Kelowna Rockets double up on Rebels in Red Deer

RED DEER – The Kelowna Rockets defeated the Red Deer Rebels 6-3 on Wednesday night in Red Deer, closing out its five game road trip as well as its pre-Christmas schedule on a winning note.

The Rockets scored three times in the third period, to snap a 3-3 tie and improve to 4-1-0-0 on the road trip and 28-5-3-0 on the season, the top record in the WHL as the team breaks for Christmas.

Kelowna played the road trip without regulars Madison Bowey, Rourke Chartier and Kris Schmidli, as well as newly acquired Josh Morrissey with all four at World Junior selection camps.

“Our guys were resilient,” said assistant coach Kris Mallette, on the AM1150 post game show. “To come out of this trip 4-1, we’re really happy. The break will be good for our guys. We're looking to come back with bigger and better things for our fans after Christmas.”

Justin Kirkland led the offense on Wednesday, scoring twice and adding an assist, while Tyrell Goulbourne, Rodney Southam, Dillon Dube and Tyson Baillie also scored.

WHL leading scorer Nick Merkley chipped in with two assists.

The Rockets return to action after Christmas with two home games, hosting Kamloops on Dec. 27 and Prince George on Dec. 30.

Tickets are available for those games at selectyourtickets.com.