Rockets win on Renfrew

• The Kelowna Rockets extended their winning streak to five games with a 2-1 win Friday night in Vancouver. Shane McColgan and Lucas Bloodoff scored power play goals in the teams 5th win of the season. The Giants lone goal came off the stick of forward James Henry.


• Shane McColgan earned the Gordie Howe hat trick with a goal, an assist and a fight. McColgan's third period scrap left him with a bloody nose, yet he was all smiles as he skated onto the ice when he was named the games third star.


• McColgan's power play goal in the 3rd period was the game winner. I like the fact that he looked and then pointed at the Rockets bench after he scored the goal. It was a non-verbal "there we go boys".


• The Rockets defensive core deserves a pat on the back for their performance. While six d-men were dressed, rookies Antoine Corbin and MacKenzie Johnston saw limited action. Aaron Borejko, Collin Bowman, Curt Gogol and Colton Jobke saw the bulk of the ice time with Brandon McMillan seeing a few shifts back of the blue line in the 3rd period. The Rockets allowed just 3 shots on the first period and five shots in the third period as they nailed down the win.


• Defenseman Curt Gogol is starting to grow on me. The increased ice time has shown a significant improvement in his overall play. He's physical, plays it simple and is limiting the number of mistakes he makes back there.


• The Vancouver Giants are a much different team without Evander Kane and James Wright, but the same could be said about the Rockets and the loss of Tyler Myers. Regardless of who was involved in Friday's game, a win in Vancouver is always big.


• A problem with our phone line at Pacific Coliseum had us dropping in and out of our broadcast Friday night. I hope you were able to battle with me through the interruptions that often forced us to have significant amounts of dead air. New phone lines are being installed in the building for the Winter Olympics so we are paying the price as the bugs are worked out.


• The Rockets made a trade with the Swift Current Broncos Friday. The Rockets picked up 18 year-old goaltender Chad Ketting for a conditional 7th round draft pick.
• Twenty year-old goalie Mark Guggenberger is now scheduled to have surgery for an athletic hernia. Guggenberger will be out for six weeks following surgery.


• Congrats to former Rockets Colin Long and Ryley Grantham for scoring their first professional goals Friday night. Long's San Antonio Rampage beat Grantham's Abbotsford Heat 6-5 in overtime.