The Columbia Valley Rockies came away from the weekend with one win and one loss against the Golden Rockets.

On Friday, January 4, the Rockies lost a hard-fought home ice battle against the Rockets, with the final decision going 4-3 in favour of Golden.

“We took it to them for 50 minutes and not 60,” said coach Scott Dubielewicz. “That’s the difference in the game, those ten minutes that we let up.”

In spite of the loss, the Rockies had strong showings from goaltender Stewart Pratt and forward Ryan Henderson.

Henderson opened the scoring in the dying seconds of the first period, and scored another with five minutes left in the second to gain the lead for the Rockies again after an earlier goal by Stephen Pratt evened things up at two goals apiece.

Both Pratt and Golden goaltender, James Leonard, faced a barrage of shots throughout the game, the final tally being 40 for the Rockets and 37 for the Rockies. Despite the mostly even play, Golden netted two quick goals midway through the third to tie things up and then take the lead in what was a heartbreaking loss for the home side.

“We were really physical and made them pay the price. We made it difficult for them, which is positive,” Dubielewicz added. “We’re looking at this as a two-game battle so we want to get our points back tomorrow night in Golden.”

And that is just what they did, winning an overtime thriller in Golden on Saturday, January 5. It was Henderson whose offensive skill again came through with 4:36 left in extra time, getting the overtime winner.

Stephen Pratt opened the scoring for the Rockies, who went up 3-0 in the first with goals from Jerome Thorne and Jake Fardoe. It took until the last five minutes of the third period for Golden to equalize, which sent the game into overtime.

Goaltender Brody Nelson faced 54 shots as opposed to Golden’s Cody Boeckman, who faced only 26, indicating the play was definitely with the Rockies.

The overtime win brings the Rockies to 30 points on the season, and puts them in a tie for third in the Eddie Mountain Memorial Division. Golden remain at the top of the pack with 52 points, one point ahead of the Fernie Ghostriders.

Next up for the Rockies will be a two-game home stand against the Kimberley Dynamiters on Friday (January 11) and the Fernie Ghostriders on Saturday (January 12), before they hit the road for the rest of the month.