An excellent transition game and some timely scoring from the fourth line gave the Golden Rockets another home victory and their first winning streak of the young season.
Entering play last night, the Kamloops Storm sat atop their division with a sparkling 7-2 record after 9 games. Early on, it was the visitors that carried the play and they were rewarded with a goal from Stefan Wood just under 9 minutes into the game. The Rockets, however, seemed to shift the momentum in their favour in the latter part of the first and Cole Mckechney’s power play goal allowed them to head into the dressing room on even terms.
The second period was all Golden as they repeatedly tested Storm netminder Ben Giesbrecht. The fourth line combination of Tanner Watt and Travis Kelley hooked up for a pair of goals to give the Rockets a 3-1 lead.
“They were definitely the catalyst for the win tonight,” said Rockets head coach Ty Davidson following the game.
The Rockets had numerous other odd-man rushes and scoring opportunities but couldn’t find a way to extend the lead before the second intermission.
Golden was put in a precarious position when the Storm’s leading scorer, Brock Balson, potted his 8th goal of the campaign just nine seconds into the final frame. A little over a minute later, Rockets’ forward David Barbour took a high sticking penalty and a tying goal seemed inevitable as the Storm moved the puck around with precision and fired several shots at Golden goalie Brian Parsons. Parsons, however, was up to the task every time and kept the home side up by two. David Barbour atoned for his penalty a few minutes later with his first goal of the season, restoring the two goal lead. Braeden Allkins made things even more comfortable for Davidson’s squad with his 3rd goal of the season with just under 8 minutes to go. Balson brought the Storm within two but Rockets’ forward Connor Beauchemin put the finishing touches on the win with his team-leading 5th goal of the campaign. That was the end of the scoring as the Rockets beat the Storm 6-3.
Davidson believes the reason for the Rockets’ success the past two games is a simple one.
“If we compete hard and we work hard, we have enough talent that we can overcome and pretty much beat anybody. That’s what is starting to show,” he said.
The Rockets will face another tough test Saturday night as they travel to Kimberley for a date with the first place Dynamiters. Golden will be looking to avenge a 5-0 defeat in the team’s last matchup on Sept. 14.
