Last Saturday, the Rockets were headed west into the Bill Ohlhausen Division to match skills with the Sicamous Eagles. The Eagles are a high-scoring club currently sitting in the middle of their division. But they couldn’t match the speed of Golden on this night, as the KickingHorse crew rolled to an impressive 7-4 victory.
Brayden Bissell and Brett Krawchuk got things going in the opening period, each connecting late in the frame.
Sicamous managed to score early in the second period, before the Rockets Stefan Bodtker and Brock McIlwain replied, running the margin to 4-1 after forty minutes.
Wide-open third period play saw both teams split no less than six goals, with the Golden markers coming off the sticks of Brock McIlwain (his 10th of the year), Chaz Jaeb and Dominic Fiorentino. Deegan Bert was the key playmaker for the Rockets on this night, picking up three assists.
Final score was 7-4. Rockets outshot the Eagles 39-26, and newly-acquired netminder Joe Verardi picked up his first win as a Rocket.
The key win for the club kept them battling with Creston for the fourth, and final playoff spot in the Eddie Mountain Division. The ThunderCats moved a single point ahead of Golden in the standings, when they went to overtime against Kelowna over the weekend.
League schedulers must have known what they were doing, as this Friday at the Plywood Palace, the Rockets and ThunderCats will be meeting in what promises to be sixty minutes of fast-paced excitement. Saturday evening, Golden will be on home ice once again, this time to battle with the Kimberley Dynamiters in another key divisional matchup.
Written by Tom Stanton