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Nolan Foote's 2nd of the night lifted Kelowna to a 3-2 victory

Rockets buck Broncs in OT

Nolan Foote scored his second of the night 65 seconds into overtime Wednesday, lifting the Kelowna Rockets past the pesky Swift Current Broncos 3-2.

Liam Kindree chipped the puck into the Broncos end where Foote raced onto it and made some magic.

"The puck was bobbling, so I decided to cut back," said Foote.

"The D didn't have a good gap, so I just decided to walk in and shoot."

His wrist shot from inside the left circle beat Isaac Poulter high to the glove side.

The Rockets were by far the better team against the Central Division cellar-dwellers, but struggled to get quality chances commensurate to their edge in play over the first half of the game.

When they did look dangerous, Poulter was more than equal to the task.

"We knew they were going to come out hard after losing 4-0 last night in Kamloops," added Foote.

"I thought at times we were playing really well when we were working them down low and playing hard and had control of the game. It could have been better though."

The Broncos got the only goal of the first period when Ben King redirected a point shot from a sharp angle.

It wasn't until late in the first when the Rockets really got going, thanks to a thunderous hit from Leif Mattson just inside the Kelowna blueline.

Both Foote and head coach Adam Foote agreed that hit turned the game around.

Foote pulled the Rockets even midway through the second, burying a loose puck during a wild scramble in front of the Broncos net.

Minutes later, Pavel Novak gave Kelowna the lead for the first time when he walked into a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle on a Rockets power play.

Brecon Wood tied it in the third, setting up overtime.

Foote had an assist for a three-point night, while Novak also had a helper to go with his goal. Kaeden Korczak had a pair of assists.

"We still have to get better at not trying to make the tough play," said coach Adam Foote.

"I think the players thought we should take them, just on their record, but we still have to do what we do best. When we get the pucks deep below their goal line, that's when we're a good hockey team.

"We have to manage pucks better at the blueline, but the good news is, we were able to not get too frustrated and stayed with it."

Cole Schwebius turned away 22 shots to earn his first win as a Kelowna Rocket

The Rockets now begin a four-game road trip through the the BC Division starting Saturday in Kamloops.

Prior to Wednesday's game, the Rockets were informed Foote, Korczak and Dillon Hamaliuk had all been named to the WHL roster for the Canada-Russia series next month.

The two-game set is a chance for coaches with the World Junior team to get a look at prospective players for the upcoming world championship.

 

 



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