Deja Vu
r One night after scoring the game winning goal on a late, third period power play, Taylor Procsyshen did it again.
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r The 20-year-old Tri-City star lifted the puck over Mark Guggenberger at 17:17 of a disastrous final period for
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r After 40 minutes on Saturday, the Rockets’, albeit, tentatively, held a 2-0 lead as they looked to even the series. Jamie Benn, on a power play at 5:38 of the first, and Cody Almond, at 16:32 of the second, accounted for the goals.
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r But, Brooks Macek brought the Americans to within a goal at 5:43 of the third before Tyler Schmidt tied the game at 9:44. That set the stage for Procsyshen’s winner.
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r On the AM 1150 Post Game Show, Assistant Coach, Kim Dillabaugh, noted that his club’s game was sub-par, even when they built their lead.
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r “I don’t think we were great by any stretch in the first two periods,” he said. “We had a hard time making plays tonight and our consistency from start to finish was an issue.”
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r “Then to give back the lead like we did, it’s tough to swallow.”
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r Heading into Saturday’s game, the Rockets were hoping for a win and a split of the series’ first two games. Doing so would have allowed them to seize home ice advantage with games three and four set for
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r “Obviously, we wanted to get a split,” said Dillabaugh. “But, now we have a chance to take advantage of our home ice, just like they took advantage of theirs.”
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r Certainly, the Rockets face a daunting task in having to win four of five against a team as skilled and formidable as the Americans. But, as Dillabaugh noted, the job appears much less frightening if broken into bite-sized chunks.
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r “We have to stick to our own game plan and not let them dictate the play as much. We can’t look too far ahead. Right now, we’ve got to have short term memories and focus on game three.”
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r Of note, Mikael Backlund returned to the
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