Rockets Fall to Thunderbirds
October 8, 2022 – Western Hockey League (WHL) – Kelowna Rockets News Release
Kelowna Rockets versus Seattle Thunderbirds
(Kelowna Rockets, Credit: Steve Dunsmoor)
The Seattle Thunderbirds snapped the Kelowna Rockets’ two-game win streak and extended theirs to three games with a 5-4 win over the Kelowna Rockets on Friday night at Prospera Place in Kelowna, BC.
Edmonton Oilers 2022 first-round pick Reid Schaefer led the Thunderbirds offence with a pair of goals, while goaltender Thomas Milic turned aside 32 of the 38 shots the Rockets fired at him.
“I’m happy with the effort, I really am,” said Rockets head coach Kris Mallette following the game.
“That’s a team that everyone is talking about, right? Seattle is a very complete team-goaltending, defence, out to their forwards. People don’t talk about the Kelowna Rockets. And you know what, spotted them a couple, at times in our defensive zone was interesting, to say the least. But you know what, our guys battled to the end and I’m happy with that, it’s game five for us, a great measuring stick for our group.”
On the Rockets side of things, Andrew Cristall earned the game’s first star after scoring the first two goals of the game and adding an assist to extend his point streak to five games.
“It was a chippy game out there, I think we’re both physical teams,” said Cristall in his post-game interview.
“I think from our side the intensity was there, if we just had some better starts to the periods there this game could’ve been different, but the intensity throughout the game I liked it a lot.
GAME SUMMARY
Reid Schaefer (2) scored the opening goal 3:13 into the game while on the power play. The Rockets tied the game on a Max Graham shot that went wide and bounced off of the end boards right onto Andrew Cristall’s (4) stick at the side of the net. Vegas Golden Knights pick Jordan Gustafson (1) restored the T-Bird’s lead.
Sawyer Mynio (1) pushed Seattle out to a two-goal lead 24 seconds into the second period. Cristall (5) added his second of the game while the Rockets were on a four-on-three power play.
Gabriel Szturc (4) tied the game 3:32 into the third on a feed from Cristall. The T-Birds responded in quick fashion with goals from Nico Myatovic (2) and Schaefer (3) just over a minute apart to go up by a pair. Dylan Wightman (1) pulled Kelowna back within one on a power play late in the game.
ADDITIONAL STATS
Seattle outshot Kelowna 41 to 32
The Rockets were 2/4 on the power play while the Thunderbirds were 1/4
Jari Kykkanen made 36 saves on 41 shots
Cristall was the game’s first star, Schaefer was the second and Szturc was the third
Szturc recorded a goal and two assists to extend his point streak to five games
Marcus Pacheco kept his four-game point streak alive, picking up an assist on the game’s last goal
The next matchup with Seattle is set for November 23 in Kent, WA
UP NEXT
The Rockets will head to Victoria for games against the Royals on Tue, Oct. 11th and Wed, Oct. 12th, puck drop is set for 7:05 pm. You can watch on CHL TV or listen on 1o4.7 The Lizard/RocketFAN.
The Rockets next home game will be their Pink in the Rink game against the Everett Silvertips on Friday, October 14th.
Single-game tickets for all Rockets home games are on sale at Select Your Tickets. Tickets can be purchased online through www.selectyourtickets.com, at the Prospera Place box office, or by phone at 250-762-5050.
Season tickets are still available at a prorated rate, don’t miss a minute of the Rockets action and secure yours today.
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