Rockets end Raider streak in Kelowna
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It was a winning effort but all that was missing was the win. The Raiders battled the CHL’s second ranked team from the opening face off to the final buzzer but came out on the wrong end of a 1-0 score in Kelowna.
It was a special night right from the national anthem when the partisan Kelowna crowd started chanting “Guard” everytime time the word came up in the lyrics of “Oh Canada”. It was in tribute of Raider assistant coach Kelly Guard who backstopped the Rockets to a Memorial Cup championship with current Raider head coach Marc Habscheid behind the bench when the triumphant tournament took place in Kelowna.
Dillon Dube scored the lone goal at 18:29 of the first period and from there it was a goaltenders duel with Raider starter Nick McBride turning in a stellar 23 save performance and Rockets veteran Jackson Whistle making 15 of his 27 stops in a dominant third period for the Raiders. Whitsle was bailed out by the post on a Sean Montgomery shot that deflected off Rockets defenseman Madison Bowey before Whistle dove across the net to stop Mongomery’s sharp angle shot off a back board rebound seconds later.
The Raiders held the offensively potent Rockets at bay while pressuring their defense all night long but couldn’t catch a break including a bouncing puck that denied leading scorer Reid Gardiner the tying goal late in the third period.
