GAME DAY: Western Conference Final Game 2 Tonight
Rockets vs. T-Birds
Saturday April 23, 2016
Game Time – 7:05 pm
Tonight’s Preview: Welcome to game two of the Western Conference final.
The Seattle Thunderbirds have a 1-0 series lead after a 2-1 win last night in game one. This is the Kelowna Rockets third straight appearance in the Western Conference final. The Rockets eliminated the Portland Winterhawks in six games last season and were eliminated in five games by the Winterhawks in 2014. These two teams met in the WCC in 2003, with the Rockets winning in five games. During the regular season, these two teams met four times with the home team winning all four games. Game three and four in the series are in Seattle/Kent on Tuesday (April 26) and Wednesday (April 27). Game five is back in Kelowna Friday April 29th.
Game One Recap: The Seattle Thunderbirds built up a 2-0 second period lead with goals :36 seconds apart in a 2-1 win. Mathew Barzal opened the scoring with a power play goals before Scott Eansor found the back of the net when his shot went off the skate of a defender. Rourke Chartier would find the back of the net to spoil Landon Bow’s shutout with a power play goal with :22 seconds left in regulation time. The Rockets and T-Birds were both 1 for 3 on the power play. The T-Birds out-shot the Rockets 29-24.
Looking Closer: The Rockets beat Seattle 7-4 and 5-2 while the T-Birds were a 6-0 winner and earned a 2-0 shutout win at ShoWare Center. Justin Kirkland (2+3=5) and Tyson Baillie (1+4=5) led the Rockets with 5 points in the four games during the regular season. Rourke Chartier played in only three games but found the back of the net three times. Michael Herringer was 1-2-0-0 in the seasonal series with a goals against average of 4.03 and a save percentage of .894. Mathew Barzal led the T-Birds attack with 7 points (4+3=7) in four games. Scott Eansor and Ethan Bear each chipped in with 6 points apiece. Both power plays were just average. The Rockets were just 2 for 13 while the T-Birds were 3 for 17.
Broadcasters Notebook: Michael Herringer was absolutely brilliant in a second round playoff series with Victoria. The 20 year-old goaltender (in hockey age he is still 19) had a sparkling goals against average of 2.29 and a save percentage of .927. In the four games Herringer won in round two, the Comox, BC residents goals against average was 1.97 with a save percentage of .937…..Goaltender Michael Herringer has been named a game star in 7 of the 14 playoff games. Herringer has been the first star (2), the second star (3) and the third star (2)….11 of the Rockets 15 games in this year’s playoffs have been decided by a single goal… The Rockets were involved in 8 – one goal games in last year’s playoffs…The most memorable playoff series between the Rockets and T-Birds was in 2013 when Seattle won the first-three games games before the Rockets roared back with four straight victories. Five of those seven games that season went into overtime…The T-Birds team is built on the players drafted in the 2012 WHL bantam draft. Mathew Barzal (1st round), Keegan Kolesar (1st round) and Ethan Bear (2nd round) headline the list. The Rockets chose Nick Merkley in the 1st round in that draft, Joe Gatenby in the second round and Lucas Johansen in the 6th round. ..The Rockets are the only team from the four that competed at the 2015 Memorial Cup that are still alive in the playoffs. Quebec, Rimouski and Oshawa have all been eliminated.
Hot as a Pistol: Justin Kirkland has goals in four of his last five games….The 19 year-old had six goals in a second round series win over Victoria…Kirkland has 16 career playoff goals…Rourke Chartier had 3+3=6 in the seven game series against Victoria including two goals in game five…Chartier has 25 career playoff goals…Tomas Soustal may be the biggest surprise in the 2016 post season. The second year forward has 5+6=11 points after recording just 4+2=6 in 19 playoff games in claiming the Ed Chynoweth Cup last season ….Tyson Baillie leads the team with not only 61 playoff games of experience, but also 26 goals and 60 career points. Baillie is the franchise leader in both goals and points in the WHL playoffs.
Incredible Comeback: It will go down as the greatest single game comeback in Kelowna Rockets playoff history. Tuesday night in Victoria, Justin Kirkland tied the game with a goal with .2 seconds left in regulation time and then Calvin Thurkauf scored at the 5:56 mark of overtime in a game seven 3-2 victory over the Victoria Royals. It marked the third straight game where the home team won, but the first time the Rockets won a playoff game (1-5) after trailing after 40 minutes. It also marked the first time in franchise history that the team was forced to play back-to-back game 7’s in overtime after eliminating Kamloops in round one.
