Preiew: Rockets force game five down in Kent on Friday
| Kelowna Rockets at Seattle Thunderbirds |
| Date | Time | Fri, Apr. 29, 2022 | 7:05 pm |
| Video Stream | WHL Live on CHL TV |
| Radio | AM 1150 |
| Live Stats | WHL Box Score |
| Live Updates | @Kelowna_Rockets Twitter |
Heading into Wednesday’s game four at Prospera Place, the Kelowna Rockets were down three games to none in their best of seven series with the Seattle Thunderbirds. Playing without Pavel Novak and Mark Liwiski, the Rockets were able to push back and claim a 3-2 overtime victory to keep their season alive.
The two will faceoff at 7:05 pm at the accesso ShoWare Center in Kent on Friday, the Rockets will need to win to keep their season going.
The Rockets power play was one-for-fourteen through the first games of the series, in game three Kelowna went zero-for-five with the man advantage.
Reid Schaefer tripped up Dylan Wightman, to give the Rockets the first power-play chance 15:03 into overtime in Wednesday night’s game. With the puck down low, Adam Kydd’s (2) shot found its way past Thomas Milic 22 seconds into the power play.
“We just gotta keep the momentum going, it’s a long series and we still got lots of hockey left,” said Kydd following the game on Wednesday.
“We’re going to have to dig deep again, obviously we’re missing Liwiski here and maybe Novak. We just have to stay resilient, everyone has to play a little bit harder, the same way and we should be successful.”
Mark Liwiski served the first game of his two-game suspension for a check to head major and game misconduct in game three.
“We will at least have some video to build off of, cause we didn’t have much prior to tonight,” said Rockets head coach Kris Mallette following game four when asked how to translate their win from game four onward.
“We’ll be able to show the guys what they’ve done right, how they did it, and the success that we had doing it. We’re going to be playing desperate hockey again, but it’s far from over.”
| Seattle Thunderbirds
(3-0-1) Power Play: 10/22 – 45.5% Penalty Kill: 16/19 – 84.2% Last Ten: 3-0-1 Streak: 3-0-1 GF: 20 GA: 7 PIM: 54 |
Kelowna Rockets
(1-3-0) Power Play: 3/19 – 15.8% Penalty Kill: 12/22 – 54.5% Last Ten: 1-3-0 Streak: 1-0-0 GF: 7 GA: 20 PIM: 61 |
stats through first four games
ROSTER UPDATES
Roster updates are not available in the playoffs.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
KELOWNA
- Rookie Andrew Cristall leads the team in playoff scoring with four points (4A) in as many games. He registered two assists in game four, including one on the overtime winner.
- Winger Adam Kydd has had plenty of chances throughout the series, he leads the team in playoff goals with two – with the biggest one coming in overtime in game four.
- After watching game three from the bench, New York Rangers prospect Talyn Boyko started game four for the Rockets. He made 36 saves on 38 shots through 75:55 of action, posting a 1.58 GAA and .947 SAV%.
SEATTLE
- Calgary Flames prospect Lucas Ciona posted a pair of goals against the Rockets in game four.
- Defenceman Kevin Korchinski has nine points (3G, 6A) against the Rockets in the playoff series thus far.
- Goaltender Thomas Milic has a record of 3-0-1 in the playoff series, along with a .912 SAV% and 2.44 GAA.
THE SERIES AT A GLANCE
Best of seven series (1-3-0)
| Apr. 22 | @ Seattle | 6-0 L |
| Apr. 23 | @ Seattle | 7-3 L |
| Apr. 26 | vs Seattle | 5-1 L |
| Apr. 27 | vs Seattle | 3-2 OTW |
| Apr. 29 | @ Seattle | 7:05 PM |
| May 1 | vs Seattle | If necessary |
| May 3 | @ Seattle | If necessary |
- GAME ONE: The T-Birds took game one 6-0. They dominated the majority of the opening game with aggressive play all night, holding the Rockets to just five shots in the opening period and six in the second frame. Seattle capitalized on the game’s first power play, netting the first goal of the series 1:37 into it. Starter Talyn Boyko made 17 saves on 22 shots through 33:45 of action before being relieved by Jari Kykkanen, Kykkanen stopped 11 of the 12 shots he faced through 26:17. Seattle outshot the Rockets 34-21
- GAME TWO: The T-Birds secured their second straight win over the Rockets with a 7-3 victory. The Rockets were down by a goal when Seattle scored with 34 seconds left in the second to make it 4-2, the T-Birds then pushed out of the gate with another 17 seconds into the third to give them a commanding 5-2 lead. Adam Kydd, Pavel Novak and Mark Liwiski were the goal scorers for the Rockets, Talyn Boyko stopped 33 of the 40 shots he faced.
- GAME THREE: Kelowna was unable to capitalize on their five power play opportunities through the first two periods of play. Jake Poole (1) beat Seattle starter Thomas Milic on a penalty shot after he tied up while he was interfered with while breakaway 18:22 into the first. Reid Schaefer (2) tied up things early in the second while on a power play. The two teams were tied at one heading into the final frame. Mark Liwiski was given five minutes and a game misconduct for checking to the head four minutes into the third period, Seattle’s Jeremy Hanzel was given two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct. In the dying seconds of four-on-four, Kevin Korchinski scored to give the Thunderbirds their first lead of the game. Seattle then scored back-to-back power play goals 17 seconds apart to take a 4-1 lead. The T-Birds added another later in the period to make it 5-1. The Thunderbirds outshot the Rockets 46-28. Jari Kykkanen made 41 saves on 46 shots
- GAME FOUR: Kelowna’s special teams were once again the story of the game. After going zero-for-five on the power play in game three, the Rockets were two-for-five with the man advantage – the overtime winner came with a Seattle Thunderbird sitting in the penalty box. The Kelowna penalty kill shut down all three Seattle attempts. Calgary Flames prospect Lucas Ciona (2, 3) scored with 19 seconds to go in the first and added another early in the second. Gabriel Szturc (1) capitalized on the power play and Noah Dorey (1) another just past the midway point of the middle frame. The two remained tied at two after sixty minutes of play, forcing sudden-death overtime. Reid Schaefer tripped up Dylan Wightman, to give the Rockets the first power-play chance 15:03 into extra time. With the puck down low, Adam Kydd’s (2) shot found its way past Thomas Milic 22 seconds into the power play.
JDS PROJECTED LINEUP
The Rockets will post the JDS Mining Projected Lineup complete with line combos at least half an hour prior to puck drop for all games this season. You will be able to find the graphic on our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram stories.
WATCH AND LISTEN
You can watch all Rockets games on WHL Live on CHL TV. More are details available by visiting watch.CHL.ca.
You can also listen to the game on AM1550.
