Monday, December 26, 2011

Game notes vs. Chiefs

Tonight’s Preview: The Kelowna Rockets hit the halfway point of the 2011-2012 regular season tonight when they host the Spokane Chiefs. This is the second of four meetings between the two teams this season. The Rockets suffered a 5-1 loss in Spokane back on October 8th. In that game, the Rockets registered a season low 12 shots on net and received their lone goal from Cody Chikie. Following tonight’s game these two teams meet again at Prospera Place on January 4th before wrapping up the seasonal series March 7th in Spokane. The Rockets are coming off a six game Eastern Conference road trip prior to Christmas. During that road swing the Rockets were 2-2-0-2, with wins over Regina and Saskatoon and shootout losses in Swift Current and Prince Albert. Overall, they were out-scored 19-17 in the six games. Following tonight’s game the Rockets open a portion of their scheduling playing seven of their next nine games on the road, including a stop in Tri City on Thursday.

Who’s Hot: Brett Bulmer has twenty-seven points in eighteen games (13+14=27). Bulmer is riding a nine game point streak (9+4=13). Bulmer has goals in five of his last six games and has ten goals in his last nine games…Shane McColgan has six points (3+3=6) in his last seven games…Carter Rigby has four goals in his last eight games and (4+5=9) in his last 8 games…Adam Brown has started in goal in twenty-five of the first thirty-five games…Colton Sissons has thirteen goals in his last eighteen games and has three more goals than the 17 scored in 63 games last season.

This and That: For the fifth straight season the Rockets open the post-Christmas schedule on home ice. Last season the Rockets beat visiting Everett 4-0 in their first game after the Christmas break. The last time the Rockets played a game on the road following the break was December 2006 in a 3-2 win in Chilliwack….The Last season the Rockets were 10-5-0-0 in 15 games after the Christmas break. Included in that successful stretch was a six game winning streak to end the month of January….In their last five wins, the Rockets have given up two or less goals per game…The Rockets are 9-5-1-3 with Brett Bulmer in the line-up….Head Coach Ryan Huska is an assistant coach on Team Canada while Jeff Thorburn is an athletic therapist….Huska was a member of the Team Canada coaching staff last year. Huska is the fourth Rockets’ coach to represent Team Canada. Marcel Comeau and Marc Habscheid have been head coaches while Jeff Truitt was a video coach….The Rockets have sent 11 players to represent Canada at the WJHC…Tyrell Goulbourne has eight fighting majors this season.… The Rockets are 1-7-0-1 when giving up five or more goals…Last season they gave up five or more goals in ten games…NHL Central Scouting has rated captain Colton Sissons as the 6th top skater available from the WHL for the 2012 draft….Jesse Lees and Tyson Baillie are playing with Team Pacific at the Under 17 World Hockey Challenge in Windsor, Ontario…Madison Bowey is on Team West for the Under 17 World Hockey Challenge…The Rockets have been involved in seventeen-one goal games this season. The Rockets are 7-5-1-4 in those seventeen games…The Rockets are playing their 1476th regular season game tonight and will hit the 15 hundred mark when they host Red Deer on February 18th…Ryan Huska has 170 wins behind the Rockets bench…The Rockets have scored a power play goal in nineteen of their last twenty-seven games….Mitchell Chapman has one more point (7) than the six he collected all of last season…Filip Vasko is playing for Slovakia at the World Junior Hockey Championships.

Milestone Makers:

Shane McColgan has 174 career points in 176 career games.

Mitchell Chapman played in his 125th WHL game November 5th.

Brett Bulmer now has 116 career points.

Damon Severson played in his 100th career game December 10th in Moose Jaw.

Adam Brown has 96 career wins, most of any active WHL goaltender.

Man Games Lost to Injury:

Carter Rigby: 7 games missed Madison Bowey: 9 games missed

Jason Siebert: 35 games missed Max Adolph: 35 games missed

Kevin Smith: 12 games missed Jessey Astles: 9 games missed

Tyrell Goulbourne: 6 games missed Jesse Lees: 18 games missed

Spencer Main: 23 games missed Filip Vasko – 1 game served for suspension

Myles Bell – 14 games missed Cody Chikie: 11 games missed

Damon Severson: 3 game missed Colton Heffley: 4 games missed Cole Martin: One game missed

Jessey Astles – three games because of suspension

Total: 186 man games lost to injury (suspensions not included in that number)

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