The Kelowna Rockets needed that one.
The players did.
So did the coaching staff.
The fans deserved it too.
A good old-fashioned, hard-nosed 5-1 home ice win Saturday night over the visiting Vancouver Giants.
It was only the team’s third win in 16 games.
“We needed that,” no more true words spoken by Assistant Coach Josh MacNevin after the game. “Credit to the guys for sticking with it. Jari (Kykkanen) was very good in the net. He was really calming, controlling the play when it got shaky there.”
Kykkanen was making his first home start since a 4-3 loss to the Moose Jaw Warriors back on November 26th.
“The guys wanted it”, MacNevin added when discussing his teams’ physical play. “It is part of our game plan. We need to finish checks. We need to wear down other teams and our guys really took it to heart.”
The hit parade was led by 19-year-old forward Turner McMillen, which translated into more courage shown by d-man Elias Carmichael and forward Marcus Pacheco, who opened the scoring, to name two who got their noses dirty.
“It was nice to see a little jam”, MacNevin said accurately with the emotion and pack mentality his team displayed against an opponent they’ve met four times in the last five games.
While smiles returned to the faces of the players after a hard-fought home ice win, it was well deserved after out-shooting the Giants 12-5 in the crucial third period after flatlining the night prior in a 3-1 loss at the Langley Events Centre.
Carson Golder scored three goals in the third, while line-mates Adam Kydd and Gabriel Szturc combined for 9 points to lead the way to the teams’ 15th win of the season.
“They generated. They spent time in the offensive zone”, MacNevin said. “All of those things just wear down teams. It is those things that build on top of one another and when we are in our offensive zone, they (Giants) are working hard and burning energy and we are grinding them down.”
In a game filled with pure, raw emotion, the night ended with Rockets rookie d-man Ismail Abougouche winning a scrap with Vancouver forward Tyler Thorpe, who invited the 16-year-old to drop the gloves with 34 seconds left in the game.
For Thorpe, it proved to be a bad idea.
“That was one of the better ones [fights] I’ve ever seen”, MacNevin said honestly. “It was two big kids going at it.”
The win moved the Rockets within 9 points of the Giants for seventh place in the Western Conference and kept them tied with Victoria for the eighth and final playoff spot after the Royals surprised the Kamloops Blazers with a 3-2 home-ice win.
Statistically, the Rockets’ best players were indeed their best players, but MacNevin wasn’t about to discount the play of the three other lines.
“I thought it (the win) was by committee”, MacNevin said bluntly. “I can’t really single anyone out. I thought Gabriel Szturc worked the puck down low and created those offensive opportunities and Kydd was doing what he does, but we had all lines rolling and playing and contributing.”
The win was the team’s 7th on home ice this season, snapping a three-game losing streak at Prospera Place.
It is a far cry from the 25 victories at Prospera Place a season ago.
“There were some upset guys for sure [at the teams’ lack of home ice success]. Pre-game there weren’t many smiles going around.
“It was all business tonight.”
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Hustle and winning the battles for 60 minutes is what did it !! 🙂
Couldn’t agree more. One thing you can control is effort. The team brought it last night. Rise and repeat.