Rockets throw major party

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
KELOWNA — The Kelowna Rockets threw a major party Saturday night at Prospera Place.
The Rockets (2-2-0-0) opened the home portion of their WHL regular season by scoring three times as Kamloops (2-2-0-1) attempted to kill off a major penalty to defenceman Nick Ross and went on to a 5-4 victory over the Blazers in front of 6,118 fans.
It was the Rockets’ 14th home-opener since relocating from Tacoma, Wash., their ninth at Prospera Place, and the Blazers were looking to play spoiler.
The roadies were looking good, too, especially after getting the game’s first three goals, from forwards Jimmy Bubnick, Brendan Ranford and Shayne Wiebe.
“It’s 3-0 . . . they had nothing,” Kamloops head coach Barry Smith said. “If we don’t get that call or even kill it, the game’s over.”
Smith referred to his team’s play as “total domination” which may have been an overstatement but not by much.
“They weren’t even in it . . . not even close,” Smith said.
With the game more than half over, the Blazers held a 3-1 lead, had outshot their hosts, 18-11, and had silenced the crowd.
But, 15 minutes into the second period, Kelowna defenceman Kyle Verdino lugged the puck up the left side as a power play wound down. As he entered the Blazers’ zone he shoved the puck ahead and was greeted by Ross’ attempted hip check.
Verdino went down with a left knee injury — he will be evaluated in the days ahead — and Ross was hit with a major penalty for interference and a game misconduct.
“I don’t want to comment on the refereeing because we’ve decided as a team we’re just going to play,” said Smith, who had been vocal about the officiating after a 6-2 loss to the Rockets in Kamloops just 24 hours earlier. “We’re going to play and we’ll deal with it. That’s what’s called adversity. If the kids had killed that off, we’ve got it going.”
As for Ross, he said he didn’t think it was interference.
“I’m pretty sure there’s at least a second and a half where you’re allowed to hit a guy,” said a contrite Ross. “I didn’t leave my feet or anything so I thought it was clean. I stood my ground and I stood up after so it’s not like I went lower than I could have. I tried to stay high. I felt his hip on my hip.
“It’s a tough break that I got somebody’s knee.”
It was a tough break for the Blazers, too, because the Rockets, who weren’t anywhere close to being in this game, scored three power-play goals in 1:31 to take a 4-3 lead.
Centre Colin Long had gotten Kelowna on the board at 12:29 of the second period. On the power play, Evan Bloodoff (17:20), Long (18:21) and Kyle St. Denis (18:51) beat Leclerc. Two of the goals came off back-door plays that began behind the Blazers’ goal line; on the third, St. Denis finished off a 2-on-1 with hard-working Brandon McMillan.
“They have a great power play,” said Leclerc, who finished with 20 saves, “and I think we found that out tonight as well as last night.”
The Rockets wound up 3-for-8 with the man advantage; they had been 4-for-11 on Friday in posting a 6-2 victory in Kamloops.
“The last 10 minutes of the second period,” Kelowna head coach Ryan Huska said, “I thought was pretty good. But for the rest of the game I thought we got outworked for the most part, with the exception of our power play. Our power play came up big for us tonight . . . 5 on 5, I don’t think we were the better team.”
The Blazers outshot the Rockets 10-7 in the third period as each team scored once. Right-winger Lucas Bloodoff, playing with a broken hand, upped his side’s lead to 5-3 at 4:52 and Bubnick completed his second two-goal effort of the season five minutes later.
After that, the Blazers pressed but couldn’t beat goaltender Kris Lazaruk, who made 24 saves.
“They got nothing in the third,” Smith said. “We had some great chances. In the end, we couldn’t score. We’re not pure goal scorers but we work and we work and we work.”
Smith said that despite the outcome he was “really proud” of his guys.
“I asked them to do character things tonight,” he said. “I told them, ‘Come back and show yourselves what you can do,’ and they did.
“I hope there were people here tonight to see how well they played and what they did. I told them, ‘You play like that all year (and) you’re going to come out on top 90 per cent of the time.’ ”
JUST NOTES: The penalty to Ross will be reviewed by the WHL office, as are all such major-game misconduct calls. . . . Wiebe’s goal was his sixth of the season and gave him the league lead. . . . Ranford and Bubnick had great nights for the Blazers. Ranford, especially, was a threat to score on virtually every shift. . . . Kris Hartley of Kamloops was one of the linesmen in Saturday’s game. He now lives in Kelowna where he works as a mortgage broker. . . . The Blazers are at home Tuesday to the Memorial Cup-champion Spokane Chiefs. Game time is 7 p.m. . . . When the Rockets scored six times in Friday’s victory, it marked the first time they had hit six in Kamloops since a 6-2 victory on Dec. 7, 2003. In between six-packs, the teams played 20 games in Kamloops. . . . RW Brady Calla, 20, and D Keaton Ellerby, 20, have been assigned to the AHL’s Rochester Americans by the NHL’s Florida Panthers. Early last season, the Blazers sent Ellerby to the Moose Jaw Warriors in exchange for Calla. . . . More than 20 of Doug McLeod’s friends gathered at The Thirsty Dog on Saturday to remember the former Blazers employee who died earlier this month. The gathering was at McLeod’s request; he didn’t want a funeral.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca