The Kelowna Rockets have spent the last month chasing down the B.C. Division-leading Prince George Cougars.
On Wednesday night, Jason Smith’s club got another step closer.
Calvin Thurkauf scored twice and added an assist and Michael Herringer made 25 saves to lead the Rockets to a 5-1 victory over the Cougars at Prospera Place.
It was the Rockets’ fourth straight win over their B.C. opponents, moving them to within four points of P.G. for top spot. At the end of January, Kelowna was 17 points in arrears of the Cougars.
The win—their 11th in 14 games—also kept the Rockets (38-21-5-0) one point back of the second-place Kamloops Blazers who defeated the Seattle Thunderbirds 5-4 in overtime Wednesday.
“It’s close, it’s a competitive division,” said Smith, the Rockets’ first-year head coach. “Every game has meaning from now until the end of the year.
“We’ll see where it all falls when we’re done eight games from now but the guys in the room are excited about the way we’re playing and the way we’re competing.”
The Rockets started slowly, but Herringer kept his team in the game with several key saves early and 14 in all in a busy opening period.
“A big save is like a power play goal, or a great hit, or a shot block,” Smith said of Herringer’s goaltending. “You get a couple of big saves, it brings energy to the group. I think it galvanized us, we got going, had better shifts at the end of the first period and played better for the second and third.”
Kelowna’s offense got on track in the second period scoring four times, including twice on the power play. Thurkauf netted his team-leading 31st and 32nd of the season, while Kyle Topping, Nick Merkley and Dillon Dube, with the game’s final goal late in the third, rounded out the scoring for Kelowna.
Radovan Bondra broke Herringer’s shutout bid 1:04 into the third period with the Cougars only goal of the night.
The Rockets return to action Friday when they visit the Everett Silvertips.
On Saturday, Kelowna will play host to the Tri-City Americans. Face-off at Prospera Place is 7:05 p.m.
