The seventh-place Seattle Thunderbirds weren't expected to put up much of a fight against the second-place Kelowna Rockets in the first round of the Western Hockey League playoffs. On paper, it was a clear-cut mismatch, despite Kelowna being without their captain Colton Sissons because of injury.
But three games into the series, the Thunderbirds had the Rockets on the ropes. They squeaked by Kelowna in every game, beating them 5-4 in game 1, 2-1 in game 2, and 3-2 in game 3.
The fat lady started to warm up her chops. But the Rockets had other plans. They put it into fifth gear, coming away with a commanding 4-0 victory in game 4. The following two games, they edged the Thunderbirds by a single goal, paving the way for be-all and end-all game 7. The deciding game didn't disappoint for excitement, to say the least. Tyson Baille's two goals gave the Rockets a 2-1 lead heading into the final minute of play. But with only seven seconds left on the clock, Luke Lockhart tied the game up for the Thunderbirds.
"It was heartbreaking because we thought we had the game," Baillie told Kelowna's AM 1050 on Lockhart's goal. "Our motto for the past four games has been 'believe.' Someone said 'let's believe' and we went out and did it."
Despite having the wind knocked out of him, Baille played hero in overtime. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound centre completed his hat trick at the 5:10 mark.
"I was screaming for the puck and [Kelowna defenceman] Madison [Bowey] with his great vision hit me backdoor and I just one-timed it along the ice because I knew [Seattle goalie Brandon] Glover was down and out," Baillie said. "Words can't describe it. I was just going crazy. I just kind of blacked out."
Former Yorkton Harvest and Melville native Damon Severson shinned for the Rockets throughout the series. The 6-foot-2, 198-pound defenceman, who is a New Jersey Devils second-round pick, racked up one goal and eight points, including an assist on Myles Bell's game-winner in game 5.
The Rockets are only the second team in WHL history to pull off a comeback from a 3-0 deficit. The 1996 Spokane Chiefs were the first club to make it happen.
Kelowna is already underway in their second-round matchup against the third-place Kamloops Blazers. The Rockets have yet again put themselves in a bad spot as they are down 0-2 in the series.
In an interview with Kelowna's AM 1050 before the series, Rockets head coach Ryan Huska shared his thoughts on his squad having their work cut out for them.
"Originally, we would have been looked at as the favourite - a slight favourite - because of where we finished in the regular season," Huska told AM 1050. "But with where we are injury-wise, we're probably going to be an underdog. They have very good speed and skill on that Kamloops team. They have a good mix of grit and physical play. We're definitely going to be behind the eight ball with seven regular guys missing from our lineup."
