The Portland Winterhawks had an ideal start to Game 1 of the Western Hockey League’s Western Conference final.
But Kelowna’s finish was better.
The Rockets scored the final three goals and controlled the third period to beat the Winterhawks 5-4 on Friday at Prospera Place in the opener of the series between the WHL’s top two teams.
Game 2 is at 7 p.m. Saturday in Kelowna.
Oliver Bjorkstrand scored two early goals, and Chase De Leo and Keoni Texeira had goals for the Winterhawks.
Justin Kirkland and Tyson Ballie each had a goal and two assists for the Rockets, who had five different players score goals.
Portland took a 4-3 lead into the third period, but Kelowna grabbed momentum early in the period and tied it with a power-play goal by Kirkland 4:17 into the third. Kirkland deflected a waist-high shot past Winterhawks goalie Brendan Burke.
The Rockets took the lead for the first time less than two minutes later. Kirkland forced a turnover and defenseman Jesse Lees convert the odd-man rush to make the score 5-4 with 14 minutes left.
The Winterhawks had one power play the rest of the way, but were not able to produce a tying goal as the Rockets controlled the momentum, limiting Portland to only four shots on goal in the third period.
That was a stark change from the start of the game.
Bjorkstrand scored 33 seconds in and again at 5:49 on the power play as the Winterhawks grabbed the early momentum. When De Leo scored on Portland’s second power-play to make it 3-0 12:19 into the game.
But Ballie scored on a delayed Portland penalty less than a minute later to breathe life into the Rockets and the crowd of 6,218. A bigger momentum shift came in the final minute of the first period when Madison Bowey scored a short-handed goal.
This was only the second time in 53 games this season that the Winterhawks have lost a game in regulation that they led entering the third period.
Bjorkstrand nearly had a hat-trick in the first period. He put the puck in the goal as time expired, but a video replay determined the puck crossed the goal line a fraction of a second too late.
Kelowna goalie Jordon Cooke finished with 22 saves on 26 shots. Portland’s Brendan Burke made 31 saves, several of them turning away close-range chances.
NOTE — The start time for Game 6 (if necessary) on April 27 in Portland has been changed to 2 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
