Rockets face Wild in first round: sweep weekend finale with Giants

The Kelowna Rockets locked up fifth place in the Western Conference in the final game of the 2023-24 regular season on Saturday night with a 5-2 victory over the Vancouver Giants at Prospera Place.

The Kelowna Rockets locked up fifth place in the Western Conference in the final game of the 2023-24 regular season on Saturday night with a 5-2 victory over the Vancouver Giants at Prospera Place.

After defeating the Giants 6-2 on Friday to leapfrog Vancouver for fifth place in the conference, the Rockets needed to win tonight’s game in order to hold off the Giants from reclaiming the position in a tight playoff positioning battle. 

With the win, the Rockets will face the fourth place Wenatchee Wild in their first ever WHL Playoff appearance that will kick off at the Town Toyota Center in Wenatchee on Friday, March 29 at 7:00 p.m. PST. The schedule and ticketing info can be found below in the UP NEXT section of this article.

GAME SUMMARY

Michael Cicek (9) standing at the lip of the goal crease was able to get a couple of whacks at a rebound, putting Kelowna on the board first 10:38 into the game. Just under two minutes later Ethan Neutens (8) pushed the Rockets out to a two goal lead. 

The Giants pushed back in the second frame with a goal from Tyson Zimmer (23) at 3:22 and Jaden Lipinski (24) at 8:59 to tie the game up at two. The Rockets third line struck again when Neutens (9) restored the Rockets lead before the end of the frame. 

Veteran forward Max Graham (19) added to Kelowna’s lead 4:45 into the third period before potting his second of the game into the empty net.

ADDITIONAL STATS

• The Rockets wrap up the season with a record of 33-30-4-1
• Goaltender Jari Kykkanen stopped 25 of the 27 shots fired his way
• Kelowna was 0/2 on the man advantage while the Giants were 1/3
• The Rockets outshot the Giants 46-27
• The Rockets won the season series 7-1-0-0

UP NEXT 

The Rockets will face the Wenatchee Wild in the opening round of the 2024 WHL Playoffs. 

ROUND ONE PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

*- If necessary