All good things must come to end.
For the Kelowna Rockets, one of their three impressive winning streaks came to a screeching halt on Saturday night.
Brett Kulak scored the winning goal, at 3:01 of overtime, as the host Vancouver Giants edged the Rockets 4-3 in WHL action at the Pacific Coliseum. It was the Rockets' first loss since Christmas, ending an eight-game overall winning streak.
Backup Jackson Whistle was between the pipes for Saturday's setback, which saw the B.C. Division-leading Rockets (31-10-2-1) jump out to a 2-0 lead before the contest was two minutes old, only to have the last-place Giants (12-32-0-0) rally.
"It wasn't a great night. We didn't really have it tonight, and certainly didn't play the way we're capable of playing," said Rockets coach Ryan Huska, whose club led 2-1 and 3-2 at the period breaks but was outshot 30-27 overall and had to settle for a single point. "We did get a strong start, but we didn't have the necessary push that we needed after the first two goals."
Colton Sissons, at the 57-second mark of the first period, and Rourke Chartier, at 1:42, put pucks past Payton Lee in what seemed another sure rout for the Rockets. But Jackson Houck scored two power-play goals - one in the first and another in the second - to pull Vancouver even.
Dylen McKinlay gave Kelowna a 3-2 lead at 13:16 of the second period, but Travis McEvoy tallied the equalizer for the Giants at 9:40 of the third to force overtime.