A seasonal series which doesn't make sense

• The seasonal series that doesn't make sense continued Saturday night at Prospera Place. This time the score was lopsided in the Kelowna Rockets favour after a 8-1 home ice win over the visiting Kamloops Blazers. Just six days earlier the Blazers beat the Rockets handily by a 5-1 count. Outside of one game - a 5-4 Blazers victory on October 13th - all five games haven't been close.

• Despite the final outcome, this game was tighter when you examine it closely. The Rockets were full marks for a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes before blowing things open with five goals in the third period. With Tyson Barrie returning to the lineup, the Rockets were simply a more confident team. Barrie had a goal and two assists while his teammates played a much more complete game than what we saw in the previous four outings.
  
• Spencer Main was especially good Saturday night. Main scored twice and added an assist. Main opened the scoring with a nice back hand by out-waiting Blazers goaltender Jeff Bosch and then slid a hard back hand past Bosch in the third period to make it a 4-1 game. That goal appeared to be the back breaker. Main's opening goal was his first in 15 games. It was Main's second-two goal game this season. The 18 year-old had two goals against the Vancouver Giants on October 20th.
• This was a total team effort. Seven different goal scorers and 12 players picking up at least a point was a good sign that everyone came to play.
• Mitchell Callahan scored his 50th goal of his career on a play that needed video replay. It appeared Bosch made a sensational glove hand save on Callahan, who shot the puck into the goalies glove after kicking the puck from his skate to his stick from in close. Video replay showed that Bosch's glove was indeed over the goal line when he snagged the puck out of mid air.
  
• Rookie defenceman Damon Severson was an impressive +5 in the game. Blazers d-man Austin Madiasky was a -5.
• For a second straight night 17 year-old Jesse Astles got involved in a fight, this time with Blazers heart and soul forward Ryan Hanes. Astles looked calm and cool in knocking down Hanes with a hard right. Astles isn't a heavyweight but will win more battles than he loses at the middle weight division.
• The Rockets played this game without leading scorer Shane McColgan. The 17 year-old sat the game out for precautionary measures. No question he will play this Friday against the Portland Winterhawks.
• The most successful outcome outside of the game itself was the ugly blazer promotion held on the ice during the second and third intermission. The number of men wearing an ugly blazer to the game was amazing. Close to fifty paraded onto the ice before a winner was declared and walked away with a new suit from McDermott's Men's Wear.
• Congratulations to forward Geordie Wudrick. His third period goal was not only his 22nd of the season but his 200th point of his WHL career. Wudrick now has 201 points after also picking up an assist. The 20 year-old now has goals in 6 of his last 8 games.
• The two Blazers I liked in the lopsided loss was Dylan Willick and JC Lipon. Willick wouldn't quit even though some of his teammates did and Lipon had a gutsy performance despite being bagged up.
• After seeing the Blazers three times in the last nine days, the Rockets won't meet them again until March 2nd. The two teams will clash three times over ten days to close out the seasonal series.
  

Rockets fall for 4th straight time

• The Seattle Thunderbirds got what they deserved. So did the Kelowna Rockets. The T-Birds, with the fewest amount of wins on home ice this season, won for only the 6th time in a 3-1 victory Friday night at the ShoWare Centre. The T-Birds were the hungrier team through 60 minutes while the Rockets appeared only to come to life in the third period.

• The T-Birds didn't have this game signed, sealed and delivered until midway through the third period. Geordie Wudrick scored about two minutes into the final frame to make it a one goal game. Then the Rockets were granted a 5 on 3 power play after a tripping call and a delay of game minor were accessed to Seattle. Instead of cashing in and tying the game at two, the Rockets failed to score and then watched the T-Birds convert about two minutes later to make it a 3-1 game.

• Wudrick's third period goal was a power play marker. At the time it snapped a 0 for 26 slump. The Rockets ended the game with one power play goal on five chances.

• Despite allowing three goals, rookie goaltender Jordon Cooke was solid in a 33 save effort. Of the three goals that were scored, two of them changed direction before finding the back of the net. The ugliest goal came when a point shot appeared to deflect off of T-Birds leading point getter Burke Gallimore before finding its way past Cooke.

• The Rockets find themselves in third place in the BC Division after the loss. The Vancouver Giants moved into second place with a win over Prince George. The Cougars and Giants have the same number of points, by Prince George remains in first because of more victories. The Rockets are in third, one point out of first place.

• T-Birds goaltender Calvin Pickard could have easily done as good a job as the two goaltenders that shared the duties for Team Canada at the WJHC. Pickard had to be grinning when he witnessed Team Canada's struggles in net. Only 18, you would think Pickard has a great chance at representing our country in 2012.

• Defenceman Tyson Barrie, forward Andreas Stene and head coach Ryan Huska were all granted a free pass from playing the T-Birds. All three remained back in Kelowna following their appearance at the WJHC. All three are back in action against the Blazers as the team wraps up three games in three night's.

• Shane McColgan had his seven game point streak snapped.
• The Rockets have been out-scored 17-6 during the four game losing streak.
• The four game losing streak matches a season high four game losing streak to start the season. The Rockets lost their first four games before beating Prince Albert 3-2 in overtime in game five of the regular season.
  

Not good

• The Moose Jaw Warriors left the BC Division last night with eight points in their back pocket. Two of those points came courtesy of the Kelowna Rockets. Playing their sixth game of a mammoth seven game road trip, the Rockets, not the Warriors, looked road weary in a 4-2 loss Thursday night. Moose Jaw scored four times in the second period and in the process handed the Rockets their third straight loss.

• Putting up four is all the Warriors needed on this night as the effort by the home team just wasn't there. Sorry, but I've seen this team at its best and this was no where close. The battle level just wasn't there. I can take losing, but falling flat on your face without any fight at home is hard to digest.

• Speaking of fights, one of them featured a complete mismatch as Rockets European forward Gal Koren - with 8 penalty minutes - went at it with 6 foot 6 designated tough guy Cody Beach. I cringed when I saw it develop at centre ice, but the carnage was no where near as bad as I had anticipated. Beach clearly won the battle, but Koren actually attempted to trade punches with the much larger, more experienced Beach.

• Collin Bowman was impressive in his return to Kelowna for the first time since requesting a trade at the end of last season. Bowman issued several big hits and was arguably the most physical player on the ice. I think it should be stated that Bowman played no where near that mean/intense during his time with the Rockets. Had he, Bowman would have likely heard his name called on draft day a couple of years ago.
  

• Warriors forward Jesse Paradis celebrated his 20th birthday by picking up an assist against his old team. The former Rocket is anything but flashy but he gets by with a solid work ethic. At the major junior level at least, determination and hard worker can make you an effective player.

• Mitchell Callahan was hell bent on playing Thursday night and he indeed was in the lineup with his team. Callahan arrived at the arena about an hour before game time after traveling back from the World Juniors in Buffalo, New York. Callahan was actually one of the Rockets better players despite sitting on an airplane all day. Oh, to be 19 again! Tyson Barrie was a late arrival and did not play.
  

• Adam Brown was pulled for the second straight game after giving up four goals. As was the case on Sunday, Jordon Cooke came in and shut the door the rest of the way.

• The Rockets have failed to score a power play goal since returning from the Christmas break. The Rockets are 0 for 25. They were 0 for 8 against the Warriors and surrendered a shorthanded goal.

• Geordie Wudrick scored his team leading 20th goal of the season. Wudrick had 19 goals with the Rockets all of last season.

• Shane McColgan extended his point streak to a season high seven straight games. McColgan had an assist on a nice pass on Brett Bulmer's second period goal.

Gorges undergoes season ending surgery

The player who led the Kelowna Rockets to a Memorial Cup title in 2004 will undergo season ending knee surgery.

Montreal Canadiens GM Pierre Gauthier announced Thursday that Josh Gorges will undergo surgery on his right knee and won't be back this season.

The Canadiens depleted defence corps has already lost star defenceman Andrei Markov to a knee injury that will keep him out of action for a year.

Gauthier said the club was expecting the bad news and got it today.

"Any time you lose a player it's a loss but in the case of Josh he's a strong leader and a great competitor," Gauthier said. "We knew this was coming, we knew after Dec. 26 when his knee locked on the ice on Long Island, and from that point on we knew we'd have to replace him."

Gorges has missed the last four games, beginning on Dec. 28 against Washington. He had missed a number of practices during the season without missing any games until then.

Gauthier said Gorges was disappointed with the news and he'd hoped to come back but the doctors have told him otherwise.

The 26-year-old defenceman has one goal and six assists in 36 games this season.

Game notes vs. Warriors

Tonight’s Preview: The Kelowna Rockets face the Moose Jaw Warriors in the lone meeting of the season between the two teams. These two teams met once last season in Moose Jaw December 12^th with Geordie Wudrick scoring the game winner in a 2-1 shootout victory. The Warriors last visit to Prospera Place was January 3/09 in a 5-2 win. Joel Broda scored twice. Moose Jaw’s Ryley Grantham fought Rockets defenceman Tyson Dowzak. The two would become teammates a week later. Overall, the Rockets enter tonight’s game having lost two straight games with back-to-back losses to the Spokane Chiefs and Kamloops Blazers. In the big picture the Rockets have eleven wins in their last seventeen games. This is the start of three games in three nights. The Rockets are in Seattle tomorrow night before hosting Kamloops on Saturday. This is the second of four - 3 games in 3 nights this season. The Rockets were 2-1-0-0 after playing three games in three nights October 8th, 9^th and 10^th.

Rockets recent game: Zach Franko scored the lone goal in a 5-1 loss Sunday to the Kamloops Blazers. The Rockets trailed 3-0 after one period and 5-1 after 40 minutes. Adam Brown surrendered 5 goals before being pulled in the second period. Jordon Cooke made 18 straight saves in a relief appearance. The Rockets were 0 for 6 on the power play.

Who’s Hot: Shane McColgan has 6+5=11 in his last six games and is riding a six game point streak and has goals in four of his last five games…Mitchell Callahan has 4+4=8 in his last ten games…Brett Bulmer has 3+7=10 in his last six games. Tyson Barrie has gone ten games without a goal yet has points in five of his last eight games (0+9=9)…Geordie Wudrick has twelve goals in his last fifteen games. Who’s Not: Max Adolph has no goals in his last 21 games. Spencer Main has one goal in his last 20.

Delivering in December: The Rockets top point getter in December was Brett Bulmer. Bulmer had 5+10=15. Shane McColgan was next with 6+7=13 during the month. Geordie Wudrick led the Rockets in goals during the month with seven.

This and That: Geordie Wudrick has played 24 career games against the Warriors. Wudrick has 6+8=14 against the Warriors over the last four seasons….Kevin Smith, a former Warrior, played 165 career games in Moose Jaw. Smith was a second round pick of the Warriors, 38^th overall. Smith was traded to the Rockets in exchange for Collin Bowman. Bowman was the Rockets 2^nd round pick in that same draft (2006), 39^th overall…The Rockets are playing a rare Thursday night home game. The only other time the Rockets have played at home on a Thursday this season was December 30^th in a 7-1 win over Kamloops….The Rockets haven’t lost three in a row since setbacks on October 26^th, 29^th and 30^th….The Rockets have allowed the fewest amount of goals against on the road in the WHL this season (51)….The Rockets have scored 26 more goals at home than on the road. The Rockets have played 19 games at home and 19 times on opposition ice…The Rockets are the only team in the WHL this season that have not lost in overtime or the shoot-out…Geordie Wudrick has 19 goals this season in 37 games. Last season, Wudrick scored 19 goals in 38 regular season games after being acquired from Swift Current…The Rockets have allowed four power play goals against in their last eleven games. The Rockets are 41 for 45 over that period…The Rockets are 7 for 49 on the power play in their last nine games (14.3%).….Adam Brown has the fourth best goals against average in the WHL (2.50)…. The Rockets have been involved in fifteen-one goal games this season. The Rockets are 10-5-0-0 in those fifteen-one goal games…Adam Brown has started twenty-five of the last 28 games…The Rockets franchise played in its 1400^th regular season game December 14^th in Medicine Hat. The team has 719 regular season wins….Zak Stebner (309) is one of three Rockets with over 300 penalty minutes in their career. Mitchell Callahan (415) and Geordie Wudrick (341) are the others….The Rockets are 8 and 8 in 16 games this season without Tyson Barrie in the lineup. Barrie missed seven games at the start of the season with a hip injury and nine games as a member of Team Canada… Second year forward Shane McColgan has been named to the CHL Home Hardware NHL/Top Prospects game this month in Toronto. Forty of the top players eligible for this summer’s draft will participate in the two day event (Jan 18-19) at the Air Canada Centre. McColgan will play for Team Orr…The Rockets are entering a portion of their schedule where just one of their next six games are on the road. The Rockets visit Seattle Friday…The Rockets and Warriors have exchanged six players over the last three seasons in trades. January 8/09, the Rockets obtained Ryley Grantham for Dylan Hood. Jan 10/09, the Rockets acquired Ian Duval for Jesse Paradis. The Rockets acquired Kevin Smith on August 10^th in exchange for Collin Bowman, who requested a trade.

Amazing comeback or total collapse?

Those words from Dan Dunleavy on the Fan Radio Network after Canada's 5-3 loss to the Russian's in the gold medal game of the World Juniors.
The game was heard on AM 1150.
Russia scores five goals in the third in the victory.
Regardless, Tyson Barrie and coach Ryan Huska did us proud.
The loss will sting, but they again represented our country and more importantly our city and local hockey club extremely well.

Callahan wins bronze

Mitchell Callahan will return to Kelowna tomorrow with a bronze medal around his neck.
Callahan and Team USA beat Sweden 4-2 in the bronze medal game today at the World Junior Hockey Championships.
Congratulations Mitch...or is it Mitchell? ;)

Callahan will have time to crash

It looks like Rockets forward Mitchell Callahan will have some time to crash (relax) following the conclusion of his participation at the World Junior Hockey Championships.
Callahan will play for the Americans in the bronze medal game today and is scheduled to fly into Kelowna late Thursday afternoon.
With the late arrival to Kelowna International Airport, you would think the 19 year-old wouldn't be in the lineup against the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors. The same goes for Tyson Barrie.
Whether Callahan or Barrie participate in the Rockets schedule, which has them playing three games in three night starting Thursday, is still up in the air.
It appears Callahan will be granted some time back home in California next week to recover while Barrie can mentally and physically regroup at his home in Victoria.
GM Bruce Hamilton, head coach Ryan Huska and forward Andreas Stene will also be flying into Kelowna late Thursday.

Things that make me go hmm...

• The question has now been answered if Ryan Cuthbert is indeed ready for a head coaching job at the WHL level. Cuthbert has been exceptional in his 'fill in role' as interim head coach during Ryan Huska's absence. Still just 28, Cuthbert appears to be the heir apparent to the head coaching duties should Huska move on to the pro ranks. Again the Rockets are doing a tremendous job of not only developing players but coaches. Nothing in life is guaranteed, but its nice to know the team would be in good hands if Huska moves to 'higher ground'.
  
• If you missed it, Madison Bowey was named a first team all-star at the Mac's Midget Hockey Tournament in Calgary over the Christmas holidays. Bowey is a second round pick of the Rockets from this summers draft and made his debut against the Lethbridge Hurricanes December 15th. Bowey had 2+3=5 in six games for the Winnipeg Wild.
• Dylan Hood is having a terrific 20 year-old season with the Moose Jaw Warriors. Hood, who played 147 games with the Rockets, leads his team in scoring with 48 points. Hood had 48 points all of last season. The Warriors face the Rockets Thursday night.
  
• Who won the trade this summer when The Rockets sent 19 year-old defenceman Collin Bowman to the Warriors for 19 year-old Kevin Smith? Bowman has 23 points (8+15=23) in 39 games while Smith has 16 points (3+13=16) in 38 games. Both teams can agree on one thing. Both needed a change of scenery.
• The Spokane Chiefs are the best team I've seen this season. What I like most about them is their work ethic. It's an all-out assault when they play you. No short cuts are taken with this team. They come at you hard and score greasy goals because they are in your face all the time. The Chiefs are playing playoff style hockey now, which means trouble for those that meet them when the real season starts in late March. No question you need skill to succeed, but heart, determination and work ethic can take you a long way.
  
• Here's the dilemma facing the Rockets following the return of Tyson Barrie and Mitchell Callahan from the World Junior's. Do they play against the Warriors Thursday night or watch the game from the sidelines? With the start of three games in three night's for the Rockets, it makes sense not to play them. But what happens if the Warriors dress Quinton Howden against the Rockets? It doesn't make Barrie and Callahan look very good. if they are sitting in the stands with a popcorn in their hands. For the players sake, I hope all three are given the night off. No question they will be recognized for their accomplishments before the opening face-off .
• The Warriors are an impressive 5 and 2 without Howden. The Rockets are 4 and 4 without Barrie and 4 and 2 without Callahan. Callahan played two more games than Barrie before attending the training camp with the USA World Junior team.
  

Barrie goes for gold

Kelowna Rockets defenceman Tyson Barrie will go for gold at the World Junior Hockey Championships Wednesday night.
Team Canada will face Russia.
Barrie is trying to become the first Rockets player since Jamie Benn and Tyler Myers in 2008 to win a gold at the high profile international tournament.
Ryan Huska, an assistant coach for Team Canada, is trying to become the first Rockets coach since Marcel Comeau in 1995 to win gold. Comeau led Canada to a win over Russia in the championship game in Red Deer.
Marc Habscheid won a silver medal as assistant coach in 2002 and head coach in 2003 before Jeff Truitt won a silver as Team Canada's video coach in 2004.
Rockets forward Mitchell Callahan, as a member of the USA, will play for bronze earlier in the day.

Getting blitzed by the Blazers

• If you want to be a good goaltender at the Western Hockey League level, a short memory is crucial. The Kamloops Blazers coaching staff can rest assure that 20 year-old netminder Jeff Bosch doesn't let past poor performances bother him. After letting in three soft goals in a 7-1 loss in Kelowna Thursday night, Bosch rebounded with a solid effort in his teams 5-1 win over the Rockets Sunday night. Bosch, who was named the games third star, was extremely good early in the game and made a spectacular right pad save on Rockets forward Max Adolph on a power play late in the game to prove the point that he wasn't rattled after being pulled after two periods at Prospera Place. While Bosch was terrific at one end, Rockets goaltender Adam Brown was only average in the teams 17th loss of the season.
• The one real bright spot for the Rockets was the play of back up goaltender Jordon Cooke who replaced Brown after the Blazers 5th goal. Cooke came into the game in a relief appearance and was razor sharp, making 18 saves. It was Cooke's first appearance since a 3-2 shootout win in Lethbridge back on December 15th.
  
• For a second straight game the Rockets appeared to miss defenceman Tyson Barrie and Mitchell Callahan. Again, defensive miscues were common place and a solid fore-check was hard to establish. Give the Blazers credit for building up a 3-0 lead after one period and never letting off the gas pedal. For the Rockets, even getting the transmission into first gear appeared to be a daunting task on this night.
  
• The Rockets again struggled on the power play, going 0 for 6. Over the last three games the Rockets have failed to score a power play goal in 17 chances.
• Rookie forward Zach Franko scored his first goal in 12 games.
  
• This game featured two fights including a tilt between 16 year-old Rockets rookie Tyrell Goulbourne and Blazers spark plug Chase Souto. Souto was involved in his 8th fighting major of the season while Goulbourne found himself in the first scrap of his major junior career. The second fight had 17 year-old's Shane McColgan trading punches with Blazers forward Colin Smith. These two players pride themselves on putting up points but decided that pummeling on each other was a better option. My concern in the McColgan fight is the fear that the Rockets leading scorer could break a hand or knuckle.
  
• Sunday's loss marked the first time since October 30th that the Rockets gave up five or more goals on the road. The Rockets gave up six in a 6-1 loss to the Portland Winterhawks.
• The Rockets played the majority if not the entire third period without forward Colton Sissons, Tyrell Goulbourne and Kevin Smith. The injuries to those three are unknown at this time but will be evaluated early next week.
• Goulbourne ended his four game stint with the team Sunday night. The likable Edmonton product will return to his midget team for the remainder of the season.
• The Kamloops Blazers are getting their fans to sell season tickets. If I understand it correctly, the organization is offering a 100 dollar bill by referring friends and family to be a season ticket holder with the team. The pitch man for the promotion on the video screen at the Interior Savings Centre was Blazers captain Chase Schaber, with a crisp 100 dollar bill in his hand.
  
• I was surprised to learn that the Blazers hockey club has essentially cut off player and coach accessibility to the Kamloops Daily News. The local newspaper was issued a letter from Blazers ownership before Christmas saying the decision was made because of negative reporting by the paper towards the hockey club. That means veteran WHL writer Gregg Drinnan is unable to obtain quotes from the hockey club and is forced to interview the opposition team instead. In a day and age where WHL teams like the Seattle Thunderbirds and Portland Winterhawks are thirsting for more media coverage, be it positive or negative, the Blazers theory is they are best served by radio, TV and the Internet.
  

Game notes vs. Blazers

Tonight’s Preview: The Kelowna Rockets face the Kamloops Blazers for the fifth time this season. The Rockets are 2-2-0-0 in the first four games, having out-scored the Blazers 16-12. These two teams are meeting for the second time four days. The Rockets beat the Blazers Thursday by a 7-1 score. After tonight’s tilt the two teams again collide next Saturday at Prospera Place. Overall, the Rockets enter tonight’s game having won four of their last five and have eleven wins in their last sixteen games. In the big picture the Rockets have seventeen wins in their last twenty-three (17-6-0-0). Following tonight’s game the Rockets host Moose Jaw in a rare Thursday night game.

Rockets recent game: Levko Koper scored three times leading the Spokane Chiefs to a 5-2 win over the Kelowna Rockets last night at Prospera Place. The Chiefs had a 2-0 lead after one period and a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes. Shane McColgan and Colton Sissons scored goals for the Rockets, who lost for the 16^th time this season and saw a 4 game winning streak come to an end. The Rockets were 0 for 7 on the power play and registered just 19 shots, with just eight coming over the first two periods.

Who’s Hot: Shane McColgan has 6+4=10 in his last five games and is riding a five game point streak and has goals in four straight games…Mitchell Callahan has 4+4=8 in his last ten games…Brett Bulmer has 3+7=10 in his last five games. Tyson Barrie has gone ten games without a goal yet has points in five of his last eight games (0+9=9)…Geordie Wudrick has twelve goals in his last fourteen games.

Who’s Not: Max Adolph has no goals in his last 20 games. Zach Franko is scoreless in his last eleven. Spencer Main has one goal in his last 19.

Delivering in December: The Rockets top point getter in December was Brett Bulmer. Bulmer had 5+10=15. Shane McColgan was next with 6+7=13 during the month. Geordie Wudrick led the Rockets in goals during the month with seven.

This and That: The Rockets have allowed the fewest amount of goals against on the road in the WHL this season (46)….The Rockets own the 4^th best penalty killing unit in the league….The Rockets are the only team in the WHL this season that have not lost in overtime or the shoot-out…Geordie Wudrick has 19 goals this season in 36 games. Last season, Wudrick scored 19 goals in 38 regular season games after being acquired from Swift Current…Adam Brown earned his 9^th career shutout Tuesday night. Brown is now one shutout shy of tying Kristofer Westblom, who had 10 shutouts with the Rockets from 2004-2008. Derek Yeomans, who played for the Rockets from 2003-2006, had 11 career shutouts. Kelly Guard is the franchise leader with 19…Tyson Barrie became the 11^th player in Rockets’ history to be named to the Canadian World Junior Team. Barrie is joined on that list by Rockets’ defenceman like Shea Weber, Josh Gorges, Tyler Myers and Luke Schenn…Forward Mitchell Callahan was named to the USA World Junior Team…..The Rockets have allowed three power play goals against in their last ten games. The Rockets are 36 for 39 over that period…The Rockets are 7 for 43 on the power play in their last eight games (16.3%).….Adam Brown has the fourth best goals against average in the WHL (2.50)…..Andreas Stene is playing for Norway at the World Junior Hockey Championships….Two members of the Rockets are participating in the Under 17 Hockey Challenge in Manitoba. Rookies Damon Severson and Colton Heffley are part of Team West…. The Rockets have been involved in fifteen-one goal games this season. The Rockets are 10-5-0-0 in those fifteen-one goal games…Adam Brown has started twenty-four of the last 27 games…The Rockets franchise played in its 1400^th regular season game December 14^th in Medicine Hat. The team has 719 regular season wins….Zak Stebner (309) is one of three Rockets with over 300 penalty minutes in their career. Mitchell Callahan (415) and Geordie Wudrick (341) are the others….The Rockets are 8 and 7 in 15 games this season without Tyson Barrie in the lineup. Barrie missed seven games at the start of the season with a hip injury and eight games as a member of Team Canada… Second year forward Shane McColgan has been named to the CHL Home Hardware NHL/Top Prospects game next month in Toronto. Forty of the top players eligible for this summer’s draft will participate in the two day event (Jan 18-19) at the Air Canada Centre. McColgan will play for Team Orr…Shane McColgan turned 18 on Saturday…The Rockets are entering a portion of their schedule where just two of their next seven games are on the road. The Rockets visit Seattle this Friday. Homes games over this stretch include dates against Moose Jaw, Kamloops, Portland, Medicine Hat and Prince George.

Rockets get wake up call

• You can get away without playing a full 60 minutes against some teams, but the Spokane Chiefs aren't one of them. The Chiefs, arguably the hottest team in the Western Conference, took it to a new level Saturday night in a strong 5-2 win over the Kelowna Rockets. The opening shift set the tone for the majority of the game as the visitors had the Rockets pinned in their own zone for the majority of the opening period. The Chiefs had a 15-2 shot advantage in the opening period and the score could have been worse had it not been for third star Adam Brown.
  
• Remarkably the Rockets were only down by two goals after 40 minutes after generating just eight shots on goal. Despite the disastrous start, the Rockets could have made it a one goal game had the power play been affective. Instead it went 0 for 7, including two glorious chances at the midway point of the third period. To think the Rockets were in a position to be in a one goal game after being dominated through two periods was pretty amazing.
• The fans at Prospera Place got angry by booing at one point on a Rockets third period power play. As the saying goes, the fans are with you win or tie.
  
• Outside of the empty net goal by Levko Koper, his third of the game, all four of the Chiefs goals were scored in a similar fashion. Playing soft in front of the Rockets net resulted in second chance opportunities that the Chiefs buried. In fact, Brown was never beaten on an original shot, yet failed attempts to clear the puck or missed assignments resulted in goals for the visitors.
• The biggest hit of the game came in the second period when Spokane forward Blake Gal was attempting to slam into Rockets defenceman Mitchell Chapman. Chapman got the better of Gal by sending him flying into the Chiefs bench. This hit has to make the WHL Plays of the Week. It was that good. Even the video replay on the big screen had the fans applauding Chapman's effort.
  
• Seventeen year-old Jesse Astles was involved in a second period fight with WHL leading penalty minute man Darren Kramer. Astles did well against a player who recorded his 25th fighting major of the season. It was Astles 8th tilt of the season.
• The Rockets 19 shots on goal was a season low.
  
• Shane McColgan celebrated his 18th birthday with a second period goal. McColgan now has goals in four straight games and is currently riding a five game point streak.