Rockets vs. G-Men

Reid Gardiner - Shoot the Breeze

Tonight’s Preview: The Kelowna Rockets welcome the Vancouver Giants tonight to Prospera Place in a weekend home and home series between the two BC Division rivals. The Rockets are in Langley tomorrow night. This is the 4^th meeting of the season between these two teams. The Rockets are 2-1-0-0 and are coming off a 5-4 loss to the G-Men back on January 20^th. The Rockets have won by scores of 5-3 and 6-4. Following these two games, the teams close out the seasonal series March 10^th, 17^th and 18th. The Rockets are coming off a 6-0 loss in Kamloops Wednesday night. It was the third time this season the team has been shut out on the road, with a 3-0 loss in Prince George and a 5-0 setback in Red Deer. In the big picture, the Rockets have won 21 straight home games against the Giants. The Rockets host Seattle on Family Day Monday (2 pm).

What just happened? The Rockets failed to find the back of the net in a 6-0 loss in Kamloops Wednesday night. Connor Ingram made 33 saves for his third shutout of the season. The Rockets had a 12-1 shot advantage 10 minutes into the game but it was the Blazers that opened the scoring. The Blazers had a 1-0 lead after 1 period and a 3-0 lead after 40 minutes. The Rockets are 0-4-0-0 in Kamloops this season and have been out-scored 23-4.

Lind is WHLPOW: Forward Kole Lind is the WHL Player of the Week. Lind had 3+5=8 in three games this past week.

Scoreboard watching: The Rockets trail the Kamloops Blazers by 7 points for second place in the BC Division. The Rockets have 18 games left while the Blazers have 16 remaining. They are on a collision course to meet in the opening round of the playoffs. Ten of the Rockets final 18 games are against teams in the BC Division while 12 of the Blazers final 16 games are against teams within the division.  

Hot as a pistol: Calvin Thurkauf has points in 11 of his last 12 games. Thurkauf had 7+10=17 over that stretch. Kole Lind has points in 6 of his last 8 with 5+9=14 over that period. Nick Merkley has points in 5 of his last 6 games with 5+7=12 over that span. Cal Foote has points in 6 of his last 7 games with 1+6=7. Reid Gardiner has points in 4 of his last 5 games with 4+3=7 over that stretch.

That’s a Fact Jack: The Rockets have lost the same number of games (20) as they did all of last season…Reid Gardiner has 12 points (6+6=12) in 10 games as a member of the Kelowna Rockets...The Kelowna Rockets have 18 games left in the regular season. Of those 18, 11 of them are against BC Division rivals. The Rockets have five more games against Vancouver, two more vs. Prince George and one more against the Kamloops Blazers and Victoria Royals. The team has two more each against US Division Everett, Seattle and Spokane and a single against Tri City. Edmonton is the only Central Division team they face down the stretch…The Rockets have generated 30 or more shots in 14 of their last 15 games…The Rockets have been shorthanded the most times in the entire Canadian Hockey League. The team has been shorthanded 288 times…NHL Central Scouting has released its mid-term rankings. Cal Foote is dated 12^th among North American skaters while Kole Lind is ranked 21^s…The Rockets have surrendered 5 or more goals 11 times this season. The teams’ record, not surprisingly, is 0-10-1-0….12 of the teams last 19 games have been decided by a goal.

Broadcasters Bits: In the Rockets last 11 losses (regulation or overtime loss) the opposition has opened the scoring….The Rockets are 6-5-1-0 since the trade deadline….Reid Gardiner has been a star in four of the 10 games he has played this season….The Rockets have scored 10 shorthanded goals this season, the same number as all of last season…..GM Bruce Hamilton has traded/released six players from the teams opening day roster…Kole Lind had his 13 game point streak snapped December 18^th 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 7^th 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 11-12-0-0 against BC based teams this season…Michael Herringer has started in 35 of the last 44 games…The Rockets are 8-2-2-0 against U.S Division teams this season.

Game Notes Compiled by Regan Bartel of AM 1150