Henderson leads Rockets’ comeback, but Portland wins in shootout

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The Rockets outscored their opponents 20-14 during the homestand, finishing with a 2-0-1-2 record.

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Assistant coach Brandon McMillan acknowledged that Wednesday’s performance fell short of the standard the team has established for itself, despite the late push to salvage a point.

“It wasn’t our best game,” McMillan said. “We came out and didn’t have energy. We weren’t playing our style of game, and it took us a while to get going.”

Kelowna found its footing in the third period, with Henderson bringing the Rockets even and forcing overtime. The late response was encouraging, but McMillan believed the team had made things unnecessarily difficult for itself.

“If you watch the whole game overall, we definitely got away from the way we want to play,” he said. “We didn’t have enough guys going tonight. Obviously, ‘Hendo’ [Jacob Henderson] had a really good game, but we just didn’t have enough of the troops going.”

The d-man has benefited from increased ice time and an opportunity to contribute on Kelowna’s top power-play unit. McMillan said the difference has been noticeable well beyond the scoresheet.

“He’s coming in with a fresh start, and he sees where everything is,” McMillan said. “He’s getting a bit more ice time and a few more opportunities, and he’s really taken it by the reins.”

McMillan also pointed to Henderson’s preparation away from the rink, describing a player who has grown more confident and mature while embracing the responsibilities that come with a bigger role.

“He’s doing all the things away from the ice to prepare himself,” McMillan said. “He’s come in with that new swagger and confidence, and it’s really showing. The maturity from him has been awesome. He’s taken a lot of steps for our group, and it’s great to see.”

That progress has required patience.

As a 17-year-old defenceman on Kelowna’s Memorial Cup host team last season, Henderson was not necessarily going to receive the same minutes as older players on a club with championship aspirations. McMillan said the opportunity to play more regularly this season has allowed him to demonstrate what he can do.

“He’s watching a lot of video with us, doing the extra things in practice and obviously taking care of himself,” McMillan said. “Because he’s playing more minutes, he has to. He has that confidence in his game right now, and you can see it on the ice with the poise he has with the puck and the plays he’s making.”

The Rockets had opportunities to put Portland away, particularly with the man advantage. Henderson’s opening-period power-play goal provided an early boost, but Kelowna couldn’t convert when it mattered most, including during its four-on-three opportunity in overtime.

McMillan felt the Rockets sometimes passed up opportunities to put pressure on the opposing penalty killers.

“To make a penalty kill uncomfortable, you’ve got to shoot the puck,” he said. “I felt like sometimes we were just holding on to it a little bit too much.”

The missed opportunity left the Rockets to settle for another extra-time decision, extending a trend that has become a defining feature of their opening 10 games.

There was, however, an encouraging performance in goal. Linden Sobocan made his first start of the season. McMillan said the young netminder delivered when Kelowna needed him, particularly during overtime.

“He kept us in it,” McMillan said. “He made some big saves in key moments, and that’s all you can ask from your goaltender. He made some big saves in overtime as well, on a few breakaways. I’m really proud of him.”

Despite the shootout loss, the Rockets can take some positives from a homestand that kept them collecting points even when they weren’t always at their best.

McMillan said the ability to find late goals and claw back into games speaks to the group’s determination, something that should serve the team well as its schedule shifts toward more time away from home.

“We’ve scored late in the third a few times now in the last few games,” he said. “It shows the resilience of our group. We’re still hungry, trying to score and come back in games, and we’re not quitting. It’s a good sign from our group.”

The Rockets now prepare for a road test against Victoria on Friday, beginning a stretch in which they will play 10 of their next 15 games away from home.