The Kelowna Rockets defeated the Vancouver Giants 3-2 in overtime Saturday night at Prospera Place in Kelowna.
The Giants headed to their first power play of the night 11:25 into the game. Justin Sourdif (23) cashed in on the man advantage, giving Vancouver a 1-0 lead.
Just under two minutes later, Rockets rookie defender Cayde Augustine (2) launched a shot at the net that ricocheted off an opposing player and past netminder David Tendeck tying up the game. The two entered the intermission tied at one.
Alex Swetlikoff (6) scored the lone goal of the second period, giving the Rockets their first lead of the night at 15:29. Swetlikoff attempted a wraparound, when the puck dropped in front he put his rebound home glove side. Kelowna held a 2-1 lead after two periods of play.
Vancouver and Kelowna went back and forth throughout the third period. As time ticked away the Giants called Tendeck to the bench, with 33 seconds left on the clock Jadon Joseph (22) wired a shot past Roman Basran to force overtime.
While in overtime the Rockets had a power play opportunity but were unable to capitalize. Mark Liwiski (11) ended the game 3:40 into overtime. The Kelowna Rockets record is now 28-32-6-2.
Basran stopped 19 of the 21 shots fired on him, his record moves to 20-19-3-1. Kelowna outshot Vancouver 35-21. The Rockets are tied with the Kamloops Blazers in the standings for the final spot in the B.C. Division.
The Western Hockey League announced today the Kamloops Blazers and Kelowna Rockets will meet Tuesday, March 19 (7 p.m. PT) at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops for a tiebreaker game to determine the final playoff berth in the WHL’s B.C. Division and Western Conference.
The winner of Tuesday’s WHL Tiebreaker Game will advance to the 2019 WHL Playoffs and a best-of-seven, first-round series against the Victoria Royals, who finished the 2018-19 WHL Regular Season second in the B.C. Division.
WHL fans can watch the tiebreaker game for FREE on WHL Live as a special offering before the 2019 WHL Playoffs begin Friday, March 22. WHL Live Playoff Packages will be made available for purchase Monday, March 18.
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