Road Hockey @ It's Finest

• A good start, timely scoring and tremendous discipline were the keys in the Rockets 4-3 win in Chilliwack Saturday night. The game felt more like a 4-2 victory, considering the Bruins scored a power play goal with 6 seconds remaining in regulation time. The Rockets allowed Chilliwack just two power play chances all night, showing great discipline against one of the best power play units in the WHL. The Rockets played smart, and were rewarded with a 'W'.
• After hacking on Ryan Agar on a previous post, I have to complement referee Corey McLean for his performance Saturday night. He made calls that were penalties. He was consistent both ways. Frankly I didn't notice him out there at all. Isn't that the sign of a good referee?
• Kyle St. Denis again showed signs of brilliance in the game. The 17 year-old plays at such a high speed that opposing defenseman have a hard time handling the slick skating forward. Sure he gets pumped off the puck easily, but at 5'6 he sure has a knack for the net, and was rewarded with a pair of goals and the games first star.
• Brady Leavold played a solid two way game for the Rockets. Leavold had a goal and an assist in the game, and again showed signs of some high end skill. Yet GM Bruce Hamilton wants Leavold to play his role of getting to the dirty areas and winning puck battles for linemates Jamie Benn and Colin Long. While Leavold is expected to do the dirty work, it's nice to see him rewarded on the scoreboard.
• Evan Bloodoff again played well with linemates Kyle St. Denis and Dylan Hood. Bloodoff's game winner was huge late in the game, after the Bruins had scored back-to-back goals to make it a tight hockey game. Bloodoff used great speed to receive a centering feed from behind the net from Colin Long and quickly beat Chilliwack goaltender Matt Esposito to the glove hand side.
• Luke Schenn was again solid, this time chipping in with a pair of assists. Schenn and Tysen Dowzak were paired to shutdown the Bruins #1 line of Santorilli, Moller and Proudley. The duo did such a nice job that Bruins head coach Jim Hillier was forced to replace Proudley on that line with overage forward Brandon Campos.
• Oscar Moller is amazing. What a shooter! Moller's goal came with what appeared to be no room to the shoulder side of Rockets goaltender Kristofer Westblom. Moller found the slightest hole by snapping a shot high over Westblom for his 17th goal in his 17th game of the season.
• Again the Rockets were stingy defensively in this one. The Rockets gave up just 5 shots against in the first period and another five against in period two. Holding the Bruins to just 10 shots over 40 minutes showed the commitment to defense is paying off.
• Saturday's win in Chilliwack was the teams 4th road win of the season, just two shy of the teams road win total from all of last season.
• Back-to-back wins against the Bruins moves the Rockets within 4 points of second place in the BC division. To say the weekend was a huge success would be an understatement.
• Where were all the fans last night in Chilliwack? Lots of empty seats for this one. It amazes me sometimes how people don't come out no matter how well the team is doing. The Bruins had 10 wins coming into last night's game, yet empty red seats were evident around Prospera Centre.
• What happened to Rocky the Raccoon at Kelowna Rockets home games? The reason I ask that question is because I was impressed by the Bruins mascot 'Bruiser'. Bruiser is essentially a roman soldier on steroids, and looks pretty cool. The Bruins also have ripped off the idea of cheerleaders from the Vancouver Giants. The girls do two routines between the 1st and second intermissions on the ice, and they do a great job. I think they call themselves the Bruins Brigade?
• David and I broke bread at a new restaurant which is attached to Prospera Centre. I assume it's new, as I never noticed it last year. Good food, great atmosphere. Check it out after the game sometime.