Tough start, better finish

• It's not how you start but how you finish, right? In hockey, not necessarily. The old saying simply didn't apply last night for the Kelowna Rockets in a 4-2 home ice loss to the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers. Badly out shot for the first half of the game, the Rockets got increasingly better as the game wore on, but despite the second half surge, getting pucks past Tigers goaltender Tyler Bunz didn't come easy.

• Despite generating little in the way of offense early, Spencer Main opened the scoring for the Rockets with a power play goal. The goal came with a power play unit that had just one goal in their last 12 chances. The Rockets would end the night with both of their goals coming with the extra man. Colton Sissons scored in the third.
  
• The Tigers used 19 year-old Emerson Etem with 17 year-old sensation Hunter Shinkaruk. Etem was a force and was a threat to score every time he touched the puck. The Western Hockey League and Canadian Hockey League player of the week didn't disappoint. A three point effort, which including setting up Shinkaruk on two of his three goals, the California resident now has 13 goals in eight games. When I suggested if 50 was on his radar this season, Etem let me know it is clearly on his mind. Do you blame him?
• Physical maturity. If their is one major junior player ready to play at the pro level it's Etem. Sporting a black left eye after a fight on Monday in Kamloops, Etem says he put on ten pounds of muscle this summer. It shows.
  
• Getting back to the second half surge; the Rockets had several glorious chances in the third period when the game looked out of reach. Goal mouth scrambles had Zach Franko and Damon Severson with great chances from close range on Bunz.
• Let me state that the overall battle level and urgency was much better from the Rockets from what I witnessed Saturday night. The coaches deserve credit for the appropriate response to the unacceptable effort and for the players to follow the coaches lead.
  

• A spirited tilt in this one between Rockets 18 year-old Jessey Astles and Tigers 20 year-old Cole Grbavac. The two traded punches in a split decision. Grbavac engaged with Astles after taking exception to an Astles hit on a teammate in the second period.
• Speaking of hits, Rockets d-man Mitchell Chapman laid the hammer down with a thunderous hit in the third period. A clean hit like that can be momentum changing. I would like to see more of that physical play, specifically from Chapman, earlier in the game. Nonetheless, a great piece of body contact.
• Shane McColgan jump started the Rockets to a certain degree with good work on an early third period penalty kill. McColgan hemmed the Tigers in their own zone with a solid fore check and received the appropriate applause from the crowd for the inspired effort.

• After making 20 year-old Kevin Smith a healthy scratch against Spokane, it was 18 year-old MacKenzie Johnston's turn against the Tigers. The learning curve is a steep one for these defenceman, who's rolls are expanding with increased ice time.

• After winning their first three games of the season, the Rockets have now dropped three in a row. They will try to right the ship with a ferry ride to Victoria for back-to-back games with the Royals this weekend.