Shutout in Seattle

The losing is getting old.

Real old!

It was another road loss, this time to the T-Birds in Seattle by a 3-0 score.

Derek Yeomans, yes the former Rocket, earned his 15th career shutout in the win.
But it wasn’t that overage player that did the Rockets in, it was 20 year-old Aaron Gagnon that had the natural hat-trick in the T-Birds 8th straight victory.

Should we be surprised at the outcome?

Last night the Rockets met arguably the hottest team in the Western Conference at this juncture of the season, while the T-Birds were meeting undoubtedly the coldest team in all of the Western Hockey League in what appeared to be a miss-match on paper from the very beginning.

I was hoping the T-Birds would take the Rockets lightly, especially after a solid 4-1 win over the Everett Silvertips one night earlier.

But if I was looking for an emotional letdown, it wouldn’t happen with the T-Birds because captain Aaron Gagnon, who was playing in his 311th career game last night, wasn’t about to let it..

Gagnon would score just 4:07 into the game and his fellow T-Bird teammates followed the veterans lead in bringing together enough determination to limit the Rockets to few quality chances on Yeomans, who other than a good save off of Cody Almond in the first, sleepwalked through this one.

It was Gagnon's show of leadership that has you thirsting for the return of Rockets forward Chris Ray.
No one needs their captain more than the young, inexperienced Rockets.

Was the Rockets effort better against the T-Birds than it was one night earlier against Chilliwack?

Sure it was.

But the bottom line is it was a loss, another costly loss considering now the Rockets have just one game in hand against the Bruins.

It was another night of few players wanting to make a difference, and others just waiting for something to happen.

The four players for my money who made a significant contribution every shift were Lucas Bloodoff, Luke Schenn, Torrie Jung and Cody Almond.
I'm not saying others didn't put in an effort, but it was spotty at best.
Four players working their tails off consistently won't cut it, especially at this time of the season.

With 9 games left, including 3 against Prince George, and two against Vancouver, it will take a complete team effort to earn that final playoff birth.

I asked Head Coach Jeff Truitt if he could use one word to describe what he wants from his team with 9 games left to go, he pointed to the word 'energy'.

It's up to the fans to decide if this team is exuding the maximum energy needed to propel them into the final playoff spot.

For me, there is still more the players can give!

Regan’s Ramblings:

Rockets Assistant coach Ryan Huska as fond memories of the Key Arena in Seattle.
Back in 1991, at the tender age of 16, Huska won his first Memorial Cup title as a member of the Kamloops Blazers.
The Blazers would beat the Ted Nolan led Soo Greyhounds in the championship game.
Huska admits he got one shift in that game.

Jason MacDonald is trying something new.
He’s growing a mustache.
Don’t tell his teammates, but the 18 year-old is giving it a go, admitting he hasn’t had much success in the past.
MacDonald said he tried to grow a playoff beard last season with the Regina Pats, but it was less than Grizzly Adams like.

I had a great talk with Colin Joe prior to Sunday’s game in Seattle.
He spoke about his third season in the W.H.L and how frustrating it has been for him personally.
Joe says he often thinks about what he did right and what he did wrong hours after a game is over, and mentally beats himself up over his low offensive totals.
Joe is arguably his worse critic, but it was nice to see him vent and left me with the feeling he really cares about his play, the play of his teammates, and the deep desire he has to help this team reach the playoffs.

Bartel’s blunder of the night: On the T-Birds first goal I said “Farmanara passes it to Gagnon, he scores”.

That was my natural reaction even though Farmanara (a former T-Bird) now plays in Lethbridge.
Prab Rai actually passed Gagnon the puck, but I subconsciously called the name Farmanara.

The reason?

Rai and Farmanara are both of East Indian decent.

Yes, the players are wearing helmets but skin color, even in the broadcast booth, can be easily detected from high above.

Rockets 15 year-old rookie Jesse Paradis got clocked by T-Birds d-man Scott Jackson in the second period of last night’s game. While Jackson got a penalty for roughing on the play, he lined up Paradis and flattened him.
What I liked most was Paradis got back up and kept skating.
The hit didn’t intimidate him, it’s almost like it didn’t even phase him.

In the last five games, the third period for the Rockets has been a complete disaster.
The team had just 4 shots in the final frame last night against the T-Birds and have generated just 19 shots on goal combined in the third period in those 5 games.
They've been out-shot 59-19 in those five games, or if you want to get specific have generated on average 3.8 shots on goal in the third period over that stretch.