Tij Iginla and the Kelowna Rockets had a flare for the dramatic on Friday night (Dec. 15) as they beat the Prince Albert Raiders 4-3.
Max Graham got the scoring started for the Rockets as he found the back of the net at the 10:49 mark of the first period. Iginla and Hiroki Gojsic collected the assists on the goal.
You all thought Iggy was going to shoot, didn't you?
91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ” Kelowna Rockets (@Kelowna_Rockets)
Tij Iginla was a heck of a pass sets up Max Graham.
It remained 1-0 Rockets until early in the second frame when Oli Chenier scored shorthanded to tie the game.
The two teams then exchanged powerplay goals as the period continued. Exactly halfway through the period, Marcus Pacheco scored on the powerplay, his second goal of the season, to regain the Rockets lead. Iginla collected another assist while the team91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s leading scorer Andrew Cristall collected the other helper.
Marcus Pacheco's hand-eye coordination is off the charts 📈
91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ” Kelowna Rockets (@Kelowna_Rockets)
Prince Albert91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s powerplay goal came at the 13:58 mark when Justice Christensen scored his seventh goal of the season.
The back-and-forth game continued in the third period as the Rockets once again regained the lead when Ethan Neutens scored his fifth goal of the season, with John Babcock and Trae Johnson collecting the assists.
Ethan Neutens dialed long distance to restore the Rockets lead.
91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ” Kelowna Rockets (@Kelowna_Rockets)
It wasn91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™t until the 17:19 mark of the third when the Raiders tied the game with another powerplay marker. It was Krzysztof Macias, scoring his 13th goal of the season.
But the Rockets weren91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™t getting off the ice without the win. In the final minute of play, a scramble in front of the Raiders net led to Iginla scoring his team-leading 24th goal of the season with 22 seconds left in the game, to give the Rockets the 4-3 win.
ROCKETS WIN!
91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ” Kelowna Rockets (@Kelowna_Rockets)
In the dying seconds of the game, the Rockets push in the game-winner.
While the goal looks like it belongs to Gojsic, it has been credited to Iginla.
The goal also capped a three-point night for Iginla, who sits sixth in goals in the entire WHL.
Rockets goaltender Jari Kykkanen made 20 saves in the win, including the WHL91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s save of the night.
🎥 SAVE OF THE NIGHT 🎥
91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ” The WHL (@TheWHL)
Jari Kykkanen flashes the leather to maintain the Rockets' lead! | |
The Rockets win improved their record to 14-15-2-0. They can go into the winter break with a .500 record if they win on Saturday night (Dec. 16) against the Saskatoon Blades. Puck drop is at 5 p.m. Pacific time.
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