Kelowna Rockets double up on Prince George Cougars

KELOWNA – The Kelowna Rockets defeated the Prince George Cougars 4-2 on Friday night, thrilling a Prospera Place crowd to earn the victory in the game's final minute.

With the game tied 2-2, the Rockets killed off a 5-on-3 Prince George power play that lasted nearly a full two-minutes before Rourke Chartier connected for the game winner, stuffing home a goal mouth scramble with just 25 seconds to play.

After a scoreless first period, Prince George jumped out on top when they scored twice on back to back 5-on-3 power plays in the second period.

Nick Merkley brought Kelowna within a goal late in the second period before Carter Rigby tied the game 2-2 early in the third period.

The game stayed tied for much of the third until a Justin Kirkland high sticking penalty with about three minutes to play was followed by a delay of game call, when Madison Bowey cleared a puck over the glass for a delay of game call.

But the Rockets, sporting the WHL's top-rated penalty killing unit, killed off the two man disadvantage, setting the stage for Chartier's game winner. Chartier went on to score the emtpy net goal as well.

The win improved the Rockets record to 46-8-0-4 on the season as the team heads into a rare few days off.

Kelowna's next game is Wednesday when it plays host to the Tri-City Americans before traveling to Prince George for a pair of road games next weekend.