Courier: Rockets win again
r By Doyle Potenteau – Kelowna Daily Courier
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r Don‘t look now, but the Kelowna Rockets are starting to roll.
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r At Vancouver, the Rockets recorded two power-play goals, including Shane McColgan‘s game-winning marker midway through the third period, as the Rockets edged the Giants 2-1 in WHL action on Friday night. The victory pushed Kelowna‘s winning streak to five, a far cry from its 0-2-1 start to the season.
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r Coincidentally, Kelowna‘s season started with a 6-5 home loss to Vancouver in overtime.
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r “(Friday) was a typical Kelowna-Vancouver game,” said Rockets head coach Ryan Huska, whose squad hosts the Prince George Cougars tonight. Game time at Prospera Place is 7 p.m.
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r “There weren‘t a lot of chances either way, but I thought our team did a good job of checking fairly hard, and our defence had their best night of the season,” continued Huska.
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r “But (Pacific Coliseum) is a hard place to play in, no matter what time of the season it is, and to win in here is a big thing.”
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r The Rockets also had a big third period, outshooting Vancouver 13-5 – an outcome that‘s usually reversed.
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r “This is a big win, no doubt about it,” said Huska. “We had a couple of power-play goals and we limited some of their chances. For us to have success, we have to play a certain way, and if we don‘t play that way, wins are going to be harder to come by.
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r “Our forwards have to use their speed all the time . . . we know some games aren‘t going to be pretty, but if the guys skate hard and outwork (the opposition), they‘ll win more games than not.”
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r Lucas Bloodoff, with his fourth goal of the season, at 17:55 of the first period, also scored for Kelowna (5-2-1-0). Ian Henry replied for the Giants (5-2-0-2) at 16:53 of the second.
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r Adam Brown made 19 saves for the Rockets, while Jamie Tucker turned aside 28 shots for the Giants, who are second in B.C. Division standings with 12 points. The Rockets are third with 11, while Kamloops (6-1-2-0) is first with 14. Prince George (2-6-0-0), which lost 6-1 in Kamloops on Friday, is last with four.
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