The Kelowna Rockets weren‘t going to be denied.
Geordie Wudrick, with his second goal of the game and sixth of the series, scored the winner 46 seconds into double overtime to top the Everett Silvertips 5-4 at Prospera Place on Wednesday night.
With the win, Kelowna evened the best-of-seven, first-round WHL playoff series 2-2, ensuring there will be a Game 6 back in Kelowna on Saturday night. Game 5 goes Friday in Everett.
In an entertaining affair full of turning points and momentum shifts, Wudrick provided the dramatic ending. With the Rockets enjoying a power play that carried over from the first overtime, defenceman Tyson Barrie carried the puck into Silvertips‘ territory and fed a cross-ice pass to Wudrick, who fired a laser over the glove of Everett goalie Thomas Heemskerk.
“I just had my head down,” Wudrick said. “To be honest, my legs were seizing up, I was getting pretty tired, and I just put it on net and luckily it went top corner.”
A mid-season acquisition, Wudrick‘s addition has paid serious dividends in this series. The 19-year-old power forward has scored in all four games, but none bigger than Wednesday‘s winner. That decisive goal came with Silvertips forward Chris Langkow in the sin bin, guilty of a tripping infraction in his own zone with 40 seconds left in the first overtime. Langkow had assisted on his team‘s first two goals, as Everett opened a 2-0 lead early, but trailed 3-2 after the first period, before leading 4-3 through 40 minutes.
After combining for eight goals through regulation, the goalies redeemed themselves in overtime. Heemskerk was stellar, turning aside 14 shots, including several point-blank opportunities. Kelowna ‘keeper Mark Guggenberger was equal to the task, making 10 saves.
Guggenberger, making his first start of the series after replacing Adam Brown with the Rockets trailing 2-0 in Tuesday‘s Game 3, finished with 39 saves to earn his second win in as many nights. The Rockets, who were outshot 43-35 on Wednesday, also rallied for a 5-3 win on Tuesday with Guggenberger stopping 22 of 23 shots in relief.
Heemskerk, who started Game 1 of the series last Friday but watched Games 2 and 3 behind Kent Simpson, made 30 saves in his return.
Shane Harper, with his fourth goal of the series to open the scoring 1:58 into the contest, Markus McCrea, Clayton Cumiskey and Ryan Murray lit the lamp for Everett.
Spencer Main, with his first career playoff goal, Brett Bulmer and Antoine Corbin replied for Kelowna in regulation. Top of Page
