Leon Draisaitl scored the game winning goal with :42 seconds left to cap off a 3 point night and lift the visiting Kelowna Rockets (46-9-3-1, 96 pts) past the Victoria Royals 3-2 Friday night.
“I thought we deserved better…” said Head Coach Dave Lowry,
“You play against the top team in the league…they’re going to keep coming, they know how to win.”
Victoria (32-23-3-1, 68pts) led 2-1 going into the third, but Josh Morrissey tied it up on the power play, before Draisaitl pounced on a loose puck and ultimatley gave his club their 4th win in a row.
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| Draisaitl scores winner |
Draisaitl had 1 goal and 2 assists for first star honours and now has 33 points in 19 games since returning from the Edmonton Oilers.
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| Austin Carroll |
The Royals got goals from Austin Carroll (34th) and Greg Chase (17th), both on the power play which went 2 for 7. The Rockets went 2 for 6 with the man advantage, with Cole Linaker rounding out the scoring.
Travis Brown had two helpers for the home team.
Coleman Vollrath took the loss, stopping 29 of 32 shots, while former Victoria netminder Michael Herringer made 25 saves for the win.
The Royals managed to shut down top gunners Nick Merkely and Rourke Chartier who are 4th and 5th respectively in league scoring.
Puck drop on the rubber match is at 7pm Saturday.
- Marlon Martens
Kelowna Rockets 3 at Victoria Royals 2 - Status: Final
Friday, February 20, 2015 - Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena - Victoria, BC
Kelowna 1 0 2 - 3
Victoria 1 1 0 - 2
1st Period-
1, Victoria, Carroll 34 (Magee, Brown), 1:48 (PP).
2, Kelowna, Linaker 13 (Draisaitl, Quinney), 10:29 (PP).
Penalties-Draisaitl Kel (delay of game), 1:09; Morrissey Kel (roughing), 2:24; Magee Vic (checking to the head), 2:24; Carroll Vic (kneeing), 4:19; Crunk Vic (interference), 9:24; Crunk Vic (charging), 13:04; Stephens Kel (holding), 19:32.
2nd Period-
3, Victoria, Chase 17 (Walker, Brown), 9:51 (PP).
Penalties-Morrissey Kel (tripping), 9:42; Chartier Kel (tripping), 10:33; Bowey Kel (checking from behind, roughing), 13:10; Braid Kel (roughing), 13:10; Crunk Vic (roughing), 13:10; Fisher Vic (roughing), 13:10; Soustal Kel (interference), 15:53; Morrissey Kel (boarding), 17:46; Southam Kel (roughing), 19:34; Forsberg Vic (checking from behind), 19:34; Magee Vic (roughing), 19:34.
3rd Period-
4, Kelowna, Morrissey 13 (Baillie, Draisaitl), 12:36 (PP).
5, Kelowna, Draisaitl 10 (Stadel, Dube), 19:17.
Penalties-Forsberg Vic (hooking), 11:54; Fushimi Vic (holding), 14:47.
Shots on Goal-
Kelowna 13-5-14-32.
Victoria 6-11-10-27.
Power Play Opportunities-
Kelowna 2 / 6;
Victoria 2 / 7.
Goalies-
Kelowna, Herringer 7-1-0-0 (27 shots-25 saves).
Victoria, Vollrath 23-13-3-1 (32 shots-29 saves).
A-6,254
Referees-Brett Iverson (24), Chris Schlenker (9).
Linesmen-Bevan Mills (98), Kirk Van Helvoirt (107).
