Thursday, January 12, 2012

Bitten again on the power play

  • When a penalty killing unit shows more urgency then the other teams power play, it poses a heap of trouble for the one with the man advantage. That happened Wednesday night in the Kelowna Rockets 4-2 loss in Portland. Two-second period shorthanded goals helped vault the Winterhawks to their 15th straight home ice win while snapping the Rockets three game winning streak.
  • Down 2-1 after 20 minutes, the Rockets started the second period on the power play. A lost battle against the boards resulted in Winterhawks forward Taylor Peters scoring shorthanded, giving the home team a 3-1 lead. Oliver Gabriel would make it 4-1 with another shorthanded goal, marking the 11th time this season the Rockets have given up a goal while enjoying the power play.
  • The second period could have been a whole lot worse had goaltender Adam Brown not stopped 28 goal man Brad Ross on a penalty shot.
  • This isn't the first time the Rockets have given up two shorthanded goals in a game this season. In Tri City, the Rockets surrender two shorthanded goals in a 5-1 loss.
  • Last season the Rockets gave up ten shorthanded goals.
  • It could be worse. In 1996-97, the Rockets gave up a staggering 23 shorthanded goals.
  • Brett Lyons debut was a good one. Playing on the left side with Brett Bulmer and Zach Franko, the 20 year-old got into a second period scrap before scoring his 12th goal of the season on a third period power play.
  • Despite the 4-2 loss, the Rockets out-shot the Hawks 35-29. It marked the first time in eight home games that Portland was out-shot.
  • The Hawks have now won 15 consecutive home games. They can tie the team record set in 1993-94 tomorrow night when the two teams meet at the Rose Garden.
  • An impressive debut for Hawks forward Cam Reid. Portland obtained his playing rights earlier in the week from Edmonton and the 20 year-old didn't disappoint. Playing with leading scorer Ty Rattie, Reid scored his first career WHL goal. Rattie ended the game with a goal and two assists.
  • Hawks newcomer Marcel Noebels was less effective, but that is bound to happen to any player getting accustomed to new teammates.

2 comments:

Gord McGarva said...

I know Adam Brown has stopped a few break-aways during the PP as well, or this number could be even higher.

"Shorty" goals are always a killer when you give one up and a big boost to the team scoring them.

I wonder how many times a team scoring a shorthanded goal goes on to win the game.

g.k said...

Could the reason were giving up so many of these short-handed opportunities be the result of youth & inexperience, we need to let this crop of young defencemen grow & learn from them. They are a talented bunch & will be just fine in time, hopefully in time for the playoffs.