The Golden Rockets had a split weekend, with a win against the Spokane Braves on Saturday (Sept. 30) and a loss against the Castlegar Rebels on Sunday (Oct. 1).
Saturday, Sept. 30
The Rockets hit the road over the weekend to take on the Spokane Braves on Saturday night. The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) clash gave the Rockets their much-needed second win of the regular season, a 4–2 win in Washington State.
Pierson Main opened the scoring for the Rockets at 6:40 in the first period, assisted by Brayden Bissell. Main’s goal was also his first of the season.
It took until the second frame for Spokane to fire back against the Rockets with an early goal in the second period. Braves’ Zach Baumann scored his first of the season at 1:39, assisted by Tie Schumacher and Dante Hughes.
Less than two minutes later, Rockets’ Nathan Andrew helped Golden retake the lead with a powerplay goal at 3:16. Andrew’s effort was assisted by Stefan Bodtker and Jake Yakubowski.
Not content with just one goal, Braves’ Zach Baumann got his second of the night at 13:54 in the third period to tie the game at 2–2. Within two minutes, the Rockets reclaimed the lead with a goal from Hayden Barr at 15:24, assisted by Nathan Kaye.
The Rockets got their last goal and final nail in the coffin at 20:00 in the third period with a powerplay goal by Cooper Thompson.
Sunday, Oct 1
After a strong performance on Saturday evening, the Rockets lost their second weekend game on Sunday, falling 3–2 to the Castlegar Rebels.
Despite the result, the Rockets scored two goals in the second period. Cooper Thompson picked up his second goal of the season at 5:24, assisted by Dominic Fiorentino and Hayden Barr. Pierson Main scored the second goal for the Rockets, also his second of the season, at 7:00 in the second period. Main was assisted by Brayden Bissell and Brandon Spilchen.
The Rebels stormed back and scored three unanswered goals, starting 10:52 mark when Donovan Ouellette from the back of the net. Ouellette’s goal was assisted by Tate Warwarick and Carter Peters and marked the end of the action in the second period.
Aiden MacNeill picked up the second goal for the Rebels (his first of the season), tying the game at 2–2. Finally, Evan Calder scored the third and final goal of the game for the Rebels at 16:34, bringing the score to 3–2 for Castlegar.
The Golden Rockets will be back in action and home this weekend with games on Friday (Oct. 6) and Saturday (Oct. 7) at the Golden Arena. The Rockets will take on the Fernie Ghostriders and Columbia Valley Rockies on Friday and Saturday. The puck drops at 7:30 MDT for both games.
