Rockets Hit Goals, Rip Chiefs Kelowna’s 6-3 Victory Extends Playoff Series
The Kelowna Rockets went home Saturday night with the prizes they came after.
Another date in the playoffs, a second chance at home. With a quick start and a flourishing finish before 6,328 in the Arena, the Rockets held off the Spokane Chiefs 6-3 to force a sixth game in this Western Hockey League series.
The clubs will be back at it Monday night in Kelowna with the Chiefs leading the best-of-7 set, three games to two. Should the Rockets win at home, where they dropped the first two games, the decisive seventh game would be played here Wednesday night.
“We came here to get a sweep but winning two out of three ain’t bad,” Kelowna coach Peter Anholt said. “We’re elated to be going home.”
After his club’s 4-0 loss on Friday, Anholt said the Rockets would come out more desperate. He was right. Luke Curtin, Tyler Prosofsky and Lee Hamilton scored first-period goals.
But nothing is easy in the postseason.
Rebounding in the second period, Spokane cut the lead to 4-2 when Kris Graf and Joe Cardarelli scored between Prosofksy’s second goal of the night for Kelowna.
And as they did the night before, the Chiefs struck in a hurry in the third period, Marian Cisar beating goaltender Aaron MacDonald with a shot that ducked inside the far pipe from the top of the right circle just 1:38 into the period.
Cisar, who has scored in every game of the playoffs, cut the deficit to 4-3.
The Rockets, wilting at that point, got the big play they’ve been waiting for from Scott King, whom Anholt said was playing with the flu. King notched his first goal of the series at 10:37 to restore Kelowna’s two-goal lead midway in the third period.
Jason Deleurme fed King in the low slot for the shot.
“Scotty showed a lot of character,” Anholt said. “He was really sick today.”
Still very much in it, the Chiefs were about to go on the power play at 11:37 of the period after Prosofsky was caught high-sticking Spokane’s Kirk Dewaele. But before going off, Prosofsky goaded Spokane’s Brad Ference into taking a shot at him and Ference was also sent to the box for roughing, a matching minor that aborted the power play.
It was an example of what Chiefs coach Mike Babcock said was “us getting on our own page a little bit.
“Guys work hard to get something and it’s taken away by not thinking,” he said. “That can’t happen.”
Anholt had criticized referee Kevin Acheson on Friday night for not calling what he said was excessive holding by the Chiefs that prevented the Rockets from moving in on the forecheck. After the win he had kinder words for referee Tom Kowal.
“Tom Kowal called interference (on Spokane’s Adam Magarrell) right off the bat and that certainly changed the complexion of the game,” he said.
Babcock dismissed the suggestion that Anholt’s Friday night criticism of the referee resulted in some calls going Kelowna’s way in this one.
“Games are won by teams on the ice,” Babcock said. “It’s great if they perceive that it made a difference. There’s no doubt that that’s what it (Anholt’s blast at Acheson) was all about.”
Should the Chiefs eliminate the Rockets in Kelowna, tickets purchased this week for Wednesday night’s game will be good for the first home game in the second round.
Rockets 6, Chiefs 3
Kelowna 3 1 2 - 6
Spokane 0 2 1 - 3
First period-1, Kelowna, Curtin 3 (Prosofsky), 3:53. 2, Kelowna, Prosofsky 3 (Curtin), 6:05. 3, Kelowna, L.Hamilton (Hart, Diener), 14:28. Key penalties-Betik, Kel, 7:00; Magarrell, Spo, 8:48; Magarrell, Spo, 11:45; Hannan, Kel, 18:20.
Second period-4, Spokane, Graf 1 (Whitfield), 6:37. 5, Kelowna, Prosofsky 4 (McLean, Diener), 10:26 (pp). 6, Spokane, Cardarelli 5 (Cirjak, Hamilton), 14:20 (pp). Key penalties-Cirjak, Spo, 8:51; Hannan, Kel, 12:16; McLean, Kel, 13:46; Wade, Kel, 19:55.
Third period-7, Spokane, Cisar 3 (Leeb, Dewaele), 1:38. 8, Kelowna, King 1 (Deleurme, Schultz), 10:37. 9, Kelowna, Diener, 16:04. Key penalties-None.
Power-play opp.-Kelowna 1 of 3; Spokane 1 of 5. Saves-Kelowna, MacDonald 12-16-9-37. Spokane, Miller 10-9-6-25. A-6,328.
, DataTimes