Rockets Game Notes vs. T-Birds

Tonight’s Preview: The Rockets and T-Birds are meeting for the third of just four times this season. The Rockets are 1-1-0-0 against Seattle. In the Rockets lone win, October 6th in Seattle, Dylan Hood scored the game winning goal in a 4-3 shootout victory. One night earlier, in Kelowna, the T-Birds earned a 4-1 victory. Following tonight’s game these two teams will close out the seasonal series March 1st in Seattle. If the playoffs were to begin tonight the Rockets and T-Birds would meet in round one. The Rockets are coming off a 2-1 road loss in Spokane Tuesday night. Colin Long had the lone goal for Kelowna. In the big picture the Rockets enter tonight’s game with three wins in their last ten games (3-5-0-2). After tonight’s game the Rockets host Vancouver Saturday night before facing the Giants at Pacific Coliseum Sunday afternoon for a 5 o’clock start.

Rockets vs. Seattle Breakdown: Torrie Jung and Kristofer Westblom have split the duties in goal in the first two games of the seasonal series. Westblom made 18 saves in the shootout win October 6th while Jung took the loss making 20 saves in a 4-1 setback October 5th. The Rockets have been out-shot in both games for a combined total of 61-40. The Rockets are 2 for 14 in the seasonal series (14.3%) on the power play while the T-Birds are 3 for 14 (21.4) with the extra man.

Rockets-Seattle Scoring:
1 2 3 OT SO Total
Rockets 2 2 0 0 1 5
Seattle 4 1 2 0 0 7

Quick Hits: WHL leading scorer Colin Long has never recorded a point against the T-Birds. Long has 0+0=0 in 7 career games against Seattle…Long is playing in his 150th WHL game tonight…The Rockets have scored a power play goal in 8 straight games. The last time the Rockets failed to score a power play goal was January 26th when they went 0/2 in a 4-3 shootout loss in Medicine Hat….The Rockets have scored 24 goals in their last 8 games. Of those 24 goals, 13 (54%) of the teams goals have been scored on the power play….The Rockets are 6-2-0-0 in their last 8 home games…Rockets forward Jamie Benn will miss his 9th straight game tonight with a sprained ankle. The Rockets are 3-4-0-1 in his absence…James McEwan is missing his 22nd game tonight with a lacerated wrist suffered in a fight in late December against the Vancouver Giants. McEwan is expected to return to the lineup next weekend against either Spokane or Seattle… Torrie Jung has started 9 of the Rockets last 11 games….The Rockets have clinched a playoff spot in the Western Conference for the 16th time in franchise history. The team has missed the playoffs just once in 17 years…The Rockets have 5 road games left, with stops in Chilliwack, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland and Tri City…The Rockets snapped a six game losing streak in the shootout Saturday night with a 3-2 win over Edmonton. The Rockets are 3 and 6 in the shootout this season with wins over Edmonton, Seattle and Vancouver. The Rockets have lost shootout games to Kamloops (twice), Moose Jaw (twice), Medicine Hat and Lethbridge. The Rockets have been held to a single goal 3 times at home and 6 times on the road this season. The Rockets have been shutout twice this year.

Who’s Hot-Who’s Not: Colin Long is +29 this season. Last year Long was -29. Long has 3 goals and 4 assists in his last four games. Long’s longest pointless streak this season is just three games. Brady Leavold has 2+5=7 in his last three games. Leavold has three-5 point games in his last 12. Brandon McMillan has one goal in his last 12 games. Cody Almond has goals in two of his last three games. Tyson Barrie has 2+6=8 in his last 8 games. Barrie has 37 points this season in his first year in the WHL. For comparison, Shea Weber had 18 pts as a 17 year-old while Mike Card had 29 points as a 16 year-old. Josh Gorges had 10 points as a 16 year-old. Lucas Bloodoff has points in 5 of his last 6 games (5+2=7).

Games Played Ticker:
Brady Leavold: 188 Colin Long: 149 Dylan Hood: 100 Tyler Myers: 121
Cody Almond: 148 Brandon McMillan: 114 Myles MacRae: 173
Kyle St. Denis: 56 Evan Bloodoff: 116 Tysen Dowzak: 155
Lucas Bloodoff: 127 Luke Schenn: 177 Colin Joe: 236

Rockets vs. Divisions:

vs. BC: 18-10-0-2 vs. US: 6-6-2-0 vs. Central: 4-2-0-1 vs. East: 5-3-0-2
Rockets Players by Province: BC=12 US=4 ALB=3 SASK=2 MAN=1 EURO=1 Total=23

Rockets Schedule - Next 5 Games: Rockets Results - Last 5 Games:
Feb 23 vs. Vancouver Rockets 1 Kamloops 2 SOL
Feb 24 @ Vancouver Rockets 1 Chilliwack 4 L
Feb 27 vs. Spokane Rockets 8 Brandon 2 W
March 1 @ Seattle Rockets 3 Oil Kings 2 SOW
March 2 @ Portland Rockets 1 Spokane 2 L

Record by Month:
Month Games Record Home Road
September: 4 1-2-1-0 0-1-1-0 1-1-0-0
October: 11 5-5-0-1 3-3-0-1 2-2-0-0
November: 13 9-2-1-1 4-1-0-0 5-1-1-1
December: 12 6-4-0-2 2-1-0-0 4-3-0-2
January: 13 10-2-0-1 8-0-0-0 2-2-0-1
February: 11 2-4-0-1 2-2-0-0 0-2-0-1

Rockets Season Highs and Lows:
Most Goals Scored: 11 @ Prince George Jan 11/08 in an 11-1 win.
Most Goals Allowed: 9 vs. Lethbridge February 1/08 in a 9-4 loss.
Most Power Play Chances: 11 @ Chilliwack Feb 2/08 in a 6-3 loss, @ Swift Current Jan 25/08. The Rockets were 0/11, losing 4-0.
Most Power Play Goals Scored: 4 @ Cougars Jan 11/08 (11-1 W), vs. Cougars Jan 4/08 in a 6-0 win, @ PG Nov 10/07 (6-1 W)
Most Power Play Goals Allowed: 4 @ Vancouver Dec 29/07 (5-2 L), @ Everett Sept 29/07
Most Shots Taken: 41 @ Prince George Jan 12/08 (5-2 W).
Fewest Shots Taken: 9 @ Vancouver Sept 29/07 (5-0L)
Most Shot Allowed: 48 @ Vancouver Sept 30/07
Fewest Shots Allowed: 13 vs. Blazers Oct 30/07 (6-1 W)
Last Shutout: - Kristofer Westblom 22 saves vs. Cougars Jan 4/08 in a 6-0 win. Kristofer Westblom 28 saves vs. Calgary (5-0 W)
Last Time Shutout: - @ Swift Current Jan 25/08 – Guggenberger 30 saves (4-0 L)
Most Points by a Player: Jamie Benn had 2+4=6 vs. Prince George Jan 19/08.
Most Goals by a Player: Brady Leavold scored 4 goals vs. Prince George Jan 19/08.
Penalty Shots: Dylan Hood fails to score Feb 16/08 in a 3-2 shootout win vs. Edmonton. Juuso Puustinen fails to score on Torrie Jung Feb 8/08 in a Rockets 2-1 shootout loss to the Blazers. Lucas Bloodoff fails to score on Justin Leclerc in 4-3 loss to Kamloops December 28th. Torrie Jung stops Bruins forward Cody Smuk in a 4-1 win in Chilliwack Dec 31/07. Torrie Jung stops Hawks forward Luke Walker Nov 17/07 in a 4-1 win in Portland. Kristofer Westblom stops Everett’s Shane Harper in a 3-2 overtime loss Nov 16/07 in Everett. Torrie Jung stopped Michal Repik in the 3rd period of a 5-0 loss Sept 29/07.
Overtime Winning Goal: Jamie Benn scored at 4:59 December 15/07 in a 3-2 win in Saskatoon. Tyler Myers scored at 3:58 of overtime December 5/07 in a 4-3 win over Medicine Hat. Colin Long scored at :44 of overtime Nov 23/07 in a 7-6 win over Kootenay. Jamie Benn scored at 1:07 of overtime Nov 2/07 in a 3-2 win over Chilliwack.
Shootout Game Winning Goals: Dylan Hood scores in a 4-3 win in Seattle October 6/07. Colin Long scored the game winner in a 2-1 win over Vancouver October 24th.

Roster Stats:
Player total: 24
Year by Year Breakdown:
20’s – 3 Westblom, McEwan, Leavold
19’s – 3 Dowzak, MacRae, Joe
18’s – 8 Long, Kytnar, L. Bloodoff, Jung, Schenn, Almond, Benn
17’s – 6 St. Denis, E. Bloodoff, McIntosh, Myers, McMillan, Hood
16’s – 4 Bowman, Barrie, Paradis, Verdino
Average Age: 17.7
Rookies – 7

NHL Draft Picks-Training Camp Attendees: Jamie Benn (Dallas 07), Torrie Jung (Tampa Bay 07), Cody Almond (Minnesota 07), Milan Kytnar (Oilers 07), Tysen Dowzak (Tryout Philadelphia).

Game Notes Compiled by Regan Bartel (AM 1150)