Ice snap winless skid against Rockets
By The Nelson Daily Sports
By The Nelson Daily Sports
Time to break up the Kootenay Ice.
For the second consecutive weekend the Ice scored a three-point weekend, this time against the Okanagan Rockets in B.C. Major Midget Hockey League action at the Capital New Centre in Kelowna.
And it could have been better has Kootenay not blown a 4-1 second period lead.
Sunday Alex Gillies scored his third of the game with eight minutes remaining in the game to lift the Rockets to a 4-4 tie against Kootenay.
Saturday the Ice outscored the Rockets 3-1 in the third to dump the home side 6-4.
The win was the first for a Kootenay team against Okanagan since 2006. The Rockets are 17-0-1 since 2006 against Kootenay.
The three points are crucial to the Ice, which climbed to within one point of ninth place North Island Silvertips. Kootenay remains six points in back of seventh-place Okanagan.
Sunday, Kootenay appeared poised to make it a sweep of the Rockets on second-period goals by Darren Medeiros and Riley Ostoforoff of Castlegar and Brenden Heinrich of Nelson.
But Gillies scored three straight goals to pull the Rockets into the tie. Jesse Knowler of Castlegar opened the scoring for Kootenay.
Christian Pickless stopped 23 shots to earn the single point.
Saturday Kootenay broke up a close game with three straight goals in the third.
Nelson’s Dryden Hunt, finishing the game with five points, got the ball rolling with eight minutes into the period. Matt Carr of Nelson gave Kootenay a 5-3 lead before Knowler, with his first of two in the period, scored to give Kootenay a three-goal cushion.
Knowler finished with contest with three points.
Nelson’s Carsen Willans and Derek Georgopolus of Cranbrook also scored for the Ice.
Jared Schamerhorn picked up the win in goal for Kootenay.
The Ice returns to action following the Christmas break when the club plays host to the Thompson Blazers Saturday, January 8 at the NDCC Arena.
sports@thenelsondaily.com
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