ISight Optometry Game Recap: Rockets Score Five Straight to Beat Wild 5-1
The Kelowna Rockets extended their win streak to six games with a 5–1 victory over the Wenatchee Wild at Prospera Place. Wenatchee struck first, but the Rockets responded in dominant fashion, scoring five unanswered goals to take control of the game. Captain Carson Wetsch led the way with two goals, while Tij Iginla, Mazden Leslie, Connor Pankratz, Rowan Guest, and Nate Corbet all recorded multi-point performances in the win. Goaltender Harrison Boettiger continued his strong stretch between the pipes, backstopping Kelowna to their sixth straight victory.
GAME SUMMARY
The Wild opened the scoring tonight when Caelan Joudrey (16) found the back of the net on the powerplay at 7:01 to give Wenatchee a 1–0 lead. It marked the first time since February 13th, also against the Wild, that the Rockets did not score first.
Kelowna answered back with a powerplay goal of their own at 16:31. Carson Wetsch (20) buried a rebound off a Tij Iginla one-timer to tie the game 1–1.
The Rockets grabbed the lead before the end of the period when Leslie (16) picked up the puck at 19:11, dangled around a pair of Wild defenders, and roofed it to make it 2–1 heading into the second. Iginla and Rowan Guest were credited with the assists. The goal was Leslie’s fifth in his last six games.
In the second period, Connor Pankratz moved the puck ahead to Hayden Paupanekis, who carried it through the neutral zone and into the offensive end before finding Nate Corbet (3). Corbet ripped it home at 4:27 to extend the lead to 3–1. The Rockets carried that advantage into the third period.
Kelowna pulled further ahead early in the third. At 3:32, Wetsch (21) scored his second of the night off a feed from Guest to make it 4–1. Later, Pankratz (7) capitalized on a Guest rebound, making a smooth move to the backhand to push the lead to 5–1.
The Rockets closed things out from there, securing the 5–1 final.
Goaltender Harrison Boettiger continued his strong stretch of play, making 25 saves on 26 shots. It marked his fifth win in his last six games.
ADDITIONAL STATS
Shots on Goal: Kelowna 37 | Wenatchee 26
Power Play: Kelowna 1/4 | Wenatchee 1/4
Faceoffs: Kelowna 33 | Wenatchee 30
UP NEXT
The Kelowna Rockets will now travel south to Toyota Town Center for the rematch against Wenatchee tomorrow at 6:00 PM PST. Fans can catch the game live for free on Victory+ or at 104.7 The Lizard. The Rockets then will come back home to battle the Spokane Chiefs on Wednesday, March 4th, at 7:05pm PST. Tickets for that game are available at selectyourtickets.com.
