As far as regular season wins go, they don’t come much bigger than the Okanagan Rockets 7-3 win over the 1st place Vancouver Northwest Giants in B.C. Major Midget League action from Sunday.
The Rockets snapped the Giants 17 game unbeaten streak in the win, earning its first victory since 2006 at the Burnaby Winter Club.
Josh Blanchard had 3 goals and 2 assists to pace an offensive explosion against the league’s top-rated defence. Heading into the weekend the Giants were giving up less than two goals per game. The Rockets struck for more goals on Sunday than the Giants had given up in their last five games combined.
Also scoring for the Rockets on Sunday were Justin Marreck with a pair (4th and 5th), Brendan Wagner (16th), and Brett Mennear (10th).
The win came after a tie on Saturday as Okanagan took three of four points from the Giants in improving to 12-2-4 on the season.
The Rockets out shot the Giants 43-25 on Sunday and 74-46 over the two games.
“We had a game plan set for the weekend and I’m proud of the way our guys executed it this weekend,” said Rockets head coach James Eccles. “This isn’t an easy place to win, to come in here and get three points is a good stepping stone for our group.”
Brenden Mills made 22 saves for his 6th win of the year on Sunday.
The Rockets remain two points behind the Cariboo Cougars for 2nd place and now find themselves just four points behind the Giants who fell to 15-1-2 on the year.
The Rockets will return home to face the 4-12-2 Fraser Valley Thunderbirds at the CNC next weekend. Games are Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 10 a.m.
