Brodsky on low crowds in Prince George

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I spoke to Prince George Cougars owner Rick Brodsky before Wednesday night's game in Kelowna. I asked him about the perceived dislike for ownership by Prince George hockey fans. The reason for the discussion was the sold out Subway Super Series game back on November 18th at the CN Centre followed by a Cougars home game a night later against the Rockets which drew just over 18 hundred fans.

"I've heard things in Prince George like, he's too cheap to do this or he doesn't do that. It's all hog wash. In all honesty, I don't spend a lot of time worrying about it. We win our share of games, we are out in the community and our players are going to hospitals and doing the same things other teams are doing in the league. So we are just holding our head up and are proud of what we do and the naysayers will either eventually come or they won't come."

"We are not threatening to leave or anything, but on some night's we are getting 16, 17 hundred in Prince George. We cannot sustain that..it's as simple as that. I have no plan to do anything rash except to have a better hockey team and make it succeed in Prince George."

An ugly win, but a win all the same

• Over the course of 72 regular season games, a team is going to play well and lose and play sub par and win. It would be safe to say the Kelowna Rockets have had better outings following a 6-2 victory Wednesday night over the visiting Prince George Cougars. The Rockets were counting their blessings being up 3-1 after twenty minutes before the penalty killing unit came alive in the second period by killing off essentially six minutes of power play time as the Cougars attempted to crawl back in the game.
• Cody Chikie had a two goal game with the 19 year-old having the best jump of any of the Rockets skaters in the opening twenty minutes. It was Chikie's third-two goal game of the season. He scored two goals in games against Portland and Kamloops.
• It would be safe to say Spencer Main had a quiet four assists. Tyson Barrie had four assists December 9/09 in a win over the Regina Pats.
• A high five to 16 year-old Rockets rookie Colton Heffley, who was involved in his first WHL fight with a 20 year-old. Cougars forward Taylor Stefishen dropped the gloves with Heffley in the third period in one of two scraps in the game.
• The biggest hit came courtesy of Cougars defenceman Jesse Forsberg on Rockets rookie Colton Sissons. Forsberg initiated a clean hit at center ice as Sissons was retrieving a pass. As soon as Forsberg threw the hit he was ready to engage with Rockets defenceman Kevin Smith who tangled with him in a scrap.
• While I criticized the officials following Saturday's game against Medicine Hat, I have to throw out a bouquet to veteran official Pat Smith for his performance Wednesday night. You didn't notice him, and that was a good thing. He called a solid game. I am under the belief that Smith calls a better game when he is the only official on the ice. Smith was the lone man wearing the orange arm band and he avoided over calling a game that he had no business doing.
• I had a really nice chat with Cougars owner Rick Brodsky before the game. Despite my years in the WHL, I have never spoken to the man. It was a pleasure talking to him and getting his take on what appears to be a hatred hockey fans of Prince George have towards the ownership group there. I will attempt to share the interview over the next couple of days.
• The lopsided score allowed the Rockets coaching staff to rest some of the players that will see a lot of ice time over the next three night's. Tyson Barrie saw little ice time in the third period as Colton Jobke, MacKenzie Johnston, Kevin Smith and Zach Stebner received the bulk of the workload. D-man Mitchell Chapman was hurt in the first period and didn't return after being hit into the boards by Cougars forward Jaroslav Vlach.
  
• Zach Franko now has the longest point streak of any Rockets player this season. The 17 year-old extended his point streak to eight games with an assist on Mitchell Callahan's third period goal.
• The win moved the Rockets into sole possession of second place in the BC Division, one point up on Prince George and one point back of Vancouver for first place in the division. The Rockets hold two games in hand on the Giants.
• Both team's played without a key offensive threat. The Rockets didn't have leading point producer Shane McColgan in the lineup while the Cougars were without leading goal scorer Brett Connolly. McColgan was at the Top Prospects Game in Toronto while Connolly watched from the press box after suffering an injury.
• The Rockets open a U.S Division road trip Friday night in Seattle. The team stops in Spokane Saturday before visiting the Tri City Americans on Sunday.
  

Rockets game notes vs. Cougars

Tonight’s Preview: The Kelowna Rockets face the Prince George Cougars for the 6^th of 9 times this season. The Rockets are 4-1-0-0, having out-scored the Cougars 18-12. The Cougars only win came in a 6-2 victory at Prospera Place September 25^th. Following tonight’s game these two teams meet again January 28^th before closing out the seasonal series February 4^th and 5^th in Prince George. The Rockets will play the Cougars four times in their next nine games. This is the fourth and final game of a four game home stand. The Rockets are 2-1-0-0 with wins over Kamloops (8-1) and Portland (5-3) and a loss to the Medicine Hat Tigers (5-2). The Rockets are in Seattle Friday night before visiting Spokane on Saturday and Tri City on Sunday.

Rockets recent game: Tyson Barrie and Mitchell Callahan scored second period goals in a 5-2 loss to the Medicine Hat Tigers Saturday night. The Tigers scored three of their five goals on the power play and chipped in with a shorthanded goal. The Rockets were 1 for 6 with the man advantage. Adam Brown made 25 saves in the loss.

Who’s Hot: Zach Franko is riding a seven game point streak, Franko has 3+5=8 over that period…Shane McColgan has 7+7=14 in his last ten games. McColgan has goals in five of his last nine games…Mitchell Callahan has 6+7=13 in his last fifteen games…Brett Bulmer has 4+11=15 in his last eleven games. Tyson Barrie has points in eight of his last eleven games (2+14=16)…Geordie Wudrick has nine goals in his last ten games.

Who’s Not: Max Adolph has no goals in his last 25 games. Kevin Smith has one goal in his last 26 games.

This and That: Zach Franko’s seven game point streak ties Shane McColgan and Tyson Barrie for the longest point streak for a Rockets player this season. McColgan has had seven game point streaks twice this season….The Rockets have allowed the second fewest goals against in the Western Conference this season (125). The Tri City Americans have also allowed 125 goals against. Overall the Rockets have allowed the fourth fewest goals against in the WHL. Only Red Deer (102), Spokane (116) and Medicine Hat (122) have allowed fewer…The Rockets have scored a power play goal in four of the five games against the Cougars. The Rockets are 6 for 23 (26.1%) in the seasonal series while the Cougars are 3 for 19 (15.8%) and have failed to score a power play goal in three of the five games….Mitchell Callahan, Shane McColgan and Tyson Barrie are tied for the team lead in multiple point games with ten. Brett Bulmer has nine multiple point games…Jason Siebert is missing his 19^th straight games after undergoing surgery on his wrist….Adam Brown is third all-time on the Kelowna Rockets list of games played by a goalie. Brown has played 125 games, 4 fewer than second place Kristofer Westblom. The franchise leader is Kevin Swanson with 167 games played… The Rockets are 6 for 48 on the power play in their last eight games (12.5 %)…The Rockets have allowed the fewest goals against on the road in the WHL this season (54)….The Rockets have scored 42 more goals at home than on the road. The Rockets have played 23 games at home and 20 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 24 goals this season in 42 games. Last season, Wudrick scored 19 goals in 38 regular season games after being acquired from Swift Current…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-nine of the last 33 games…The Rockets franchise played in its 1400^th regular season game December 14^th in Medicine Hat. The team has 721 regular season wins….Zak Stebner (311) is one of three Rockets with over 300 penalty minutes in their career. Mitchell Callahan (417) and Geordie Wudrick (356) are the others….The Rockets were 8 and 10 in 18 games this season without Tyson Barrie in the lineup. Barrie missed seven games at the start of the season with a hip injury and eleven games as a member of Team Canada… Second year forward Shane McColgan is playing in the CHL Home Hardware NHL/Top Prospects game tonight in Toronto. Forty of the top players eligible for this summer’s draft are participating in the two day event (Jan 18-19) at the Air Canada Centre. McColgan is rated 102^nd among WHL players for this summer’s draft. Zach Franko and Jessey Astles are also rated….Brett Bulmer has one more goal than all of last season….Mitchell Chapman leads the team in +/- with a +9…Only four players have played in all 43 regular season games this season. They are Zach Franko, Kevin Smith, Evan Bloodoff and Spencer Main…The Rockets are 4-5-0-0 in nine games since returning from the Christmas break. Interestingly, the Cougars are also 4-5-0-0 since the Christmas hiatus.

McColgan will show speed at Top Prospects

The Canadian Hockey League today announced the four events and participants for the 2011 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Skills Competition set for Tuesday January 18 at 7:00 pm at Air Canada Centre.
Kelowna Rockets forward Shane McColgan will participate in the fastest skater competition.
Forty of the CHL’s top prospects eligible for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft have been divided into four different events including the Fastest Skater, Hardest Shot, Shooting Accuracy, and a Showdown Breakaway Contest.
Following the four events, all participants will have the ability to showcase their skills in a 3-on3 game before fans and scouts in attendance.

Things that make go hmm...

• Now that the Winter Classic in Spokane is over, mixed reviews are coming in for the first ever outdoor hockey game between the Spokane Chiefs and Kootenay Ice. From all accounts the fans enjoyed the game despite watching from afar. The placement of the ice in relation to the grandstand seating in the ball park made it difficult and it was suggested that more grandstand seating should have been available around the end boards. Despite the lopsided score, this was a first for the WHL and I can only see things improving now that the first one is behind them.
• Would we ever see an outdoor game in Kelowna? Would the Apple Bowl be an ideal location? It was suggested that had the ice surface been larger at Stewart Park across from city hall a game could have been hosted there. Could you imagine the visual of a WHL game taking place on the shore of Okanagan Lake? Obviously the ice surface is smaller than regulation size at Stewart Park because of the land the city had to work with in that area.
  
• Officiating. Let's go there for a moment. A real tough night for those that witnessed the Rockets loss to the Medicine Hat Tigers. Suspect calls and just poor management on the ice made for a tough evening for Zalaski and Thurston. No question these officials are going to make mistakes, but they were simply too involved in a game that could have been better settled by the two combatants. It's not the ratio of calls made that gets my goat as much as the missed infractions or phantom calls.
  
• I would love to know the winning percentage when a team scores 5 on 3 and what the losing percentage is when you fail to score with the same luxury. Even in a scoreless tie, I would put my money on the team that doesn't score to lose the game. It just seems to work out that way.
  
• Now that Gregg Drinnan's situation is over, life is back to normal in Kamloops. Or is it? Drinnan was reinstated and will have access to the team, but the relationship will never be the same. If it was bad to begin with, it is only worse now. Drinnan will be given the cold shoulder no matter how negative or positive his reporting is. As Drinnan said himself, he is not changing the way he covers the team, and why should he? If he turned it 'Positive Paul', the damage has been done and he will never be in the good books of the Blazers. Maybe he never was?
  
• Scary crowd in Swift Current Sunday night. Under 18 hundred fans watched the Rebels beat the Broncos. My greatest fear is that number may become a common theme for the remainder of the season following the trade of Cody Eakin. The more urgent matter is getting the Broncos into the playoffs. A post season birth is critical for a small market team to pad their bottom line. No playoff revenue for three straight seasons would hurt even a large market team. Am I quietly cheering for that team? You bet. I want it to remain strong in that community for years to come. Somebody tell me it will all be OK?
  
• I am interested to see what the attendance will be like in Cranbrook once Eakin is healthy enough to play. His Kootenay Ice debut isn't that one that interests me, but a game or two after that....once the honeymoon is over. Do the hockey fans in Cranbrook grasp the magnitude of that trade and the elite team GM Jeff Chynoweth has build there? As one media type said to me on the weekend, "outside of Eakin, I would be hard pressed to name three players on the Ice roster." He isn't joking. The Ice get little media attention and just go about their business with little fanfair. I will be interested to see how the community rallies around the team when we visit on February 22nd.
• Who selects the warm up music at Kelowna Rockets home games? Is it the players? If so, an interesting, yet odd selection is played when the two teams enter the ice surface. Take a listen and let me know what you think.
• I understand their have been some problems with the sound quality of our webcasts. The sound is often distorted or over modulated. I think we've detected the problem. It appears the mics on the camera's being used near the broadcast booth are picking up unwanted crowd noise and are picking up our voices from ten feet away. The result is a 'muddy' sound. Hopefully turning off those camera mic's will improve the sound. If you notice and difference or none whatsoever, let me know.
• Are you getting this sneaking suspicion that the team that wins the BC Division this season won't even have 40 victories? It's happened before where a team wins under 40 games yet captures a divisional title. The Everett Silvertips won just 35 games to capture the US Division title in 2003-2004. The lowest point total I can find of a team winning a divisional crown was the Medicine Hat Tigers in 1976-77. The Tigers had just 32 wins and 76 points that season and won the Central Division. They were quickly ousted in four games in the opening round of the playoffs.

Hot 'Bunz'

No question the Rockets' had their chances last night against the Tigers.
The audio highlites tell the story.
Medicine Hat goaltender Tyler Bunz was good and lucky!

Peaks and valleys par for the course

• The Kelowna Rockets were looking at moving into sole possession of first place in the BC Division with a win Saturday night. The Medicine Hat Tigers had other ideas. Linden Vey scored twice and added two assists leading the Tigers to a 5-2 win. Vey was credited with the game winner in the second period before scoring an empty netter with five seconds left in regulation time.
• The Tigers scored three of their five goals on the power play with Vey's empty netter coming shorthanded. The visitors special teams were 'special' while the Rockets struggled on both the power play and penalty kill. The Rockets were 1 for 6 with the man advantage including going 0 for 4 in the third period when they were attempting to mount a comeback.
• A rough night for the officials with Derek Zalaski and Matt Thurston making several weak calls. Two terrible calls resulted in power play goals by the Tigers. Jessey Astles gets called for charging while Tyson Barrie takes a tripping minor in the second period. Zalaski calls the penalty on Astles after he clearly misses a hit and runs into a Tiger defenceman's stick. The Barrie penalty comes after Tigers forward Linden Vey losses his balance close to the net and simply falls down.
• The Rockets also lost Spencer Main and Geordie Wudrick for essentially 17 minutes after both were involved in fights after taking exception to hits on fellow teammates. Both received instigator penalties, plus five minute majors for fighting and 10 minute misconducts.
• As poor as the officiating was in this game, the good teams are able to work through those struggles. The Rockets just weren't resilient enough after an emotional win the night previous against Portland. It seemed like the harder they tried to pull themselves out of the funk the more fractured their game became.
• The Rockets found themselves down 2-0 early in the second period before defenceman Tyson Barrie took matters into his own hands with a nice individual effort. Barrie streaked around a Tigers defenceman and appeared to deke around goaltender Tyler Bunz on the forehand. At the last second, Barrie goes to the back hand to make it a one goal game.
• I was really impressed with the Tigers power play. Using five forwards the majority of the night, the puck movement was quick and crisp. Wacey Hamilton was often the trigger man with one timers.
• The Rockets close out a four game home stand Wednesday against Prince George. It's a chance for the Rockets to move into first place with a victory.
  

Nothing short of outstanding

• Adam Brown left an old friend behind before suiting up Friday night against the Portland Winterhawks. But donning a new set of goalie pads and shelving his old, well worn ones didn't hurt one bit. Brown made 43 saves with his brand new pair of Reebok's in a 5-3 win over the Portland Winterhawks. Brown proved that he is indeed one of the best goaltenders in the WHL and the equipment he uses has little to do with his spectacular play.

• Brown's best save may have come in the second period with a nice glove hand stop off of Hawks forward Nino Neidereitter. The 19 year-old had the lower part of the net labeled only to see Brown's glove get in the way.
  
• No question this was the best game we've witnesses at Prospera Place this season. The opening period was especially entertaining as the two team's combined for 30 shots on goal. Portland had 19 after one period and had a 3-1 lead because of it. The Hawks received a late first period break when Neidereitter's shot after a face-off win appeared to glance off of Rockets defenceman Kevin Smith before going over the glove of Brown.
  
• The Rockets ability to erase that two goal deficit and score four unanswered goals in the teams 23rd win of the season was awfully impressive. While Brown was the best player on the ice, the Rockets received outstanding efforts from all 18 skaters. Zach Franko and Geordie Wudrick had two goals while Tyson Barrie ended the night with three assists.
• Franko's game winning goal late in the second period was spectacular. The 17 year-old drives hard to the net on the forehand and then at the last second goes to the back hand and roofs the puck over the glove of Hawks goaltender Mac Carruth. Franko's goal makes it 4-3 with 1:50 left to go in the second period.
  
• Winning board battles was a pivotal part in the Rockets success. I thought Colton Sissons and Mitchell Callahan were extremely good in going to the dirty areas and making life difficult for the visitors. Geordie Wudick and Evan Bloodoff were also tough to play against. Wudrick was in on four (2+2=4) of the Rockets five goals.
• The Hawks passing is nothing short of amazing. Their skill level allows their defenceman to make long lead passes that are tape-to-tape. For my money they are the best passing team in the league.
• Net front presence was the story for the Rockets. They weren't scared to go hard to the net which was evident by a Evan Bloodoff goaltender interference penalty in the first period and Geordie Wudrick knocking the mask off of Mac Carruth in the second period during a goal mouth scramble.
  
• Brett Bulmer played like a 2nd round pick Friday night against the Hawks. He was dangerous with the puck and often times controlled the play.
  
• Tyson Barrie's three point effort moved him past the 200 point plateau for his career. Barrie now has 201 points.
• The game featured seven power play chances in the first period alone. The final 40 minutes featured just three power plays - two for the Rockets and one for the Hawks.
• The Rockets win snapped a seven game losing streak against the Hawks. It was the first win since March of 2009, when the Rockets were victorious 6-2.
• This game showed just how scary the Rockets can be when they play an intense, in your face game. This is another reason to be excited about the playoffs in late March.
  
• The photo of Zach Franko being closely guarded by Hawks d-man Brett Ponich is provided by photographer Marissa Baecker.
  

Rockets game notes vs. Hawks

Tonight’s Preview: The Kelowna Rockets face the Portland Winterhawks for the final time this season. The Rockets have lost the first three games by scores of 5-1, 4-2 and 6-1. Overall the Rockets have been out-scored 15-4 in the seasonal series. In fact, the Rockets are riding a seven game winless streak against the Hawks (0-6-0-1). The last win over Portland came March 11/09 in a 6-2 victory. Mikael Backlund scored twice while Jamie Benn scored his 44^th goal of the season in the victory. This is the second game of a four game home stand. The Rockets host Medicine Hat tomorrow night before welcoming Prince George on Wednesday. The Rockets then play three straight games south of the border in Seattle, Spokane and Tri City next weekend. The Rockets have allowed the 3^rd fewest goals against in the WHL (117). Only Medicine Hat (112) and Kootenay (115) have allowed fewer.

Rockets recent game: Spencer Main (2+1=3) and Tyson Barrie (1+2=3) each had three points in a lopsided 8-1 win over Kamloops last Saturday. The Rockets scored 5 times in the third period in the team’s 22^nd win of the season. The Rockets were 2 for 6 on the power play while allowing one goal on five Blazers man advantages. Adam Brown earned the win in goal.

Who’s Hot: Shane McColgan has 6+6=12 in his last eight games but had his seven game point streak snapped last Friday against the T-Birds. McColgan has goals in four of his last seven games…Mitchell Callahan has 5+6=11 in his last thirteen games…Brett Bulmer has 4+8=12 in his last nine games. Tyson Barrie snapped a career high ten game goal scoring drought Saturday. Barrie has points in six of his last nine games (1+11=12)…Geordie Wudrick has fifteen goals in his last eighteen games.

Who’s Not: Max Adolph has no goals in his last 24 games. Kevin Smith has one goal in his last 24 games.

Closing in on personal bests: Forward Spencer Main has one fewer goal than he did all of last season. Main is two points shy of the career high 19 he recorded as a 17 year-old. Kevin Smith has 7 fewer points than he had all of last season. Max Adolph has six fewer points than a year ago. Colton Jobke has one fewer point than the seven he had as a 17 year-old.

This and That: Mitchell Callahan and Shane McColgan are tied for the team lead in multiple point games with ten. Tyson Barrie is next with nine followed by Brett Bulmer with eight multiple point games…Evan Bloodoff has six more goals and 19 more points than a year ago….Jason Siebert is missing his 17^th straight games after undergoing surgery on his wrist….Mitchell Callahan has not taken a penalty in the last eight games….Adam Brown is third all-time on the Kelowna Rockets list of games played by a goalie. Brown has played 123 games, 6 fewer than second place Kristofer Westblom. The franchise leader is Kevin Swanson with 167 games played… The Rockets are 3 for 36 on the power play in their last six games (8.3%)…The Rockets have allowed the fewest amount of goals against on the road in the WHL this season (54)….The Rockets have scored 35 more goals at home than on the road. The Rockets have played 21 games at home and 20 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 22 goals this season in 40 games. Last season, Wudrick scored 19 goals in 38 regular season games after being acquired from Swift Current…The Rockets have allowed only six power play goals against in their last thirteen games. The Rockets are 53 for 59 over that period…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-seven of the last 31 games…The Rockets franchise played in its 1400^th regular season game December 14^th in Medicine Hat. The team has 720 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 (343) are the others….The Rockets were 8 and 10 in 18 games this season without Tyson Barrie in the lineup. Barrie missed seven games at the start of the season with a hip injury and eleven 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…McColgan is rated 102^nd among WHL players for this summer’s draft. Zach Franko and Jessey Astles are also rated….Brett Bulmer has one more goal than all of last season….Evan Bloodoff plays in his 250^th career game tonight.

Meeting Myers

Rockets fan Dorothy Fabian and her hubby Kevin are relaxing down in Arizona this winter. While there, they happen to watch the Sabres face the Phoenix Coyotes. Here Dorothy is seen with her mom and some real tall guy in the middle. I am not sure who he is?

Adam Brown moving up the list

Brown moving up: Adam Brown is closing in on Kristofer Westblom for second place on the all-time list for games played by a Kelowna Rockets goaltender. Brown has played 123 career games, which is 6 behind Westblom's 129.

1) Kevin Swanson: 167 regular season games played.
2) Kristofer Westblom: 129 regular season games played.
3) Adam Brown: 123 regular season games played.
4) Derek Yeomans: 116 regular season games played.
5) Kelly Guard: 115 regular season games played.

Did you know that only two Rockets have failed to register a fighting major this season, and no, European forwards Gal Koren and Andreas Stene are not on that list? Those two players are Zach Franko and Colton Heffley.

Did you know that Mitchell Callahan and Shane McColgan are tied for the most multiply point games this season. Callahan and McColgan each have ten multiple point games this season. Tyson Barrie has nine followed by Brett Bulmer (8) and Geordie Wudrick (7).

Did you know that rookie Jason Siebert has missed 16 games after undergoing surgery on his wrist.

Did you know that Tyson Barrie will play the fewest games he's ever played in one season? If Barrie plays in the remaining 31 regular season games he will dress in just 55 games this season.

No deals by Rockets didn't mean no movement

With 31 games left in the regular season and the roster finalized now that the trade deadline has come to an end, the Kelowna Rockets are poised to make a push for a BC Division pennant. While General Manager Bruce Hamilton didn't pull the trigger on a deal at the deadline, it wasn't as if he was quiet this season in molding his team. The trade the Rockets made in early December acquiring Zak Stebner was a significant one. Pulling the trigger to add a veteran defenceman who has won a WHL title would have come at a much higher price had Hamilton waited until yesterday to pull off a deal. Let's look back at the player moves that were made this season:

• Acquired Zak Stebner from the Tri City Americans.
  
• Traded Antoine Corbin to Prince Albert Raiders.
• Released overage d-man Brendan Wall.
• Released 18 year-old's Codey Ito and Shaun Ashim.
• Released Kyle St. Denis.