Kelowna Sand & Gravel Recap: Rockets fall in overtime to Giants
The Kelowna Rockets fell 3-2 in overtime to the Vancouver Giants in their third pre-season game Saturday night at Prospera Place.
With several players away attending National Hockey League training camps, the Rockets went with a smaller roster for the contest, giving Kelowna’s young players ample opportunity to gets their reps in before the regular season kicks off on September 21.
GAME SUMMARY
The first period went by without a goal as the two teams played a tight checking opening frame. The second period saw things open up as Kelowna got two goals in under a minute, the first coming from Luke Schelter off a nice tic-tac-toe play with Levi Benson and Owen Folstrom. 17-year-old forward Jaxon Kehrig would get his first of the exhibition season off a nice feed from Brett Calhoon to make it 2-0 home side.
Vancouver responded quickly to make it 2-1 as Ryan Lin’s point shot beat Jari Kykkanen to make it 2-1. The Giants would tie the game at two off a goal from Jakob Oreskovic at 14:20 of the second period. There was no scoring in the third period, as Kykkanen made several solid saves to keep the game tied and send it to overtime.
After Kalder Varga went off for tripping, Tyson Zimmer scored the overtime winner on the power play to give Vancouver a 3-2 victory.
To view the box score from tonight’s game click here.
“Our guys were working hard,” Rockets head coach Kris Mallette said post-game. “There’s a lot of competitiveness in that group and a lot of guys are still trying to find their way and prove to our staff that they have what it takes. There are some learning curves, but they’re definitely a momentum-driven group.”
ADDITIONAL STATS
- Kelowna was 0/1 on the powerplay, while Vancouver was 1/4
- Shots were 31-26 in favour of Vancouver
- Rookie Levi Benson now has points in all three Rockets pre-season games, registering a goal and two assists
UP NEXT
The Rockets will wrap up the pre-season with an afternoon affair in Ladner against the Giants before getting set to host the Portland Winterhawks in the home opener on September 21 with puck drop taking place at 6:05 PM.
Tickets for the home opener and all Rockets home games are only available at Select Your Tickets, they are the official provider of Rockets tickets. To view pricing and a seating map please click here.
Tickets can be purchased:
- Online at selectyourtickets.com
- By calling Select Your Tickets at 250-762-5050
- Or by visiting the Select Your Tickets box office at the Prospera Place box office. The box office is open 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and opens at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday home game days.
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.
