G-Force

r It’s safe to say that nobody saw this coming.

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r The Kelowna Rockets took a stranglehold on the Western Hockey League Championship Series with a 2-0 win over the powerful Calgary Hitmen on Monday night. Kelowna now leads the series 3-0 with game four set to go at Prospera Place on Wednesday evening.

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r There were many heroes on Monday, but none bigger than Kelowna goalie, Mark Guggenberger, who earned his 3^rd shut out of the 2009 playoffs with a 21-save performance. The big guy was unflappable once again and skated out to a roaring ovation when he was named the game’s first star.

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r Like he’s been the entire post season, Guggenberger, was zoned-in, displaying a reassuring calm and confidence that’s been rubbing off on his thankful team mates. His best save was either a pad save off Chase Schaber in the first period, or a stop of Joel Broda in the second.

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r Meanwhile, despite winning both games one and two of the series in Calgary over the weekend, the Rockets came in Monday as possible underdogs. After all, team MVP and leading WHL playoff scorer Jamie Benn was on the sidelines with injury.

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r But, it was clear from the opening moments of the game that the Rockets were content to pay whatever price they needed to in order to win. They were physical in all zones of the ice and a willingness to take a hit in order to make a play was the ultimate reason for their satisfying win.

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r Furthermore, the Hitmen knew early on, that they were in for a grinding night.

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r Fittingly, it was a rugged Kelowna forward who opened the scoring in the game. After a number of hard hits and other various forms of nastiness, Ryley Grantham found himself alone in front of Martin Jones in the Calgary goal and swept in a Mitchell Callahan rebound at 15:15 of the first period.

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r Earlier in the first, Ian Duval had tested Jones and Tyler Myers tapped a Mikael Backlund pass wide after a two on one rush. At the other end, Guggenberger flashed a lightning quick right pad to foil Schaber from in close.

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r Calgary’s Keith Seabrook was the object of the home crowd’s displeasure as it was he who knocked Benn out of action with a clean hit in game two. He also gave and received some physical punishment in the prickly opening frame.

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r The second period was scoreless, but not for a lack of scoring chances. Kelowna’s line of Duval, Almond and Backlund could have had a couple of goals and seemed a threat each time they were out. A short centering pass from behind the goal from Backlund missed Almond’s stick by a whisker and Duval had a pair of whacks at a loose puck after Brandon McMillan had driven hard to the goal off the right wing.

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r Later, Backlund had Paul Postma turning the wrong way as he flew down the left wing. From the top of the circle he unleashed a laser guided missile that clanged off the cross bar and into the screen.

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r For his part, Guggenberger stood tall and frustrated Calgary sniper, Broda, in the process. On a later period shift, Broda tried the wrap-around to no avail. Then, he fired a high drive from the low slot that the Kelowna goalie smothered without allowing a sniff of a rebound.

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r Calgary came out hard in the third period as they desperately looked to tie the game. And, they had the Rockets under siege for much of the period, sending 5 men on the attack and funneling pucks to net.

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r But, sound defensive positioning and the poise of Guggenberger kept the Kelowna defenders together and prevented a dent in the armor. Once again, Lady Luck played a role when a Calgary shot rang off the post midway through the frame.

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r With the game on the line and the clock winding down, Almond stepped to the plate. He leveled Seabrook with a thundering, open ice hit inside the Kelowna line. Then, he won two critical face-offs in his own zone in the game’s final minute with Calgary pressing with six attackers.

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r Almond then earned a deserved moment in the limelight when his blind backhand from center ice slid into the vacated Calgary goal at 19:54 of the third. Though he wasn’t named a game star, the veteran Kelowna forward was a huge factor when it counted.

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r Kyle St. Denis joined Benn on the sidelines for the game. The diminutive Kelowna forward only recently returned from a two-month, concussion related absence but has been out for the last two games with an undisclosed injury.

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r Brandon McMillan was a standout on the Rockets' blue line in the game and was named third star as a result. He assisted on the Grantham goal but, equally importantly, won race after race for the puck in his own zone to deflate any potential forechecking threat.

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