The Rockets stumbled to start the third but held their balance, eventually closing out an impressive 5-3 win over the Kimberley Dynamiters Friday night to vault themselves into second place in the Eddie Mountain Division.
Dynamiters blueliner Jonas Gordon brought some worry to the crowd of 160 when he scored less than five minutes into the third period. The goal cut the Rockets’ lead down to a single goal with ample time left to go in the third period for Kimberley to complete the comeback.
The Rockets, in a situation that could have been troubling, didn’t panic for a second.
“We didn’t hesitate. I thought the play was mostly in their end for the rest of the game,” said head coach Ty Davidson. “That was a well played game for 60 minutes on our part and I’m very happy with it. We’re starting to play playoff hockey already, which excites me.”
“We bounced back and played hard the whole time. We gave up nothing,” said Captain Daniel Dahlin.
Indeed, the Dynamiters had few, if any, significant chances to notch a tying goal. On one occasion Rockets netminder Magnus Viberg, solid throughout with 28 saves on 31 shots, lost track of the puck in his own crease. It sat there idly as a mad scramble ensued in front, but it was eventually swept away to safety with no harm done.
Soon after, James Gaume scored a fifth for Golden with just over a minute to play to ease any doubt the faithful may have had.
Previously, the Dynamiters held leads of 1-0 and 2-1 but Golden found an answer each time they trailed. Braeden Allkins supplied the first response, while Ian Desrosier tied the game at 2-2 late in the first period with a shorthanded goal. Desrosier has scored in all kinds of situations this season, including five while a man down. The goal extended a point streak for the Golden native that goes back to Halloween and seemed to turn the flow of the game going forward.
Allkins notched his second of the night less than five minutes into the second frame, this one coming off a fortunate bounce on the power play.
“I was originally planning on passing but the backdoor was tied up so I shot,” Allkins said of his second goal. “I just got a lucky rebound to tap it in.”
Allkins’ scoring touch dried up in the second half of October, going eight games without a goal. The pair of goals against Kimberley now gives him four in his past six, putting that hiccup firmly in the rearview mirror.
Later in the period, Cole Mckechney resumed a hot streak of his own, potting the game-winner, his fourth goal in the past four games.
The win continues a run of success against divisional opponents for Davidson’s crew, who have now taken nine of the 14 games they’ve played against Eddie Mountain foes. Golden will close out their weekend with home dates against the Spokane Braves and the Kelowna Chiefs.
“We’re rolling pretty nicely now the last four or five games, I think we just need to keep doing what we’re doing, not worry about our opponents too much and just worry about executing our own game plan,” Davidson said.
