, not one-sided. The Rockets outshot Everett, carried stretches, and probably deserved a better fate. But hockey doesn’t grade on effort; it grades on goals.

And Everett had more of those.

Game 3 back at Prospera Place might have been Kelowna’s best game to that point.

They lost 4–1.

At that stage, Iginla and Cihar still didn’t have a point. And when your top guys are quiet, it’s tough to win, especially against a team that doesn’t give you much to begin with.

Another stat kind of says it all: the Rockets never led for a single second in the series. Not one. Everett scored first in all five games.

So every night started the same way, “okay boys, let’s try and come back.”

Game 4 finally gave them something.

Down 3–0 after 40 minutes, in what was arguably their worst stretch of the series, the Rockets pushed back. Three straight goals tied it, and then Iginla scored the overtime winner.

That game also brought a change in goal.

Harrison Boettiger started, but Josh Banini came in and shut the door. And just like that, the Rockets had life, and maybe more importantly, belief.

Game 5?

Banini made his first start of the playoffs, and the just-turned-20-year-old was outstanding – 53 saves. The kind of performance that gives you a chance to steal a game.

And with 1:13 left, Shane Smith tied it.

Overtime.

One goal from heading back to Kelowna.

Which is usually where the hockey gods step in and say, “let’s see how this goes.”

Thirty-nine seconds later, they had their answer.

Landon Dupont put a point shot on net. It deflected off Keith McInnis and in.

Game over.

And honestly, kind of fitting.

Because that’s how this series worked. The Rockets would do a lot right… and then one thing would go wrong. And against Everett, one thing was enough.

Special teams didn’t help. The power play went 1-for-19 on the road in the playoffs (5.3%), and 3-for-26 overall in the series. It also gave up a shorthanded goal in Game 5, with Carter Bear scoring.

Which, if you’re keeping track, is not ideal.

Injuries didn’t help either.

Losing Ty Halaburda in Game 2 hurt. He brings energy and presence, and the Rockets missed it. The early-season loss of d-man Peyton Kettles didn’t help either.

That said, Everett had their own issues, missing Tarin Smith.

So no excuses, just reality.

In the end, there’s no shame in losing to a team that won 57 games.

The Rockets proved they could compete. Game 4 showed that. Game 5 reinforced it.

But they also showed how thin the margin is.

Close doesn’t count.

And in this series, close was the story.