In the end, the Rockets simply ran out of gas.
Playing their third game in three nights, the Rockets fell 3-2 to the Kelowna Chiefs in overtime Sunday to give themselves five of a possible six points for an all-around successful weekend.
“Overall on the weekend we played incredibly well…we’re getting points in every game we play and that’s great,” said head coach Ty Davidson.
Kevin Roth got the scoring started with 7:24 left in the opening period when his seeing-eye point shot found its way through a crowd and past Rockets goalie Magnus Viberg, who was making his third start of the weekend. The goal was the first goal allowed by Viberg since early in the third period of Friday night’s game against Kimberley, a stretch of 82 minutes.
Viberg took charge from there, allowing the Rockets to stay in the game despite their inability to solve Chiefs goaltender Chris Turner.
The Rockets finally got on the board with six minutes left in the second period. A pretty passing play with Golden on the power play ended in a Cole Mckechney goal and a 1-1 score.
The goaltending duel continued for the rest of the second and most of the third.
With just over six minutes remaining in regulation, Braeden Allkins broke the tie when he banged home a rebound off a Sean Ripley shot. With Viberg taking up residence in the heads of the Chiefs’ shooters, the Rockets looked to be home free.
However, with Kelowna on a power play late in the third, Dakota Kittle blasted home a one-timer that left Viberg with little chance, squaring things up again and sending the game to overtime.
Davidson used three forwards and one defenceman throughout the 4 on 4 OT period in an effort to boost his team’s chances to score.
“When you’re 4 on 4 and 3 on 3, you’re going to get scoring chances so you want to make sure the guys that are getting the chances are capable of putting the puck in the net,” Davidson said of the strategy. “It’s man on man, there’s no zone defence, it’s really plain and simple.”
The strategy failed to produce a goal, and it was on to the wild, somewhat gimmicky 3 on 3 portion of overtime. That’s when the Chiefs spoiled the party for the home crowd.
Braeden Cyra took advantage of the Grand Canyonesque open ice and streaked into the Rockets’ zone with ease. A quick move to the middle opened up a shooting lane and he wired one top shelf on Viberg for the win.
The single point moves the Rockets’ record to 14-10-0-4 on the season, good enough for a 3 point lead on the Kimberley Dynamiters for second place in the Eddie Mountain Division. Fernie sits just four points clear of Golden, although the Ghostriders also have five games in hand.
The Rockets will be in Invermere on Friday to take on the Columbia Valley Rockies before the Rockies make the return trip to Golden for a Saturday night tilt.
