Over the last month, no team in the WHL’s Western Conference has been hotter than the Seattle Thunderbirds.
On Monday afternoon, the Kelowna Rockets cooled down their U.S. Division rivals.
The Rockets erupted for four unanswered goals in the third period en route to a 6-4 win over the ‘Birds at Prospera Place.
It was just Seattle’s second loss in the last 13 games, while the surging Rockets have now won six of their last seven.
While Jason Smith wasn’t enthralled with his team’s play through 40 minutes, the Rockets head coach liked what he saw in the final period.
“It was the type of period we wanted to play for the whole game,” said Smith. “In the third period we had more energy, more jump and pace to our game.
“The first two periods we were a little bit stale but we stayed in the game and gave ourselves an opportunity.”
Down 3-2 in the third period, the Rockets connected twice in on a 4-on-4 situation in a 24-second span.
Calvin Thurkauf’s second goal of the game and 27th of the season on a set up from Nick Merkley tied the game at 12:04.
Then at 12:28, Reid Gardiner stuffed a rebound past Matt Berlin for the eventual game winner.
Merkley, who closed out the scoring, had a goal and two assists for Kelowna.
Carsen Twarynski, with his first goal as a Rocket, and Leif Mattson, with his fifth, rounded out the scoring for the Rockets.
As for taking down one of the WHL’s hottest teams, Smith said it was a significant win for his club.
“They’re a good team, they play a good team game and they compete,” Smith said of the defending Western Conference champs.
“So to battle back from being down and leave with a win is definitely nice.”
With the win, the Rockets (33-20-4-0) move to within four points of the second-place Kamloops Blazers (34-19-2-4) in the B.C. Division. The Blazers lost 4-0 at home Monday to the Portland Winterhawks.
The Rockets return to action Friday when they host the Spokane Chiefs.
