A pair of key inter-divisional contests last weekend for the Golden Rockets, as they kicked off 2026, coming away with a split in games.
Last Friday, the Columbia Valley Rockies were in town looking for another win after shutting out the Creston ThunderCats just a few days before in Invermere.
The two clubs scored four goals in the opening period. Golden’s steady rearguard, Rhys Wienke, got things going at 8:29, when his point drive found its way through heavy traffic in front. Columbia Valley’s Cole King would tie things up at 13:26, intercepting an errant clearing pass in the Golden end and firing home a wristshot to the top corner.
Three minutes later, a hustling Hayden IronShirt chased the puck deep into the Invermere corner and fed a perfect drop pass to linemate Brayden Bissell, whose hard drive found the back of the net. The opposition would manage to deadlock the game at 2-2 less than a minute later, with a Carter Hensch marker.
The Rockets would turn on the firepower in the second period, striking for four goals, with two on the power play. Brayden Bissell teamed up with Hayden Iron Shirt and Brendan Kolbjornsud to get things moving early.
At the midway mark, Maddox DePasquale’s fiery low drive from the blueline was neatly redirected to the back of the net by Brock McIlwain. With three minutes left in the frame, speedy Jackson Roberts combined with Brett Krawchuk and Jackson Gair to fly by the Invermere defence and tuck the puck in the short side. And shortly afterwards, steady Justin Mol worked the puck deep in the Columbia Valley end, and his shot got behind the netminder.
Invermere did manage to hit for a single goal in the final period off the stick of Peter Godley, as Golden rolled to a 6-3 victory. Rocket goaltender Beck Boiteau turned aside 40 of the 43 shots coming his way.
Saturday, the team was on the road to Creston. A close matchup as both clubs took turns applying pressure in the opposition’s end. As it turned out, Creston was never behind in this one, moving into a 2-0 lead in the first period, answered only by Brock McIlwain’s fifth of the year on the power play.
The teams traded goals in the middle frame, with Liam Munro moving the TCats ahead 3-1 at 10:50, before the Rockets’ versatile winger Alexander Kwong replied with one of his own just :16 seconds later.
The third period saw Creston tighten up defensively, while hitting for an additional pair of goals, the last into an empty net. Final score was 5-2. Both netminders, Golden’s Nick Kotai and ThunderCats Brody Rotar, were kept busy, stopping 40 and 39 shots, respectively.
Tuesday night, the Rockets were again headed back down south, this time to Kimberley. No information on the game was available at press time. Rockets are back on the ice this weekend, entertaining Grand Forks Saturday evening, and Osoyoos Sunday afternoon.
