The Kelowna Rockets had to feel fortunate they left the rink 2-1 winners Friday over the Prince George Cougars.
The Cougars held the edge on them in virtually every aspect of the game except the one which matters most - the scoreboard. As a result they’re still the only WHL team still seeking its first win of the season.
Pavel Novak took care of all the Rockets’ scoring needs with two goals, which boosted the Rockets to their fourth win of the season.
The 17-year-old Western Hockey League rookie from the Czech Republic made his last shot of the night the one that cinched the victory with just 1:49 left in the game. He unloaded from the top of the face-off circle and the puck hit the stick of Cougars defenceman Ryan Schoettler and changed direction, bulging the net behind Taylor Gauthier. That came with 14 seconds left in a holding penalty to Josh Maser, who had tied the game on a rebound midway through the third period with his first of the season on a Prince George power play.
The Cougars were on a brief power play when Novak took off on a breakaway and was hauled down by Maser. Novak had given the Rockets the early lead, 4:23 in, when he snapped in a pass from behind the net from Liam Kindree.
The Cougars utilized their speed to create turnovers and win loose-puck battles and held the Rockets to just nine shots in the first two periods combined. At game’s end the shot clock favoured the Cats 28-21.
But their lack of finish around the net came back to haunt them and they suffered their third loss of the season by the narrowest of margins to drop to 0-4-0-1. Kelowna (4-1-1-0) remained atop the B.C. Division standings.
“I thought we had a really game, we had lots of positives, our power play was going well and we were getting lots of shots through,” said Cougars defenceman Ryan Schoettler. “At even strength we were dominating them down low and that it needs from our team is getting the pucks high and getting the shots through, and I think we did that pretty well tonight but we couldn’t get those goals. We had lots of chances and we just have to bear down on those. Eventually those bounces will start coming out way and it’ll be a different story.
“We just have to keep crashing the net.”
Like Maser did on his goal. Rhett Rhinehart fed the puck to Tyson Upper in the circle and Roman Basran made the save but kicked out a fat rebound to Maser. Maser, 20, led his team in scoring last year with 30 and was probably feeling the pressure to score more than any of the Cougars.
“He’s a big body and he has an itch for the puck around the net,” said Schoettler. “In intermission he said how snakebit he was and I’m sure that’s a big relief to get off his back with that goal.”
Last Saturday in a 3-2 shootout loss in Victoria, Maser was double-shifted and played 30 minutes when the Cats chose to dress seven defencemen.
“I did that for a reason,” said Cougars head coach and general manager Marl Lamb. “I wanted him not to think too much and tire him out, and it didn’t work. He’s a horse and he didn’t even tire.
“Sometimes you can score goals and not play good, sometimes you can score two or three goals and not play good. He’s been playing good and not scoring. The key is to play good and that stuff will happen.”
The Rockets, and Gauthier, were at their best in the third period when the Cougars took three minor penalties. Gauthier was called upon to make four saves with the Rockets looking to add to their 1-0 lead early in the period and two of those stops - a pad save off Kindree and a leg-splitting denial of Nolan Foote - were showstoppers.
“We’ve played some great hockey and there’s nothing negative you can at all,” said Lamb. “The gameplan was followed, the guys worked right through the whole game, did god things on special teams and good things 5-on-5. The only negative was the score at the end. It was a solid hockey game.
“They’re probably the highest-scoring team in the league right now and we played them hard. It’s just so disappointing we didn’t get a point in that game.”
Already without injured veterans Cole Moberg, Jackson Leppard and Ilijah Colina, the Cougars suffered another loss about 10 minutes into the game when centre Ethan Browne left the ice with an undisclosed injury and did not return.
The turnstile tally was announced at 2,243. The same teams meet again tonight at 7 p.m.at CN Centre.
