Road woes continue

Shoot the Breeze Photography

• Devante Stephens hit the goal post in the opening minute of the game and it was all downhill from there for the Kelowna Rockets. Mathew Barzal scored three times and collected an assist Tuesday night in the Seattle Thunderbirds 6-0 win, snapping a three game losing streak. The T-Birds scored two goals :44 seconds apart late in the first period and then erupted for three-third period goals in a span of 1:29 in the lopsided win. It was the fourth time this season the Rockets have been shut out and marked the second in the last four games that the team has trailed 6-0. Against Spokane last Friday, the Rockets trailed 6-0 before scoring three-third period goals to make it respectable.
• Regardless of the teams play over the opening 40 minutes, they were still in a decent position to mount a comeback in the third period only trailing 2-0. That was snuffed out though, when Mathew Barzal scored his second goal of the game just 1:19 into the period and Tyson Baillie took an unsportsmanlike penalty following the goal. With Baillie helplessly watching in the penalty box, Barzal netted his third of the game on the ensuing power play and it was essentially lights out from there.
• Much like a January 31^st game at ShoWare Center when the T-Birds earned a 2-0 win, goaltender Logan Flodell had a relatively easy night. While facing 31 shots, the best stop likely came in the third period when Tate Coughlin found Riley Stadel down the middle of the slot, but Flodell calmly stopped the tremendous scoring chance with a nice blocker save.
• Positives? How about captain Rodney Southam going out of his weight class to fight 6’5, 225 pound T-Birds defenceman Jared Hauf? Southam held his own in an attempt to defend a teammate after Hauf flattened Dillon Dube with a solid hit in the second period.  In a 2-0 game, you would think the tilt would have jump started the visitors.
• The 6-0 loss was the worse regular season road loss since a 7-0 setback in Vancouver on February 11/2007. That season the team was shut-out 13 times, including ten on the road.
• Goal scoring has been hard to come by with 13 goals in the team’s last nine road games. The last road goal was scored by Justin Kirkland in a 2-1 overtime victory in Victoria on January 16^th.
• The Rockets have just two wins in their last 8 road games heading into a two game set in Prince George Friday and Saturday night.