Kelowna Rockets Training Camp presented by Kelowna Sand & Gravel Day 3 update
Kelowna Rockets Training Camp is presented by Kelowna Sand & Gravel
Day three of Kelowna Rockets Training Camp presented by Kelowna Sand & Gravel is in the books which saw an action packed day featuring four games.
The day was opened with Team Gorges take on Team Weber in the 8:30 AM game. Andrew Cristall looked to be in midseason form in this game, scoring twice in a 5-2 win for Team Weber which included a slick wraparound goal. 2007-born defenceman Lachlan Staniforth and 2009-born forwards Nathan Cole and Carson Ward had the other markers while 2007-born forwards Jaxon Kehrig and Jackson Gush replied for Team Gorges. 2009-born goaltender Reed Russell had the crowd oohing and ahhing with a beautiful cross crease save in which he stopped a two-on-one attack.
The second contest on the schedule featured Team McLean and Team Schenn. 2008-born American forward Kalder Varga potted two goals in the game for Team McLean while Max Graham and Brett Calhoon also joined in on the action in a 5-1 victory over Team Schenn. Jari Kykkanen was perfect in his half a game in the crease and 2009-born forward Nolan Bravo was the only member of Team Schenn to find the stat sheet.
The semi-final matchups featured Team McLean and Team Weber followed by Team Gorges and Team Schenn, which helped determine the final matchups based on total records throughout camp.
The first semi-final match up was a back and forth affair which saw the two teams trading punches. Luke Schelter scored less than 10 seconds into the game on a nice feed from defenceman Rowan Guest. Andrew Cristall made it 2-0 Team Schenn as he scored from a near impossible angle on the short side. Team McLean battled back and found themselves in the lead after goals from Varga, 2008-born Jacob Henderson and Ethan Caruso and a beautiful goal from 2009-born forward Von Lakovic to put Team McLean up 4-2. Andrew Cristall scored his second goal of the game and Nathan Cole knotted the contest back up at four. 2008-born forward Kanjyu Gojsic and Kayden Longley traded goals sending the game to overtime where Gojsic knotted the game winner to give Team Weber a 6-5 victory and a berth in Sunday’s championship final.
Team Gorges and Team Schenn faced off in the second semi-final which saw Team Gorges come out victorious by a 9-4 score. Ethan Neutens scored twice as did defenceman Carter Kowalyk while Connor Pankratz, Jaxon Kehrig, 2008-born forward Riley Lettington, and 2008-born defenceman CJ Sandhu also chipped in with goals. Michael Cicek scored twice in response for Team Schenn with Caden Price and 2008-born Raine Lepin potting the other goals.
“There’s a lot of guys that are going through this process for the first time,” said Rockets Assistant Coach Derrick Martin on what he’s seen through the first three days of camp.” “We saw a lot of nerves on Thursday when we were going through the practices. Friday we saw players kind of knock the rust off from gameplay and Saturday they looked a lot more, I won’t say comfortable, but a lot more confident in their abilities and the pace started to ramp up a little bit.”
Saturday’s contests helped determine that Team McLean and Team Weber were the top two teams through the round robin and semi-finals and as a result, the two teams will meet in Sunday’s championship final at noon and compete for the Kelowna Sand & Gravel championship trophy. Team Gorges and Team Schenn will get Day 4 started at 8:30 AM in the third-place game.
Kelowna Sand & Gravel are the sponsoring partner for this year’s Kelowna Rockets training camp. Kelowna Sand & Gravel is the original source for Kettle Valley Granite in Kelowna, BC. They have a range of landscape materials, including natural stone products with a wide variety in size, colour, and shapes, as well as preparation materials like sand and drainage rock. They sell natural stone and hardscape materials to both landscapers and homeowners and look forward to serving all your landscaping needs.
