READING, PA – The Kelowna Rockets finally put away the Calgary Hitmen after two previous tries, but did it this time in dramatic fashion. The Kelowna Rockets defeated the Calgary Hitmen 3-2 in overtime in Game 6 of the WHL Championship series and are officially the 2009 Western Hockey League Champions. This is the third WHL Championship for the Kelowna Rockets in the last seven seasons. The Rockets won the WHL Championship in 2003 and 2005, and also won the MasterCard Memorial Cup in 2004 as the host team. Tyson Barrie scored on a power play 8:13 into overtime to lift the Rockets to the win. Colin Long and Lucas Bloodoff also scored for the Rockets while Mikael Backlund chipped in two assists. Joel Broda and Bostjan Golicic scored for the Hitmen, who had rallied for wins in Games 4 and 5 after losing the first three games of the series. Kelowna outshot Calgary 50-26 in the game, and outshut the Hitmen 6-1 in overtime. Rockets’ goaltender Mark Guggenberger made 24 saves to earn the win. Martin Jones made 47 saves for the Hitmen. Winning the WHL Championship not only means hoisting the Ed Chynoweth Cup, but the Rockets also earned a spot in the 2009 MasterCard Memorial Cup tournament in Rimouski, QC, beginning next Friday. Contact the author at Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com
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