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Kelowna Rockets fall against B.C.’s best but gain valuable point

The Rockets have 16 of a possible 18 points in their last nine games
Jordy Cunningham
Jordy Cunningham
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The Kelowna Rockets lost a wild one on Wednesday night (Mar. 13) at Prospera Place, falling 6-5 to the Prince George Cougars in overtime. (@Kelowna_Rockets/X)

The Kelowna Rockets fell in dramatic fashion on Wednesday night against the Prince George Cougars but earned a much-needed point in the Western Conference standings.

After the Cougars went up 1-0 early in the first period, Kelowna’s Hiroki Gojsic scored his 21st goal of the season to tie the game.

Prince George, already the B.C. Division champions, rifled off three straight goals, one late in the first period and two in the second frame to take a 4-1 lead. The fourth goal was Zac Funk’s WHL-leading 64th goal of the season.

But the Rockets came out firing in the third period with four straight goals to take a 5-4 lead.

It started just 1:43 into the period when Max Graham scored his 17th goal of the season, assisted by Andrew Cristall and Gabriel Szturc.

Michael Cicek then got into the fun with his eighth goal of the year, bringing the game within one. Gojsic and Tij Iginla collected the helpers on the goal.

Cristall, the Rockets leading scorer, tied the game 4-4 with his 39th goal of the season, assisted by Szturc.

And just 59 seconds after that, Iginla scored his team-leading 46th goal of the campaign to give the Rockets their first lead of the night.

But with less than three minutes to go, Cougars forward Oren Shtrom scored to tie the game once again and force overtime.

In the extra frame, Hudson Thornton found the back of the net to give Prince George the 6-5 victory.

Despite the loss, the Rockets gained a huge point and have collected 16 of a possible 18 points in their last nine games. They are 7-0-1-1 in that stretch. With four games to go in the season, the Rockets sit fifth in the Western Conference with a record of 31-28-4-1.

Jari Kykkanen made 34 saves in the loss.

With another two points to his name, Cristall has 105 on the year and sits fifth in WHL scoring.

This upcoming weekend, the Rockets play a home-and-home with the Everett Silvertips. Friday night (Mar. 15) is at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, while the two teams will be up at Prospera Place on Saturday night. Puck drop is at 7:05 p.m. on both nights.

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Jordy Cunningham

About the Author: Jordy Cunningham

Hailing from Ladner, B.C., I have been passionate about sports, especially baseball, since I was young. In 2018, I graduated from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops with a Bachelor of Journalism degree
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