Rockets deliver statement win

And when the Cougars threatened to make things interesting, goaltender Harrison Boettiger was there to provide the answers.

The Rockets didn’t get off to the start they wanted. Prince George opened the scoring just 1:41 into the game.

But the response was impressive.

Assistant coach Brandon McMillan felt the Rockets gradually found their legs, established their pace and began taking control of the game.

“We didn’t come out with a lot of pace and energy, and sometimes that happens after a day off and a long bus ride,” McMillan said. “But I thought we responded pretty well. We started getting to our game and really started taking over. We found some pace and were able to exploit some of the things we wanted to exploit and capitalize on our opportunities.”

Lien helped turn the game around, and his second goal proved particularly important.

With a 2-1 lead entering the third period, the Rockets weren’t interested in getting too complicated. They wanted pucks deep, pressure on the Prince George defence and traffic around the net.

The approach paid off.

McMillan pointed to the sequence leading to Lien’s goal as a perfect example of the kind of hockey Kelowna wanted to play.

“We made a few adjustments, and in the third period it was just about keeping it simple. Get through the neutral zone, get the puck in, forecheck, get the puck behind their defencemen and go to work down low,” he explained.

“We weren’t trying to overcomplicate things or make extra passes, especially in the third period. I thought it was a really mature third period with a 2-1 lead going into it.”

The third goal gave Kelowna some breathing room, but McMillan said the players weren’t about to assume the job was finished.

“We always say in our room it’s a race to three. When you get that third goal, it gives you a little bit of a sense of calm, but at the end of the day, hockey’s hockey and teams can come back,” he said.

“We had a lot of guys still on the bench saying, ‘Hey, this isn’t over. We still have to play the right way and do the right things.'”

McMillan singled out rookie Drew Larioza for one of his better performances of the season, praising his skating, forechecking and ability to make plays.

“We had some conversations with some younger players today and said, ‘Hey, this is your opportunity. You’ve been here long enough. You know how we want you to play. Tonight’s the night where we need more from you guys,'” McMillan said.

“We got a lot from a lot of guys that we haven’t had a lot from this year because they haven’t had the minutes to play, and tonight they did. A lot of guys stepped up.”

But for McMillan, the most encouraging part of the night was the way the entire group came together.

“Our team game is miles and miles ahead of where we thought it was going to be,” he said. “Our whole group is buying into playing the right way, and that’s what’s special in hockey.”

“When you have a team playing a team game, it’s really hard to compete against when everyone’s playing the right way. The older players and even the younger players coming in are leading the charge, taking control on the bench and making sure everyone’s playing the right way as well. It makes it easier on us coaches.”

The victory also adds an interesting layer to the Rockets’ early-season numbers. Kelowna has now won six games through its opening 15, with just three losses coming in regulation. Only the Spokane Chiefs, with one regulation loss, have fewer regulation defeats than the Rockets.

The Rockets will look to make it a four-point weekend when the two teams meet Saturday night again in Prince George.

by Regan Bartel

Rockets deliver statement win

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