The Kelowna Rockets would probably like to forget Monday’s meeting against the Kamloops Blazers.
But that’s going to be tough, considering the Blazers lit up the Rockets in a 10-2 drubbing in what was the last game of the season between the two B.C. Division rivals.
The embarrassment was one of Kelowna’s most lopsided defeats in recent memory.
It also underscored why Kamloops won the division title this year.
READ MORE: Junior hockey: Forgettable night for Rockets in 6-2 setback to Giants
“We were chasing the game and kind of on our heels right off the start,” Rockets head coach Kris Mallette told Global News.
“Kamloops outskated us, were able to outnumber us and outcompete us on a lot of loose pucks.”
The Blazers converted a number of those ‘loose pucks’ into points on the scoreboard.
Kelowna (9-5-1-0) looked tired Monday night, playing their third game in four nights. As a result, the team took careless penalties.
And Kamloops (17-4-0-0) made the Rockets pay for those sin-bin trips, with the Blazers connecting five times on the power play.
By the end of the second period, the Rockets were down 6-0.
“Whether or not you can say you’re are fatigued or you’re tired, it’s still not an excuse,” Mallette said.
“You have to trust the players around you that if you are potentially getting beat, that somebody is there to help out.”
The Rockets’ highlight of the night came in the third period, when Mark Liwiski absolutely steamrolled the Blazers’ Sean Strange in the offensive-zone corner.
The big hit forced a Kamloops turnover, after which Liwiski, set up Alex Swetlikoff for the Rockets’ first goal of the night.
Dillon Hamaliuk would make it 6-2, but that’s all the offence the Rockets could muster.
Kelowna starting goalie Cole Schwebius was relieved by Roman Basran in the third, but Basran couldn’t backstop the bloodletting either, with Kamloops beating him for four goals.
The Rockets were outshot 44-26, with Dylan Ernst stopping 24 shots for the Blazers.
Kamloops went 5-for-7 on the power play, with Kelowna going 0-for-2.
The Rockets have just one game remaining on their schedule: Wednesday night at home against Victoria.
“That’s still an opportunity for a lot of our players to showcase to myself and our staff and management,” said Mallette, “who we are going to take a real serious look at for next season.”
Comments