The Rockets were this close to completing a Holiday Sweep. But they did get points in all four games.
It started on Tuesday, Dec 28. Mark Lewiski scored the tying goal with 10 seconds left in regulation. And Andrew Cristall potted the winner in Overtime to knock off the Kamloops Blazers 2-1 at the Sandman Centre.
The Rockets carried the momentum from that game into the rematch on Wednesday. Cristall and Lewiski opened the scoring. Then the Rockets added 4 goals in the third period en route to a 6-2 win overt the Blazers. Cristall added two assists and Lewiski added another. Talyn Boyko made 35 saves to get the win. Jake Poole, Steel Quiring, Gabriel Szturc, and Tyson Feist scored in the third. John Babcock added two assists.
After enjoying a couple of days off, the Rockets were back at on New Years Day. Jake Lee had two goals and two assists. Mark Lewiski scored a goal again as the Rockets knocked off the Victoria Royals 5-2. The game also featured the return of leading scorer Pavel Novak from the cancelled World Juniors. He chipped in with two assists. As did his line-mate Colton Dach. The game was tied at 2-2 until the 11:17 mark when Lee got his first goal if the game. Max Graham added some insurance at the 15:17 mark with Lee icing the game with an empty netter in the dying minutes.
The Rockets finished off their Holiday portion of their schedule on Sunday. They got two goals from Gabriel Szurtec. They also hot another strong goaltending effort from Talyn Boyko. However Zach Ostapchuk potted a goal 30 seconds into overtime and the Giants beat the Rockets 4-3 at the Langley Events Centre.
In all, the Rockets had a good holiday break. While they had a five-game winning st4reak snapped, they went 3-0-1. They have cut the Kamloops Blazers lead in the B.C. Division to seven points. They Andrew Cristall and Mark Lewiski were both very strong offensively. Cristall had two goals and four assists. Lewiski had three goals and two assists. Lewiski was named a star in two of those games. Gabriel Szturc had three goals in four games while Talyn Boyko continued to hold the fort in the Rockets goal. He went 2-0-1 with 2.33 GAA and a .963 save percentage.
The Rockets are back in action on Friday, and they host the Vancouver Giants at the Sandman Centre.
