Slow starts - strong finishes

• I remember watching the pilot of Seinfeld in 1989. It was slow to start, but with greater character development, week after week, the show got better. It eventually went off the air in 1998 after 180 episodes and 9 seasons. It is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential sitcoms ever on television. Seinfeld sounds a little like the Kelowna Rockets play recently. The team hasn't been very strong at the start, but man, they've shown the ability to get better as the game goes along. In the last four outings, as an example, the team has scored 7-third period goals. They've out-scored the opponent 7-2 in the final frame. The latest third period rally came Saturday night in a 4-1 win over the visiting Prince George Cougars. Nursing a 2-1 second period lead, the Rockets erupted for two-third period goals while earning their 5th win of the season. It was impressive to see the team take the will out of the Cougars by controlling the second half of the game. After a slow start, where the visitors outshot the home team 15-3 in the opening period, the older and wiser Rockets outshot the young and exuberant Cougars 31-19  the rest of the way.
• The power play has been clutch lately. It manufactured a 5 on 3 goal against the Cougars to make the score 4-1. It put the game on ice. Even in Friday's 5-4 shootout loss to the Portland Winterhawks,  while trailing 4-3 with under 5 minutes left in the game, the Rockets found the equalizing goal with the extra man. The Rockets have scored a power play goal in five consecutive games and are 6 for 19 (31.6%) over that span. 
• Another sign the team is getting better as the game goes along is giving up just 64 shots on goal in the third period this season. That's an average of just 7.1 shot against in the final 20 minutes of the game. 
• Jake Lee is off a great start. With two-two goal games to his credit already, the overager is showing why the Seattle Thunderbirds picked him in the opening round of the WHL bantam draft. Lee is using a seeing eye wrist shot to do most of his damage and is getting the benefit of being on the power play. 

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  John Babcock engages in his first WHL tilt

  While we are focusing on the blueline, rookie John Babcock's play is rounding into form. The 17 year-old got into a scrap Saturday to defend a teammate and chipped in with two assists. The 5th round WHL bantam pick from 2019 is riding a four game point streak with 6 assists. 
• Tyson Feist may have had the prettiest goal of the game Saturday night. On a two-on-one, he was able to bat a puck out of mid-air, while on the backhand, on a saucer pass from teammate Dylan Wightman. The third period goal gave the Rockets a 3-1 lead. It was the d-man's third goal of the season, setting a new career high for a player that is showing that he can do as much damage with his gloves on as with his gloves off. 
• It was Cole Tisdale's best outing of the season. The 19 year-old was sharp when called upon in making only his second start of the season. Who would have thought the day after he would be traded to the Tri City Americans.
• Speaking of the trade, in an effort to upgrade the most crucial position on the ice, the team acquired 19 year-old Talyn Boyko from the Tri City Americans for Tisdale and a third round bantam pick. This takes a lot of pressure off of 18 year-old Colby Knight, who has struggled in his last three starts. That said, Knight will find his footing and will be a good number one goalie down the road. You don't throw the baby out with the bath water. For now though, Boyko is clearly the go-to-guy and will get the bulk of the starts with his 6'7 frame being an intimidating presence for opposition shooters. Boyko is a 4th round NHL draft pick of the New York Rangers but his career numbers won't impress you. Boyko was part of an Americans team that won just 17 games in 2019-2020 and earned 34 victories the year prior.  
• The Rockets begins a real tough stretch of games. While five of the next six are on the road, it includes a date with Kamloops on Wednesday followed by road dates in Prince George (double header), Portland (double header) and a stop in Spokane. That is 6 games in 15 days with lots of travel thrown into the mix. It is a big series of games for the Rockets to see if they are indeed the real deal.