Giants in giving mood handing Rockets home ice loss

• The Vancouver Giants looked like they were rejuvenated following a long Christmas break, the Kelowna Rockets on the other hand looked like they were still on one. The Giants scored three times in the first period and then put the game away with four more in the third period in a 7-3 win.
• The Giants scored three times on the power play on six chances and scored twice while the two teams were playing four on four.
• Despite outplaying the Rockets the majority of the night the Giants held a slim one goal lead heading into the third period before putting the game away.
• Adam Brown was replaced by Mark Guggenberger after giving up 3 goals in the first 14 minutes of the game. Brown seemed to be as off as his teammates in front of him. Guggenberger gave up four goals in a relief appearance, but couldn't be faulted on any of them
• The Rockets lost three players in the game. Forward Geordie Wudrick, Collin Bowman and rookie Codey Ito went down with injuries. Wudrick suffered what appeared to be a shoulder injury after a hit from Giants forward Lance Bouma early in the first period. Bowman hurt his knee after crashing into the end boards in the second period while trying to chase down Bouma, who was moving quickly on his off wing in an attempt to get a good shot away. Ito went down with a undisclosed injury.
• The loss was the Rockets third in a row and second straight on home ice. The Rockets have now lost three of their last four games at Prospera Place. The only win over that period was a 4-2 victory over the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings on December 4th.
• The loss was the Rockets 7th on home ice this season. The team lost just 7 times on home ice all of last season.
• Say what you want about Kevin Connaughton's -3 rating, but the 19 year-old Giants rookie defenceman is having a great year in the offensive zone. Seventeen goals on the back end is nothing to shake a stick at. Connaughton had two goals and an assist in the win while being named the games first star.
• The Rockets 21 shots on goal matched the teams lowest shots on goal total set against the Tri City Americans back on September 20th.
• The Rockets haven't given up 7 goals at home since a 9-4 loss to Lethbridge on February 1,08.
• A crowd of over 62 hundred took in the game, many coming in fashionably late if thinking the game started at 6 pm, not the 5 pm scheduled start time.