- While his former team was being eliminated from the WHL playoffs in overtime Wednesday night, Geordie Wudrick was doing his best in the extra session to help his new team get back in a playoff series. Wudrick scored 46 seconds into double overtime in a 5-4 win over the Everett Silvertips, tying this best of seven series at two wins apiece. Wudrick’s old team, the Swift Current Broncos, were eliminated from the 2010 playoffs with a 3-2 overtime loss to Brandon.
- Wudrick’s overtime winner was his 7th goal in this years playoffs. It came after Tips overage forward Chris Langkow was assessed a slashing penalty after hauling down Rockets defenceman Dallas Jackson. Was it a penalty? It would be called in regulation time, so should it be any different in overtime?
- How impressive are Wudrick's 7 goals in this series? Jamie Benn had four goals in a second round playoff series against Tri City and netted four goals against Vancouver in last years Western Conference final. Has a Rockets player, outside of Wudrick, scored seven goals in one playoff series? Not to my knowledge. Wudrick is the first!
- Jesse Schultz had five goals in a series against Red Deer in the WHL finals in 2003.
- The winning goal involved goaltender Mark Guggenberger. Guggenberger fires the puck to centre ice to a waiting Tyson Barrie. Barrie skates on right wing inside the Tips zone, finds Wudrick, who fires a hard wrist shot over the glove hand side of Thomas Heemskerk.
- Overtime was a sluggish affair, with the two teams playing their fourth game in six nights. The best scoring chance came when Rockets forward Mitchell Callahan fired a low shot that Heemskerk found with his right pad, to keep the game even at 4-4.
- It was another rough start for the Rockets, who were down 2-0 less than six minutes into the game. But the key goal for the home team came when Spencer Main made a Jamie Benn like move, by stuffing the puck short side on Heemskerk just 34 seconds after Markus McCrea made it 2-0 for the visitors.
- Main’s goal was the start of three unanswered goals for the Rockets in the first period, who also received a solid effort from rookie Brett Bulmer. Bulmer scored with 55 seconds left in the opening period to give the Rockets their first lead of the series – 3-2 – when entering the first intermission.
- The second period will go down as the best period of hockey for the Tips in this series and a forgettable one for the Rockets. I would guess 85% of the play was inside the Rockets zone. The Tips came in waves, getting goals from hard working Clayton Cumiskey and a laser beam wrist shot from defenceman Ryan Murray on the power play. The only good news for the Rockets at periods end was the fact that they trailed by just a single goal.
- If you are wondering, the Rockets won just one game during the regular season when trailing after two periods. The comeback in game four after trailing 4-3 heading into the final frame was impressive.
- The Rockets received the tying goal from rookie Antoine Corbin. It was Corbin’s second goal of the series. Who would have thought that Corbin would have more goals in this series than 25 goal man Shane McColgan? McColgan, not for a lack of trying, has failed to score in the first four games.
- In a conversation with Doug Soetaert before the game, the personable GM of the Everett Silvertips revealed that Western Conference second team all-star defenceman Radko Gudas in fact did not make the trip to Kelowna for games three and four.
- Do I dare go out on a limb again and predict who we will see in goal for the Tips in game five? Look for Kent Simpson to get the start. Why? Its his 18th birthday of course!
- Sorry for the late post. Internet problems courtesy of Telus are to blame.
AM 1150 audio from game four!
