I left Lethbridge scratching my head

• Adam Brown was ready to play Wednesday night against the Lethbridge Hurricanes. His teammates, not so much. Brown deserved better as the Kelowna Rockets fell 3-2 in a shootout to the playoff-less Lethbridge Hurricanes. The Rockets had to have Brown on the bench just to send the game into overtime, where Mitchell Callahan scored his 20th of the season with the extra attacker. The point keeps the Rockets in a tie with Chilliwack for 6th place in the Western Conference. The Bruins beat the Raiders in Prince Albert by a 3-2 score.
• The Rockets dominated play in the final minutes of the game when desperation was clearly evident in their game. But it has me scratching my head as to why that desperate play wasn't evident through the first 58 minutes.
• Brown didn't receive a three-star consideration on the ice, but he was the best player on it. The Rockets goaltender was the better of the two goaltenders through 58 minutes until Hurricanes goaltender Linden Rowat got his chance to shine with his team pinned deep in their end. Rowat was very good down the stretch and was clearly a game star without question, but Brown's omission as a star has me scratching my head...again!
• The best Hurricane outside of Rowat was indeed Austin Fyten. Not a flashy player, Fyten worked his tail off for every thing he created and appears to have good chemistry with Cam Braes. Fyten did all he could in regulation time and then scored a goal for his team in the shootout. Fyten led by example and his team followed.
• The urgency on the power play. I'm scratching my head to know where it went. During a nine game winning streak, the power play was the bread and butter. In the second period alone the team gave up two-two on ones and didn't seem at all interested in going to the net for rebounds. Last time I checked that's the area where the majority of goals are scored. It takes a little more work, but that's where teams go when they are struggling in the offensive zone. The Rockets have just 6 goals in their last four games (1.5 goals per game).
• If the Rockets cut their shot total in half and fired more pucks from five feet in front of the goaltender I'd be impressed. Instead a 37 shot performance Wednesday night didn't impress me as much as it should.
• The Rockets should have gotten an emotional boost from the return of veteran Evan Bloodoff and Dallas Jackson. Bloodoff played his first game this season after missing the first 63 after undergoing knee surgery while Jackson was back in the lineup after missing 8 games with a hip injury. If the team received an emotional boost, I didn't see it from where I was sitting. I was excited to have these two players back in the lineup. Sorry for being so enthused.
• A lack of success scoring goals early is often this teams demise. Early struggles often times follow sluggish play. The team has to fight through that mental barrier that if success doesn't come quickly you must battle that much harder to right the ship.
• In the Rockets last four games, who has been involved in fights? All rookies. Max Adolph against Calgary, Brett Bulmer against Portland and Mitchell Chapman in Seattle. All are 17 or younger. Is it only coincidence that in an emotional 5-3 win in Kamloops earlier this month, Mitchell Callahan, Lucas Bloodoff, Brett Bulmer, Colton Jobke and Spencer Main all were involved in fights? It would have to be one of the top five games the Rockets have played this season. Why? One word. Emotion.
• The Rockets have now played in 28-one goal games this season. The Hurricanes can do one better. They've played in 29.
• Am I coming across to negatively? Maybe. I am writing this in the dark of the night as we head back to Calgary. Maybe I could spin off a positive tune if I slept it off and shared my thoughts Thursday morning. I would, but I'll be too busy scratching my head trying to figure out this team.