Rockets power past Blazers

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The Kelowna Rockets and Kamloops Blazers have met five times this WHL season.
The good news for Blazers fans is that their boys have scored one power-play goal in four of the games.
The bad news is that the Rockets have 12 such goals – and five victories.
“That’s the only way that team ever beats us . . . they beat us on the power play,” Barry Smith, the Blazers’ head coach, stated Saturday night after the Rockets had posted a 5-2 victory in front of 4,673 fans at Interior Savings Centre. “We know that. We have to keep it 5-on-5 and we have to do a better job of killing penalties against them.
“You put them on the power play . . . that’s what they want. That’s how they beat us every time.”
The Rockets were 3-for-3 on the power play and now are 12-for-35 with the man advantage in the five victories over the Blazers. In those games, Kelowna has counted, in order, four, three, zero, two and three power-play goals.
“It seems like every time we play those guys they beat us on the power play,” said Kamloops right-winger Tyler Shattock, whose side was 1-for-8 on the PP. “It seems that we never learn to stay disciplined. We play them 5-on-5 and you could see that we were right there with them. But three goals on the power play . . . if not it’s a 2-2 game.”
The Blazers, who have been shorthanded more times and have surrendered more power-play goals than any of the 21 other WHL teams, have only the 19th-best penalty killing.
“We are going to have to figure it out before the playoffs,” Shattock said.
Combine Saturday’s game with Friday’s 5-1 loss to the Giants in Vancouver and the Blazers, who had won six of seven games, have lost two straight.
“We didn’t play very well . . .that’s the common thread in both (losses),” Smith said. “Our compete level has got to get back up and we have to work harder and win the battles. We had a great run up to this (point).
“We ran out of gas a little but that’s going to happen, the schedule does that. . . . (but) I don’t want to use that as an excuse. We might be a little bit (tired) but you have to work smart.”
Smith said one of the reasons his club might be fatigued is that not everyone is contributing.
“Right now, you get tired because our top-end guys are doing everything,” he explained. “We’re not getting anything from the bottom end.”
While the Blazers may not have wanted to use it as an excuse, the fact is that they came in having played seven of 10 games on the road, including the last four. And as this one wore on it seemed the legs just weren’t there.
Kelowna jumped out front early, on Swedish centre Mikael Backlund’s second WHL goal just 88 seconds into the game.
The Blazers got that one right back with defenceman Curtis Kulchar jumping into the play and getting his second WHL goal from the lip of the Kelowna crease just 39 seconds later.
However, the Blazers didn’t get much of a lift from that goal and, in hindsight, that was only a sign of what was to come.
The Rockets got goals from Brandon McMillan, who made a terrific play with his feet along the left boards to gain possession before scoring from the point on a power play, and Ian Duval before the period ended.
And the home boys weren’t ever able to get back into this one.
Duval, a trade-deadline acquisition from the Moose Jaw Warriors, finished with two goals and an assist, while McMillan added two helpers to his goal. Colin Long had Kelowna’s other goal, while Scott Wasden also scored for the Blazers.
“We shouldn’t be (tired),” Shattock said. “We didn’t play very well (Friday) night, so we should have had legs tonight. But we didn’t. It’s a disappointing loss because we could have been one point behind those guys.”
While the Blazers had been having some success on the road – they went 5-2-0-0 in those aforementioned games – the Rockets have been so-so everywhere. They hadn’t won on the road since Dec. 17. They came in having lost their last four games (0-2-0-2) and were 1-3-0-2 since the Jan. 10 trade deadline. They had watched their lead over the fifth-place Blazers in the Western Conference shrink to just three points.
But it’s been a tumultuous last few weeks for the Rockets, what with their having had three players – defenceman Tyler Myers and forwards Jamie Benn and Stepan Novotny – at the World Junior Championship and having added Duval, Backlund, left-winger Ryley Grantham, who was scratched with a hand injury, and goaltender Mark Guggenberger since Jan. 10.
“We haven’t had a ton of practice time with a full lineup yet,” Kelowna head coach Ryan Huska said. “Once we get the guys together a little bit more, and get them understanding how we expect them to play each and every night, I think it will come regularly for us.”
Guggenberger stopped 24 shots, including 13 in the first period when he, as much as anyone, was responsible for his side’s 3-1 lead.
“Yeah,” Huska said, “if we can keep getting goaltending like that . . .”
The Rockets will be back at The ATM on Feb. 3 and Shattock feels he and his mates will have to deliver a message that night.
“We have to let them know that we’re here to play . . . let them know that we’re no walkover, for sure,” he said.
JUST NOTES: Kamloops G Justin Leclerc, who lost for the first time in six starts, stopped 25 shots. . . . Referees Ryan Thompson and Nathan Wieler gave the Rockets 11 of 18 minors, three of six majors and a misconduct. . . . Huska wasn’t pleased with his club’s discipline and was especially upset with Myers for taking a misconduct for yapping just 34 seconds into the second period. “We need him playing,” Huska said. “We can’t afford to have him sitting in the box.” The Buffalo Sabres selected Myers with the 12th pick of the 2008 NHL draft. . . . The Blazers took Sunday off and will be back on the practice ice this afternoon. . . . They close out January with home games against the Seattle Thunderbirds (Wednesday) and Medicine Hat Tigers (Saturday).
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca