Sunday, January 15, 2017

Rockets game notes vs.Tips

Shoot the Breeze Photorgraphy
Tonight’s Preview: The Kelowna Rockets close out a three game road trip this afternoon against the Everett Silvertips. The Rockets are 1-0-0-0 in the seasonal series after a 4-3 overtime victory back on October 19th. Lucas Johansen scored the game winning goal at the 1:04 mark of the extra session. Rodney Southam, Devante Stephens and Nolan Foote also scored in the win. Michael Herringer made 19 saves with the team going 2 for 4 with the man advantage. The Rockets out-shot the Tips 27-22. Following this afternoon game, the seasonal series concludes March 3rd (In Everett) and March 15th (In Kelowna). Last season, the Rockets were 1-1-0-0 in Everett with a 3-1 loss and a 6-5 overtime win. In the OTW, Justin Kirkland scored the game winner at the 1:24 mark. In the last 13 meetings between these two teams, the Rockets are 8-2-3-0. The Rockets are coming off a 9-2 win Saturday night over the Victoria Royals. Dillon Dube had 3+1=4 in the win. Overall, the Rockets have won 7 of its last 11 games (7-3-1-0) and have points in 9 of its last 12 games (7-3-2-0). The Rockets host Moose Jaw Wednesday night and then travel to Vancouver Friday night.

That’s a Fact Jack: The Rockets are playing their 26th road game this afternoon in Everett. Only Tri City (28) has played more road games than the Rockets/Saskatoon Blades…Dillon Dube’s three goal game Saturday night marked the third time a Rockets player has scored a hat trick this season. Kyle Topping and Calvin Thurkauf also have three goal games under their belt…5 of the Rockets next 7 games are against teams from outside the BC Division…Following this game in Everett, four of the next five games will be played on home ice…Calvin Thurkauf has points in 7 of his last 9 games…Thurkauf has the exact same number of goals as he did in his rookie season (18)…Tomas Soustal is two points shy of 100 for his career…Cal Foote is two points shy of the 36 he put up last season…Dillon Dube has been held off the score-sheet just three times this season….6 of the teams last 9 games have been decided by a goal …Carsen Twarynski, a third round NHL pick of the Philadelphia Flyers, made his Kelowna Rockets debut Wednesday night in Victoria…Reid Gardiner and Erik Gardiner are the 6th set of Rockets brothers to play with one another. They join Kiel and Gavin McLeod, Lucas and Evan Bloodoff, Josh and Jake Morrissey, Joe and Danny Gatenby and Cal and Nolan Foote…The Rockets are 15-5-3-0 in their last 23 games and have points in 16 of their last 20 (13-4-3-0)….Defenceman Cal Foote and forward Kole Lind have been named to the roster for the CHL Top Prospects game.

Trade Winds Blow: The Kelowna Rockets made four deals in advance of the WHL trade deadline. The Rockets acquired 19 year-old forward Carsen Twarynski and a conditional third round bantam pick for 18 year-old Jake Kryski. The team shipped 18 year-old Jordan Borstmayer to the Vancouver Giants for a 5th round bantam pick.  The team acquired Reid Gardiner from the Prince Albert Raiders for a 1st round pick, a 5th round pick and a conditional 5th round selection. To make room for Gardiner, Riley Stadel was sent to Edmonton for a 5th round selection.   

Broadcasters Bits: These two teams haven’t met in the playoffs since the 2010 season, when in the opening round, the Rockets won the series in 7 games. In the game seven win, March 29, 2010, Mark Guggenberger made 40 saves and was named the first star in a 2-1 win. George Wudrick had 7 goals in that 7 game series…The Rockets are the only team in the WHL with two players on their current roster that are first round NHL draft picks. Nick Merkley was chosen in the 1srt round by the Arizona Coyotes while Lucas Johansen was selected in the opening round by the Washington Capitals…GM Bruce Hamilton has traded/released six players from the teams opening day roster…Kole Lind had his 13 game point streak snapped December 18th against the Edmonton Oil Kings. It is the longest point streak by a Rockets player this season …Calvin Thurkauf was named the WHL Player of the Week December 7th to 11th …The Rockets were 8-3-2-0 in December...The Rockets were 6-4-0-0 in 10 games in November after going 8-4-0-0 in 12 games in October…The Rockets are the only team in the WHL that has failed to surrender a shorthanded goal against this season…The Rockets are 9-9-0-0 against BC based teams this seasonMichael Herringer has started in 27 of the last 35 games…The Rockets are 8-0-2-0 against U.S Division teams this season…January Birthdays: Devante Stephens turned 19 January 2nd. Reid Gardiner turns 21 on January 19th along with assistant coach Kris Mallette while Michael Herringer (Jan 26th) also has a birthday in January…The Rockets scored 9 goals in a 9-2 win in Victoria Saturday night. The team managed to score 9 goals on the road last season in Portland in a 9-3 win.


Game Notes Compiled by Regan Bartel of AM 1150

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