Hours after winning the rights to host the Memorial Cup bid, the Kelowna Rockets suffered a tough, home-ice loss on Wednesday night, losing 5-0 to the Vancouver Giants.
Vancouver jumped out to an early lead thanks to Brayden Watts scoring just 3:32 into the opening frame. James Malm made it 2-0 Giants in the later stages of the first period on the power play. Malm scored again at 16:45 to make it 3-0 for the visitors.
After a scoreless second period, Malm pushed Vancouver’s lead to 4-0 at 10:23 of the third, completing a natural hat trick. The goal was his seventh of the season. Davis Koch rounded out the scoring at 18:23.
Roman Basran took the loss for Kelowna (1-5-0-0), stopping 32 of 37 shots. Basran is 0-3 this season, with a goals-against average of 3.73 and a save percentage of .890.
Trent Miner had an easier time in net for Vancouver (4-1-0-0), stopping all 21 shots he faced.
Vancouver was 2-for-5 on the power play while Kelowna was 0-for-3.
The Rockets are tied with Prince George (2-2-0-1) for having the worst power play in the league. Both the Rockets and Cougars have just one goal in 25 power plays, which equates to a power play percentage of just 4 per cent (1-for-25). The Brandon Wheat Kings (3-0-0-0) have the league’s best power play at 42.9 per cent (3-for-7), with the Portland Winterhawks (2-2-0-1) having the second best power play at 33.3 per cent (9-for-27). The Kootenay Ice (1-2-0-0) are also at 33.3 per cent (5-for-15).
The Giants are tied for first with Victoria (4-0-0-0) in B.C. Division standings with eight points. Kelowna is fifth and last with just two points.
The Rockets are back in action this weekend with two games, as they host Victoria on Friday night, 7:05 p.m., at Prospera Place, then visit Seattle (2-1-0-0) on Saturday evening, 6:05 p.m. at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Wash.
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