Spokane Chiefs goaltender Dawson Cowan knows how to bounce back from a rough outing.

After giving up seven goals in less than two periods five days ago, Cowan got the call in net again and looked like a new goalie. Cowan stopped 43 shots in the Chiefs’ 2-1 win over the Kelowna Rockets Friday at the Arena.

Saige Weinstein had a goal and an assist to lead Spokane. Ty Cheveldayoff added a goal, his team-leading 12th of the season.

But the story was Cowan and his teammates’ steady play in the defensive zone.

“It was an unbelievable effort by Dawson,” head coach Ryan Smith said. “He’s been great since he’s come here. He’s got a great attitude and he works hard. He had a really good week of practice and tonight he’s the difference maker. He looked in control, his angles were great and I liked what I saw from him tonight.”

Cowan’s only been with the team less than a month after being acquired in a trade with the Winnipeg Ice. He shook off last Sunday’s rough outing and stood tall against Kelowna. Cowan credited his bounce back to his mental game.

“I worked really hard with our goalie coach this week to clean up a lot of stuff,” he said. “But a huge part was my mentality. It took me a bit to get comfortable here. The guys battled hard tonight and I changed my mentality around and was super focused and dialed in.”

Cowan’s performance was especially encouraging for Spokane given that the Rockets put up 10 goals in a game in Kelowna on Nov. 18. Spokane’s defensive zone play was a big part of the win.

The Chiefs killed all three of Kelowna’s power-play opportunities, including one late in the third period with Kelowna pushing.

“The PK’s getting better slowly but surely,” Smith said. “I thought tonight guys bought in to what we’re trying to do with (Kelowna’s) big offensive guns.”

Cowan was especially thankful for the penalty kill success and Spokane’s overall play in front of him. The Chiefs were disciplined in the defensive zone and hardly let guys get by them.

“The guys battled so hard in front of me. I couldn’t even count how many blocks we had tonight,” Cowan said. “We had guys picking up sticks on rebounds and picking up bodies in front. It was unreal and we just have to keep it going. We have to learn from this and keep going, stay disciplined.”

After a scoreless an uneventful first period, Cheveldayoff broke the ice and got Spokane on the board at 6:23. Weinstein followed up with his third of the season at 9:59.

Elias Carmichael got Kelowna within one at 12:37. The Chiefs haven’t played with a lead much this season and held on in the third when Kelowna put up 19 shots on net to Spokane’s three.

“It was a gritty game and it was important to win,” Smith said. “We showed we can win these tight games.”

The win snapped a five-game losing streak for Spokane. The Chiefs will try to win their second game in a row for the first time since the first two games of the season. They play Lethbridge on Saturday at the Arena in the annual teddy bear toss game.