Kelowna Rockets fans who decided to wrap up their long weekend by taking in some WHL action at Prospera Place on Monday were treated to an exciting win by the home team.
After exploding for nine goals in Friday night’s win over the Portland Winterhawks, the Rockets scored another seven on Monday as they topped the visiting Prince Albert Raiders 7-5.
It’s no coincidence that the 16 goals in two games have come as Andrew Cristall returned to the team from Washington Capitals training camp and he had three more points in the win.
It was fellow 2023 draftee Caden Price, however, that paced Kelowna with a four-point night, all of those points coming in the form of assists.
Cristall had the only goal of the opening frame to put the Rockets ahead after 20 minutes and that lead was extended in the second.
Ethan Neutens and Kanjyu Gojsic both scored their first of the season, and in Gojsic’s case the first of his WHL career, to put Kelowna ahead by three.
A Niall Crocker tally got the Raiders on the board, but captain Max Graham responded quickly with his second of the year to restore the three-goal lead.
That’s when things started to fall apart for the home team though, with Prince Albert scoring twice before the end of the middle frame and twice more early in the third.
The four consecutive goals gave the Raiders their first lead of the night at 5-4, but the Rockets showed no quit with just over 13 minutes left to play in regulation.
Michael Cicek tied the game not even a minute after Brayden Dube put the visitors ahead, then Carter Kowalyk and Brett Calhoon tickled the twine to put Kelowna up by two.
Jake Pilon slammed the door shut from there and the Rockets skated off the ice with a 7-5 victory in front of a satisfied home crowd.
Pilon ended up with 35 saves on 40 shots to earn himself the win, while Max Hildebrand surrendered seven goals on 27 shots in the Raiders net.
Kelowna now heads on the road for a pair of games in Washington this weekend, starting with the Wenatchee Wild on Friday before heading to Kennewick for a date with the Tri-City Americans on Saturday.
The next home action for the Rockets will be on Wednesday, Oct. 23, when the Victoria Royals come to town.
