Courier: Rockets down Bruins
r After a tough loss to Chilliwack on the final day of 2009, the Kelowna Rockets rung in 2010 by ringing up the Bruins.
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r Adam Brown stopped 31 of 32 shots for Kelowna as the Rockets snapped a five-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory over the Bruins in WHL action on Saturday. The game, the Rockets‘ first of the New Year, followed a 4-3 overtime loss in Chilliwack on New Year‘s Eve.
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r Yet, late in the second period, it appeared the Bruins had an excellent shot at sweeping the extended home-and-home set after back-to-back penalties by Kelowna just six seconds apart. Brown, however, came up big during that five-on-three power play and stoned Chilliwack.
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r “He played well and he did a good job,” Rockets head coach Ryan Huska said of Brown.
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r “He made saves on that five-on-three and that was probably the turning point in the game. If they score there maybe it‘s a different outcome, but Brownie was very good for the entire night.”
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r “The boys really worked hard tonight and you could tell. We were ready to go right from the drop of the puck,” said Brown. “I just followed their lead and it was a huge win for us.”
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r A huge factor in Saturday was how Chilliwack failed to score during that five-on-three, especially when a wrap-around attempt turned into a mad scramble, with five bodies crashing the crease and Brown losing his stick.
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r “There was that big scramble and there were guys on top of me and around me and they were whacking away,” said Brown. “To be honest, I‘m not sure where the puck went, but I saw it wasn‘t in the net, so that was good.”
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r Brett Bulmer and Codey Ito, with his first WHL goal, scored for injury-ravaged Kelowna (19-20-2-0), which led 2-0 and 2-1 at the period breaks despite missing nine regulars, including seven to injuries. Forward Spencer Main (concussion) was added to the injury list in that New Year‘s Eve game, while blue-liner Curt Gogol was a curious non-injury scratch.
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r The Rockets wouldn‘t comment on Gogol‘s status, other than to say it‘s an internal matter. The 18-year-old from Calgary was also scratched on New Year‘s Eve. It‘s expected Gogol will miss tonight‘s 5 p.m. contest in Vancouver against the B.C. Division-leading Giants (24-14-1-2).
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r Alexander Wiklund replied for Chilliwack (18-18-1-5), which suffered its first regulation-time loss in seven games. Lucas Gore made 16 saves for the Bruins.
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r ICE CHIPS: Kelowna‘s scratches were D Collin Bowman (ankle), D Mitchell Chapman (ribs), Gogol, LW Evan Bloodoff (knee), LW Geordie Wudrick (shoulder), RW Brandon McMillan (world juniors), Main (concussion), LW Lucas Bloodoff (knee) and RW Kyle St. Denis (concussion).
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