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WHL  

Rockets drop cup opener

A lack of discipline and some shaky play inside the defensive end cost the Kelowna Rockets as they dropped the opener at the Mastercard Memorial Cup in Quebec City.

The host Quebec Remparts jumped out to a 2-0 lead and held on for a well-deserved 4-3 win over the Rockets in the tournament opener.

It was the first win for a host team to open the tournament in seven years.

Rockets head coach Dan Lambert said after the game the team will have to be better if it hopes to have any success at the tournament.

"We showed a lack of discipline and frustration at times. I thought they came out real hard and we came out as a wait-and-see team. We need to be better," said Lambert.

Nikolas Brouillard got the Remparts on the board five minutes into the game. A teammate was hauled down in the Rockets end and, as a delayed penalty was being called, the loose puck slid to Brouillard, whose one-timer from the right circle beat Jackson Whistle high blocker side.

Whistle, easily the best Rocket on the ice, made two key saves off Quebec star Anthony Duclair early in the game and was called upon to make several other key stops to keep the Rockets in it.

"If it weren't for Jackson, we would have been down probably 5-1 after the first period-and-a-half. He certainly kept us in the game and gave us an opportunity to keep it close," said Lambert.

The hosts doubled the lead 13 minutes into the second when Matt Murphy's point shot hit Whistle, then deflected off a skate and trickled over the goal line.

Kelowna got that one back later in the period when Nick Merkley's one-timer off a pass from Cole Linaker appeared to hit Quebec goaltender Zach Fucale, glance off the goalpost and go in.

The shorthanded goal was Kelowna's 10th of the post season.

The turning point in the game was likely a call after the second period horn, when Leon Draisaitl and Marc-Olivier Roy came together. They jostled briefly and exchanged words before being separated by officials.

Both were assessed 10-minute misconducts.

"You take the best player out of the game, and it certainly hurts somebody – and it hurt us. He's too valuable a guy to lose for 10 minutes," admitted Lambert, who added it was a lesson learned about what not to do after the whistle.

"We're on foreign land, and refs call things differently. We have to understand that and learn from that. There's no need to get involved in chirping after whistles. We did, and it cost us."

The loss of Draisaitl may have cost the Rockets early in the third.

With a man advantage, Madison Bowey had the puck stripped inside the Quebec line, allowing Anthony Duclair to skate in alone from centre ice.

Whistle made a spectacular poke check, but the loose puck was buried.

Gage Quinney got that one back when he deflected home Josh Morrissey's shot from the point on a Kelowna power-play with under eight minutes to go.

Quinney had a couple of chances later in the period to tie it, but couldn't beat Fucale.

Adam Erne appeared to ice it with 64 seconds left when he hit the empty net from centre ice with Whistle on the bench for an extra attacker.

However, with just 45 seconds left, a post-whistle scrum resulted in Kelowna being awarded a two-man advantage. With Whistle on the bench, Kelowna had a six-on-three and was rewarded seconds later when Draisaitl tapped in a centering pass to cut the deficit to 4-3 with 34 seconds left.

Bowey had one shot in the dying seconds that deflected off Fucale, then Draisaitl was able to get a shot off a bouncing puck as time expired.

"I think had we had another minute ... but it's a little late when you wait until the last minute to really push. The shorthanded goal that they scored really hurt us. It's one that I'm sure everybody would want to have back."

The Rockets are off now until Monday, when they take on Quebec league champion Rimouski.

Despite getting the weekend off, it doesn't appear there will be much sightseeing on the agenda.

"We're here for one reason, and I'm not sure sightseeing is one of them," said Lambert.

"We have to focus on our game a little here. It's one thing if you play your best hockey and you lose. But, we don't feel we played our best tonight."

The Rockets will close out round robin play Tuesday against OHL champion Oshawa.

The round robin winner will advance straight to Sunday's championship game.

The semi-final between the second and third place teams will be held Friday.

If a tie-breaker is needed, that game is scheduled for Thursday.

Nikolas Brouillard, Matt Murphy, Ryan Graves shorthanded and Adam Erne into an empty scored for the Remparts.



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