Late recovery keeps playoff run alive for Kelowna Rockets

The Kelowna Rockets avoided a playoff-ending loss, coming back from a three-goal deficit against the Everett Silvertips on Wednesday night.

They started the game with an offensive presence in the first period, but couldn’t hold back the Silvertips rush, with the first goal against the Rockets just a minute after the puck dropped.

With six minutes left in the first period, Rockets goalie Harrison Boettiger was replaced with Josh Banini after the third unanswered Silvertips goal.

Banini shut down the Silvertips for the rest of the game, but the Rockets didn’t respond until Tij Iginla’s snapped the puck past Anders Miller’s blocker seven minutes into the third period.

From there, the Rockets built momentum through the period, scoring another a few minutes later.

With almost five minutes left, it seemed their playoff run could be over when Rockets defenceman Rowan Guest took a four-minute high sticking penalty, but they still managed to tie it just in time.

The Silvertips defence, trying to run down the clock, held the puck behind their net, but it broke loose in the scrum. In a scramble in front of the Silvertips net, the Rockets tied the game with just seven seconds to spare.

Less than three minutes into overtime, Iginla won the game with a one-timer shot passed Miller, assisted by Vojtech Cihar and Tomas Poletin.

They ended the game with a 4-3 victory, keeping the Rockets playoff run alive. The Silvertips are leading the series and need just one more to knock out Kelowna. They’re heading back to Everett for game five.

To the north, the other Okanagan WHL squad claimed a victory against Prince George, where the first two periods ended with a 2-2 tie. The Penticton Vees then pulled away in the third with three unanswered goals.

The Vees won two games in a row, tying the series against the Prince George Cougars. Game five will take them back to the South Okanagan Events Centre.

The puck drops for both games around 7 p.m., April 17.