Kelowna.com: WHL dominates
r Marissa Backer photo – Tyson Barrie.
r
r
r By Chris Stanford – Kelowna.com
r
r Team WHL goalie Martin Jones of the Calgary Hitmen had most of the night off as Team WHL easily overcame an early one-goal deficit and rallied to end up on the winning side of a 4-2 result in the final game six of the Subway Super Series at Prospera Place Thursday night.
r
r Igor Bobkov, his counterpart at the opposite end of the ice wasn’t nearly so fortunate, as the West’s best outshot the touring Russian team 39-18 and for the second night in a row carried the majority of the play.
r
r The Kelowna Rockets Brandon McMillan, captain for the evening, was credited with the WHL’s third goal, which proved to be the game-winner, apparently tipping in a point shot from Michael Stone of the Hitmen in front of Bobkov to set the hometown crowd off and give Team WHL all the cushion they needed.
r
r According to the talented forward, it may not have been his stick that was the last the puck touched, but it didn’t matter a whole lot as he result was still the same.
r
r “I’m pretty sure I didn’t touch that,” he said afterwards. “It was either off their guy or Linden (Vey’s) stick so I think Linden should have been credited with that one.”
r
r Still, McMillan, along with Rockets teammate Tyson Barrie, who also played in game five, played their respective games well and can only have helped themselves in the running for an invite to the Team Canada selection camp coming up in December.
r
r As for that, McMillan left it to his play to do most of the talking. “I just tried to go out go and play my game,” he said.
r
r If you were judging by the scoreline the night before, when a different-look Team WHL only managed a 2-1 win over the Russians in Victoria, you might have though this contest would be close, but the Canadians again dominated a young Russian team in most departments and the win was pretty much assured with McMillan’s marker, if not guaranteed.
r
r Although it was the Russian’s Maxim Gorechishnikov whom opened the scoring at the 9:59 mark of the first period, when his soft, long-range shot beat a screened Jones, Team WHL had the answer for that as Stefan Elliot answered back 2:42 into the second on a three-on-five powerplay and Linden Vey added another, this time correctly credited to him 4:21 later to get the ‘Dub in front, where they stayed till the end.
r
r Although the Russian added another at the 5:50 mark of the third to get them back within one goal courtesy of Maxim Kitsyn, that was all they could muster, and when Team WHL got their fourth, a beauty by Willie Coetzee at 17:28 of the third, they kept the CHL record a perfect 6-0 and sent the young Russian team of mostly 16 and 17-year-olds off with some hard-earned experience.
r
r McMillan earned the player-of-the-game honours for Team WHL, and the six-foot, four-inch Bobkov got the nod for the Russians.
r
