He Tried But Didn't Succeed!!

• Referee Ryan Agar did everything in his power, but failed to succeed he handing the Chilliwack Bruins a victory Friday night in Kelowna. In what was one of the worst officiated games I have ever witnessed, Agar called a lopsided game which saw the home team forced to kill off three five-on-three's, including a major and game misconduct issued to Rockets forward Evan Bloodoff for boarding. In total, the Rockets served 31 minutes in penalties compared to the Bruins 8. That's nine penalties for the home team compared to just 4 minors for the Bruins.
• As outlandish as this sounds, it appeared Agar was proving a point Friday night that he was the man in control. The more the hometown crowd bitched and complained, the more Agar appeared to make soft calls on the Rockets, while turning the other way when it came to blatant fouls by the opposition.
• Evan Bloodoff was given a 5 minute major and game misconduct for boarding when he hit Chilliwack defenseman Kevin Boutilier into the corner boards in the second period. I am not saying a penalty shouldn't have been issued, but again issuing a 5 minute major was excessive considering Boutilier was not hit from behind and turned awkwardly before contact was made. Considering the Luke Schenn hit from last week, you have to wonder if the WHL will come down hard on the second year forward? By the way, Boutilier came back to play the very next shift.
• In speaking to Bruce Hamilton after the game, what upsets the Rockets GM is the fact that the linesman are making these calls, not the referee. The same thing happened last Friday in Kamloops when Schenn was given a 5 minute major for charging, and Andy Thiessen needed help from the linesman before sending Schenn to the showers. Hamilton was extremely outspoken about the officiating in a conversation David and I had with him after Friday's game. You can hear the interview at 6:30 Saturday night on the pre-game show. Let's just say, Hamilton didn't hold back. It's a must listen.
• Cody Almond was dynamite Friday night. Almond's work ethic set him above and beyond anyone on the ice. It was the third year forwards best game ever in a Rockets uniform. Named the games first star, Almond's performance was even better than his 5 point effort Tuesday against Kamloops.
• Jamie Benn had two goals in the game, snapping out of a five game goal scoring drought. Benn scored the game winner in overtime on a broken play, but like any good goal scorer, Benn was in the right place at the right time.
• You have to applaud the efforts of Luke Schenn and Tysen Dowzak for being the defensive pairing that faced the Bruins number one line of Oscar Moller, Mark Santorelli and Michael Proudley. They did a nice job of keeping those three in check even strength, yet Moller and Santorelli still managed two points apiece on the power play.
• Luke Schenn turned 18 Friday.