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Kelowna Rockets split weekend against Vancouver

Carson Golder scored three times in the third period on Saturday night
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The Kelowna Rockets split a weekend set with the Vancouver Giants, losing 3-1 and winning 5-1. (@thewhl/Twitter)

The tough road continued for the Kelowna Rockets on Friday night but they bounced back at home on Saturday against Vancouver.

Special teams was the difference on Friday night (Jan. 27) in their 3-1 loss to the Vancouver Giants.

Kelowna came out with a stronger first period, getting a goal from Adam Kydd 7:39 into the game to give them a 1-0 lead. It was his 14th of the season, assisted by Max Graham and Ethan Mittelsteadt.

In the second period, the Giants scored back-to-back powerplay goals by Tyler Thrope and Jaden Lipinski to take a 2-1 lead.

Brendan Pentecost added an insurance goal in the third period to give Vancouver the 3-1 win.

Kelowna went 0-5 with the man advantage. The loss extended the team’s losing streak to three games.

Rockets net-minder Tayln Boyko made 35 saves in the loss.

The two teams met again on Saturday night in Kelowna where the Rockets came out with a much better effort, beating Vancouver 5-1.

It was deadlocked at one after the first and Kelowna’s Marcus Pacheco and Vancouver’s Dylan Anderson exchanged goals.

Newly-appointed captain Gabriel Szturc gave the Rockets a 2-1 lead in the second period, which ended up being the game-winning goal.

The third period become the Carson Golder show as he scored three goals in a 16-minute span to complete his first WHL hat trick and cap off a four-point night. He now had 19 goals on the season.

Jari Kykkanen made 29 saves for the win on Saturday night.

Over the last two weeks, these two teams have played each other four times and don’t like each other as they’ve totalled 186 penalty minutes combined.

The Rockets are back in action on Friday night against Vancouver once again. Puck drop is at 7:05 p.m. at Prospera Place.

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@cunninghamjordy
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Jordy Cunningham

About the Author: Jordy Cunningham

Hailing from Ladner, B.C., I have been passionate about sports, especially baseball, since I was young. In 2018, I graduated from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops with a Bachelor of Journalism degree
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