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Kelowna.com: Shootout thriller

October 7, 2009 - Kelowna.com

By Chris Stanford - Kelowna.com

On a team with a bunch of first-year players, it was somehow fitting that it was a rookie that finished off the night as Cody Chikie scored in a sudden-death shootout to give them a 6-5 win over the Medicine Hat Tigers at Prospera Place Wednesday night.

The Tigers scored with 14.8 second left in regulation to send the game to an extra five-minute frame, and when that decided nothing, it was mano-a-mano from that point on. None of the first three shooters for either team was able to find the back of the net. The Rockets fourth shooter Brandon McMillan finally beat the Tigers goalie Tyler Bunz, but Mark Isherwood answered that back on the next shot for the Tigers.

As the sixth shooter, Chikie picked up the puck at the centre spot and weaving in on Bunz, he faked a big slapper and instead went to his left and wristed it pat the netminder for his first WHL game-winner.

“I knew what I was doing the whole time,”said Chikie afterwards. “I had it planned and I’ve put in a lot of practice. It worked well.”

Early in the game, a shootout at the OK Corral looked to be the last thing needed to settle the score, but there were two different Kelowna teams that took to the ice Wednesday night. There was the one Rockets team that pumped in three unanswered first-period goals, including one at the 44 second-mark mark to set the Tigers back on their heels early. Then there was the other one that let Medicine Hat back in the game with three of their own in the second to tie it up.

“It was funny game,” said Rockets head coach Ryan Huska. “I thought we were good in the first period and then I thought we got ourselves into a little bit of panic situation when they scored that first goal in the second period and it took us awhile to get ourselves going again.

“We found a way to win. It wasn’t the prettiest hockey game from our standpoint, but it was two points.”

The games first star Brandon McMillan had two goals an an assist in addition to his shootout goal, and Spencer Main, Kyle St. Denis and Stepan Novotny added singles to help the cause.

Kyle Verdino was checked hard into the boards with one minute left in the second period by the Tigers Joey Frazer and left the game with assistance. He appeared to be nursing his right ankle, the same one broken this summer in an off-season car accident and did not return to the bench.

According to Huska though, he was later able to put weight on it and will be sent for X-rays as a precaution.

The win, their fourth in row, give the Rockets a 4-2-1-0 record on the season, and keeps them in sole possession of third place in the WHL’s B.C. Division, behind the Kamloops Blazers and the Vancouver Giants, who both have 12 points.

The Rockets next game is this Friday when they travel to Vancouver to meet the Giants. Their next home game is this Saturday when they host the Prince George Cougars.

Game time is 7 p.m.