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Reid Gardiner earned himself a hat trick as the Kelowna Rockets defeated the Kamloops Blazers 4-2 in game six of this WHL playoffs series. The win sends the Rockets on to the second round as the Blazers' season ends.
Dillon Dube opened the scoring at 11:57 of the first period with his fourth of the post-season.
Early in the second, Reid Gardiner put the Rockets up by two, sniping high blocker side on Connor Ingram on the power play after receiving a perfect pass from Dube.
The Blazers came alive late in the third period, and they thought they had brought it within a goal when Deven Sideroff redirected a shot from Dallas Valentine, but the goal was waived off due to a high stick. With under five minutes to play, Blazers' captain Collin Shirley took matters into his own hands and gave his team the goal that they were looking for. Just over a minute later, his teammate Brody Stuart tied the game up at two.
Reid Gardiner wasn't about to let this game go to overtime though. With under two minutes to play in regulation, Nick Merkley set Gardiner up to put another one high on Ingram to retake the lead. He also nabbed the empty netter with 22 seconds left in the game to end the series.
We've mentioned before that the Blazers have struggled on the power play in this series, but we should also note that the Rockets have thrived on the penalty kill. They have the best PK in the league, 96.9%, this post-season.
Michael Herringer and Connor Ingram held starring roles in this series. On Sunday, Herringer made 21 saves on the Blazers' 23 shots, and Connor Ingram stopped 31 Rockets' shots.
The Rockets will now wait to see who their next opponent is, as the Portland Winterhawks have a 3-2 lead on the Prince George Cougars. Game six of that series takes place Monday, April 3rd.
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