#Seattleupended #Rockets31 #grabcommanding
https://gotopnews.com/post/2594803
Steve Dunsmoor It’s conceivable that the Kelowna Rockets deserve a better fate. They’ve played well enough to be anything but a 3-0 lead in their best of seven games against the Seattle Thunderbirds – their season is on the balance. But the T-Birds were better in the third period, when it was most important. As they’ve had all season, Seattle won the third period away. In third-period goals, league leaders scored four unanswered goals the third period in a 4-1 win against the Rockets front of over 3,500 loyalists at Prospera Place on Tuesday. The Rockets trailed T-Birds 4-2 first 40 minutes, holding lead or drawing in each of three games series. They lost 9-0 on aggregate in the third period. “Our group played two very solid periods in all three games and came into third period… especially tonight, especially the decisions we made on blue line, where we didn’t really produce much,” said Rockets head coach Kris. mallet. “The success we had was getting behind their defense and running them down. Especially in the third period we were loose, overconfident and a bit off our game plan.” After a fairly even, no scoring first, it was the Rockets that made it past the first half. Andrew Cristall broke the ice on Tuesday, holding off without a point and only two shots in the first two games in Seattle. He caught a loose puck just inside Seattle blueline, went from left wing to net and sent Tomas Milic to backhand. Cristall had a great chance to double lead towards end of second during a rush at Seattle end, but his low-range shot just missed on blocker side. Jari Kykkanen was fantastic in first 40, stoning Dylan Guenther twice in second, first being a two-on-one blocker, second saving him on a getaway. But he couldn’t stop them all. Picked up on the trade line, Guenther hurriedly beat Kykkanen from the right hoop to draw 331 for third. With match tied 1-1, Cristall had a chance to retake the lead, but Milic took field to challenge his close-range shot. Jordan Gustafson notched what proved be a winner after crossing center line of third round when his wrist shot from left rim appeared to clamp Kykkanen and beat him back far side. Minutes later, dagger came from captain Lucas Ciona and hit home a center pass from the back of net. Kyle Crnkovic sealed the goal with an empty net goal at the last minute. “My team is playing some of the best hockey they can play right now. They want to spend some more time together and they’re working as hard as they can. “Maybe it could have been a different story earlier in the season but for whatever reason our group really wanted to play and play more.” With the season at stake in game four on Wednesday, Mallette says they need to go out and play like they used to.
@Calgary Flames
