Rockets sweep season series with Tigers

By Medicine Hat News on January 30, 2018.

The Medicine Hat Tigers were forced to play from behind on Tuesday night at Prospera Place, and they never quite caught up to the Kelowna Rockets.

The Rockets rode a three-goal second period and held off a late push to sweep their season series against Medicine Hat with a 5-2 victory.

While the Tabbies were given a chance to break an early stalemate when Libor Zabransky was booked for holding Ryan Jevne late in the first period, the Rockets killed off the penalty and Cal Foote promptly put Kelowna in front just a few seconds later.

The 19-year-old Rockets defenceman took a pass from Dillon Dube and faked a slapshot at the point before walking in and beating Tigers goaltender Jordan Hollett with a quick release through traffic for his 11th goal of the year.

Leif Mattson kept Kelowna’s offence rolling into the second period when he forced a turnover on Kristians Rubins in the Tigers end and beat Hollett with a quick wrister just 95 seconds into the frame.

Medicine Hat’s struggles continued midway through the period when Ryan Chyzowski and Mark Rassell were booked for a pair of minor penalties just over a minute apart. While the infractions put Kelowna onto a two-man advantage for 58 seconds, Carson Twarynski only needed 18 to cash in.

Twaryinski was waiting on the doorstep when Kole Lind found him on a cross-crease pass for a tap-in goal to leave Medicine Hat staring down a three-goal deficit.

While David Quenneville finally put Medicine Hat on the board with Kyle Topping in the box for tripping six minutes later — ripping a pass from James Hamblin through Rockets netminder Evan Salmond for his 22nd goal of the year — the Tigers quickly put themselves back on the kill when Josh Williams was nabbed for tripping, and Lind made them pay.

Dube picked up the assist after he fed Lind in the slot and watched the Rockets winger beat Hollett over the blocker to re-establish Kelowna’s commanding lead and leave the Tigers on their heels at the end of 40 minutes.

Dawson Heathcote cut the deficit down to a pair five minutes into the final frame when he fired a puck off the end boards, picked up the rebound and beat a sprawling Salmond for his sixth of the year.

Things took an ugly turn at the halfway point of the third when Chyzowski delivered a late hit on Rockets defenceman James Hilsendager. Chyzowski was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for checking to the head. While the Rockets did not cash in on the advantage, it forced the Tigers onto their heels until the final five minutes of regulation and they were unable to draw even.

Dube sealed the victory with an empty netter in the final minute.

Salmond turned aside a total of 33 shots in the victory to help push Kelowna to 32-14-3-1 on the Western Hockey League season. Hollett settled for a 39-save loss, dropping Medicine Hat to 26-20-6-0.

The Tigers continue their four-game B.C. Division road trip tonight in Kamloops against the Blazers (23-24-1-2) before taking on the Victoria Royals (30-17-3-1) Friday and the Vancouver Giants (25-16-7-0) Saturday.

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