Game notes for game five

Tonight’s Preview: The Kelowna Rockets and Seattle Thunderbirds meet in game five of this best of seven Western Conference quarter final series. The T-Birds lead it 3-1 after a 5-4 overtime victory in game one, a 2-1 overtime win in game two, a 3-2 overtime triumph in game three before the Rockets managed  a 4-0 win Wednesday night in game four. If a game six is necessary, it will be played in Seattle Tuesday night. The Rockets have opened the scoring in all four games in this series. These two teams are meeting for the 5^th time in the playoffs. The two teams have met in 2008, 2005, 2003 and 2001.

Game Results vs. Seattle:
1) March 22/13: Seattle 5-4 OTW
2) March 23/13: Seattle 2-1 OTW
3) March 26/13: 3-2 Seattle OTW
4) March 27/13: 4-0 Kelowna Win
5) Tonight @ Prospera Place
6) Tuesday vs. Seattle  
7) Wednesday @ Prospera Place

Scoring in Series:
Period       1     2     3    OT   Total
Rockets:   7    2      2     0       11
T-Birds:    2    2      3     3       10

*The Rockets power play is 5 for 21 (23.8%) in the series while the T-Birds are 0 for 18. The Rockets have out-shot the T-Birds in three of the four games.  

This and That: Tyson Baillie has 3+5=8 in 8 career playoff games….Jordon Cooke’s 25 save shutout performance in game four was the first time a Rockets goalie has earned a playoff shutout since Mark Guggenberger made 21 saves in a 2-0 win over the Calgary Hitmen in the 2009 WHL final….Myles Bell has been held off the score-sheet twice in this series. When he hasn’t, the 19 year-old has put up 2+3=5….Wednesday’s game four win snapped a three game losing streak. The Rockets lost three consecutive games only once during the regular season….Bell, Cole Linaker and Riley Stadel are the only three players with a positive +/- rating in this series….Since re-locating from Tacoma to Kelowna for the start of the 1995-96 season, the Rockets have played in 181 playoff games….In the 2008 playoff series between the Rockets and T-Birds, the road team won the first four games of the series before the home team won the final three games. Two of those seven games went into overtime…Ryan Olsen has never scored a playoff goal. The 19 year-old has gone 11 playoff games without finding the back of the net. Olsen hasn’t scored since March 2^nd, a stretch of 11 games…The game 4 win snapped an 8 game playoff losing streak for the Rockets dating back to 2011.      

2^nd place vs. 7^th:  The Rockets had 28 more wins than the T-Birds during the regular season and 22 fewer losses. The Rockets scored 99 more goals and allowed 108 fewer goals against. The two teams were separated by 50 points in the standings.

Rockets regular season to remember:  The 2012-2013 edition of the Kelowna Rockets recorded a franchise high 52 wins this season. That broke the old mark of 51 set back in the 2002-2003 season. The Rockets won the BC Division regular season title and placed second overall in the WHL standings behind only Portland. The Rockets scored the second most goals in the league (309) and allowed the third fewest goals against (178) behind Edmonton and Portland. The Rockets had 14 players that scored 10 or more goals and 16 players with 20 or more points. The Rockets were 31-5-0-0 at home this season and tied a franchise record for consecutive wins (23) on home ice. 

Rockets award winners: Captain Colton Sissons picked up two awards at the teams year end awards banquet March 17/13. Sissons was named the MVP and Top Defensive Forward. Rourke Chartier was the rookie of the year and scholastic player of the year while Damon Severson was the top defenceman. Tyson Baillie was voted the most improved while Tyrell Goulbourne picked up the unsung hero award. Myles Bell collected 93 points this season and was named the team’s top scorer.     

Most Wins in Franchise History:

2012-2013: 52 - ?
2002-2003: 51 – WHL Champions
2008-2009: 47 – WHL Champions
2003-2004: 47 – Memorial Cup Champions
2005-2006: 46 – Eliminated 2^nd round
2004-2005: 45 – WHL Champions992-1993: 45 – Eliminated in 7 games in rd one