Calgary over Kelowna

r For two periods, the Kelowna Rockets hung with one of the WHL‘s best teams. But when it came to crunch time, the Calgary Hitmen separated themselves from their B.C. opponents.
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r At Calgary, Joel Broda scored in the first minute of the third period, breaking a 0-0 deadlock after 40 minutes, then Rigby Burgart made it 2-0 four minutes later, as the Hitmen edged the Rockets 2-1 on Saturday night.
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r The game was Kelowna‘s third in five days, as the Rockets closed out a three-game Alberta trip with a 1-2 record. On Friday, Kelowna beat Edmonton 4-0 to end a five-game losing skid.
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r “We had a good game, except we couldn‘t find find a way to score or finish,” said Rockets head coach Ryan Huska, whose team went 0-for-6 on the power play. “But it was a good effort.
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r “It‘s just too bad we didn‘t get the result we wanted.”
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r Broda‘s goal was his 33rd of the season, while forward Brandon Kozun picked up two assists for Calgary (45-17-1-2), which is tied for first in Eastern Conference standings with Saskatoon (43-15-3-4).
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r Brandon McMillan, with his 17th goal of the season, tallied at 14:22 of the third, replied for Kelowna (30-30-2-4). Despite the loss, the Rockets remain sixth in Western Conference standings with 66 points. The Kamloops Blazers (30-31-2-4) also have 66, but have played one more game.
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r On Saturday, the Blazers beat the Tigers 6-3 in Medicine Hat.
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r Adam Brown made 27 saves for the Rockets, who plan on resting today before resuming practice on Monday, while Martin Jones made 23 stops for the Hitmen.
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r This week, the Rockets have a busy schedule with another three-game set, though all three games will take place on home ice at Prospera Place. Kelowna plays host to Spokane (39-21-3-1) on Wednesday night, Seattle (17-35-7-5) on Friday evening, then the B.C. Division-leading Vancouver Giants (39-22-2-3) on Saturday night.

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