Swanny enjoying playoff hockey in Swifty!

Remember this guy?

That's Kevin Swanson.

The former Rockets goaltender is now enjoying the W.H.L playoffs as a goaltending consultant for the Swift Current Broncos.

Swanny played three seasons in Kelowna from 1998-2001 and played a total of 167 games with the mighty Rockets, but frankly on some pretty bad teams.
He was a work horse in goal, playing in 68 games during the 1999-2000 season alone.

That's uncanny.

He could be a lot of help for Broncos current starter Kyle Moir in an opening round playoff series with Regina.

Swanson was a 20-year old netminder with the Rockets in 2000-2001, and knows what playoff pressure is all about.

Swanson, who still holds team records for games played in a season (68), and in a career (167), will try to help Moir do something he failed to do as a player.

Advance to round two!

While we are on the topic of former Rockets goaltenders, do you ever wonder where Shane Bendera ended up?

I did, and found out.

He's hanging out in Edmonton.

Bendera is married and is making a living as a carpenter of all things.

Bendera played just 30 regular season games with the Rockets when he was picked up in a trade from Red Deer in 2001-2002.
Bendera was a winner when he was picked up, winning a Memorial Cup title with the Rebels, and was named the tournament MVP.

A draft pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Bendera was a calm, cool, yet cocky goaltender who simply blew a chance to be an N.H.L'er because of what many say was a bad attitude.

My fondest memory of Bendera was his calm demeanor.
You knew he was on his game when he never moved in his net. Every motion Bendera made was well calculated, and was the stabilizing force the Rockets needed when they made it past the first round for the first time in franchise history.
The sweep over Kamloops was sweet, before losing to eventual league and Memorial Cup champion Kootenay.

While Bendera never led the Rockets to a championship is his brief time here, he was credited for getting the organization into the mode of what it takes to win, a mindset that others bought into one year later in a W.H.L championship and an appearance at the Memorial Cup.

Say what you want about Bendera blowing his chances of playing pro, but he will always be remembered in Kelowna as one of the reasons this team turned their fortunes around from flopping in the playoffs, to finding a way to succeed.

If you don't like the 2 referee system, you will freak when you head to a W.H.L playoff game. Tonight the league will be implementing the two referee system for ALL post season games. Frankly it would be nice if the league had video review for all playoff games, much like they do in the O-H-L.
But the league will only use the technology in the league final and the Memorial Cup.

The Chilliwack Bruins are going to get a rude awakening in their series with the Vancouver Giants.

The media frenzy will be a huge distraction for the expansion team, as camera, radio crews and sports writers calculated their every move.
It won't be as bad as when the Rockets met the Giants two years ago in a playoff series where the media outnumbered the players on the ice for practice. The games were covered so closely because NHL hockey had taken a hiatus because of the lockout. The Giants and Rockets were the big show in town. It meant wall-to-wall coverage from the Vancouver Sun and Province, in a first round series that felt more like the league final.

Thank God the Rockets were a mature team, and didn't get swept away by all the media hype. Had they been younger and less mature, the focus would have been on what was being reported, rather than turning their attention to the ultimate prize, a series win and a chance at a 3rd straight appearance at the Memorial Cup.

Being a healthy scratch sucks.

Just ask Josh Gorges.

The former Rockets d-man has played just 6 games since the Canadiens acquired him from San Jose.

Gorges is seen sitting in the press box as the Canadiens try to challenge for a playoff spot.

Even on the Canadiens website, they've failed to update his picture, as he is still wearing Shark colors.

Maybe if he was a francophone he'd be in the lineup more often?

To say Gorges isn't having much fun right now, would be an understatement.