The Kelowna Rockets were expected to beat the Portland Winter Hawks Wednesday night and that's exactly what they did in a 4-0 win. Torrie Jung had an easy night making just 17 saves...really none that were a huge threat to his first official shutout of his WHL career.
It was surprising to see the Rockets score 3 of those 4 goals with the power play considering the man advantage has been a disadvantage for this team all season long. Plus Jason MacDonald chipped in with a shorthanded goal in the third period for a little insurance.
It wasn't an overly exciting game, as neither team had a lot of jump. The Hawks were full marks for showing us why they are the worst team in the league. Not only did they generate few to no scoring chances, they are extremely weak on defense and looked out of sorts all night long.
I was glad to see Justin Bernhardt get involved in the scoring with a goal and 2 assists. While he was named the games 1st star, he wasn't stellar and really never is. He won't wow-you with his great work ethic and tremendous end to end rushes, but he does have the knack for the net, and when he is on his game, you realize why he scored 22 goals with the Regina Pats a couple of seasons ago. He did have a nice goal on a breakaway on a pass that originated off the stick of goaltender Torrie Jung. Man, having a goaltender that can play the puck is huge.
Overall a win is a win, and the Rockets now have a point in 3 straight games, not a small feat for a team which is fighting off Chilliwack. The good news is the Bruins got hammered in Calgary, so the Rockets lead for the final playoff spot is now 5 points.
I talked to Kristofer Westblom prior to the game. He was on crutches, but got some good news from the doctors.
He won't have to undergo surgery on his left knee. Sure the MCL is torn, but an MRI showed no damage to the ACL. So that means Westblom will be lost to the team for about 8 weeks minimum.
Westy told me he will get rid of the crutches in 2 weeks and will begin rehab then.
So Rockets fans, Torrie Jung will have to carry the mail for the remainder of the season with Westblom potentially returning in the playoffs.
Bottom line is though, if Jung remains solid, the Rockets need not force Westblom into action. The experience that Jung will pick up during his time in the spotlight is invaluable.
If you want to hear the interview with Westblom, log on to http://www.okoldies.ca/
The WHL governors gathered in Calgary over the last couple of days.
From what I gathered the talk centered around changing the playoff format. Some governors would like to see a 1 through 8 format used in each respective conference, much like we see in the NHL. Right now we see teams in each division meetings in a 1 vs 4 - 2 vs 3 format in the opening round, which is designed to create greater rivalries in the opening round.
I also heard that some Eastern division governors would like to eliminate trips out West. I guess the cost of meals, fuel and hotels is taking its toll on some clubs out East, and some governors believe fans in places like Swift Current, Prince Albert, Saskatoon and Brandon could care less about seeing teams like Seattle, Kamloops and Tri Cities.
Bottom line is governors out East would like to see more games against teams within their own division, because the fans tend to come out and watch those games. Governors out East look at it this way: Bigger crowd = greater revenue.
I'll be looking into this a bit further over the next couple of days as the Rockets make stops in Kenniwick Washington and Vancouver, and see if I can get a better understanding why some governors are making a stink over playing teams in the Western Conference.
No comments:
Post a Comment