Rockets Hit the Road

It's off to Washington State this weekend for a pair of road games against Everett and Seattle.
Tonight's game is against the Tips.
Can the Rockets beat these guys on home ice?
Only two teams have done it this season.
Error free hockey will have to be on display tonight, or the Rockets don't stand a chance.

Before I hit the road, today marks one of the best day's in my life. It was February 16th that my twin boys were born at Kelowna General Hospital.

Being a Dad is something I take with great pride, and the four years have been hard work, but man, has it been rewarding.

I love them to death (Jace and Connell are 4 today), and look forward to having more fun with them as they get older....and I get older!

Here are the Rockets game notes I prepare for the team:

Tonight’s Preview: The Rockets and Tips are meeting for the 4th and final time this season. The Rockets are 1-2-0-0 against the Tips with the team’s lone win coming December 8th in a 2-0 victory. The Tips have recorded back-to-back 4-1 wins and have out-scored the Rockets 8-4 in the seasonal series. The Rockets have three wins in their last 5 games overall (3-2-0-0), and have points in four of their last six games. The Rockets are playing the second of three straight games on the road. The Rockets are in Seattle tomorrow night before returning home to face Chilliwack on Tuesday.

Tidbits vs. Tips: The Tips have out-shot the Rockets 79-52 in the first three games. The Tips average 26.3 shots on goal as compared to the Rockets 17.3. The Rockets are just 1 for 22 on the power play in the seasonal series (5%) while the Tips are 4 for 30 (13.3) with the man advantage.

Road Rash: The Rockets are winless in 8 straight road games (0-7-1-0). When was the last time the Rockets went 8 games without a road win? It was back in the 2001-2002 season when the Rockets went 8 games without a win from November 11th to January 12th. The team was 0-7-0-0 with one tie over that period. In 2000-2001 the team started the season with 8 straight losses on the road, and again in 1999-2000 the team had a stretch of 8 games without a road win going 0-6-0-0 with two ties from January 28th to March 5th. The clubs longest winless streak on the road is 10 games from December 13/98 to February 14/99.

Sick of the Shutout: The Rockets have been shutout 10 times this season, including twice in the teams last three games. Eight of those 10 have been suffered on the road. Chilliwack leads the way having been shutout 12 times, followed by Portland with 11. Of those 11, the Hawks have been shutout 9 times on opposition ice. If you think that’s bad, look at the Swift Current Broncos. In 2004-2005 they were shutout a whopping 17 times.

Watching the Wack: The Rockets enter the weekend 3 points up on Chilliwack for the final playoff spot in the BC division. The Bruins have 13 games left in the regular season, with 9 of those at home. The Bruins face a BC division team in 8 of their final 13, including two more times against the Rockets on February 20th and 24th.

Number Crunching: The Rockets are coming off a 7-0 loss in Vancouver Sunday. When was the last time the Rockets gave up 7 goals on the road? It was October 3rd 2001 in a 7-5 loss in Portland….The Rockets gave up a whopping 8 goals in a road game in Medicine Hat October 5th 2002. The Rockets lost that game 8-6…The most decisive loss on the road for the Rockets was an 11-2 disaster in Seattle December 28/96….The Silvertips are on pace to record 118 points this season. Who was the last team to register over 118 points in a season? The Calgary Hitmen had 120 in the 1999-2000 campaign…The Rockets are on pace for 53 points this season which would tie the franchise record for lowest point total in a season set in the clubs expansion year where the club had 53 points in 1991-1992…In the Rockets 17 wins this season the teams power play is 19.2% or 23 for 120…The Rockets have added 17 year old Jason Sands to the roster to backup Torrie Jung. Sands is a California kid…The Rockets have just one win in their last 13 road games (1-10-2-0) and are riding an 8 game road losing streak…The Rockets are 11-14-2-0 in 27 games against BC division opponents this season…The Rockets have been involved in 20 – one goal games this season. In those games the Rockets are 7-5-5-3…The Rockets have been held to a single goal 14 times this season, 7 times at home, 7 times on the road.

Time Ticking Down: With 15 games left in the regular season the Rockets have 8 games at home and 7 games on opposition ice. The Rockets have 10 games left against BC division opponents, 4 games against US division clubs and one against Central division foes.

Who’s Hot – Who’s Not: Tyler Myers has points in 4 of his last 6 games (4A). Justin Bernhardt has 2+5=7 in his last 8 games. Cody Almond has just one goal in his last 23 and has gone 20 games without a goal. Clayton Barthel has goals in two of his last 5 games. David Schulz has 2+5=7 in his last 7 games. In Torrie Jung’s last five starts he has made 124 of 136 saves. That’s good for a save percentage of .912.