Quick thoughts on CHL Prospects

• Pat Quinn looked like the 'God Father' as he entered Prospera Place last night prior to the CHL Top Prospects opening skate. Quinn had a black hat on and a long black trench coat. Unlike the God Father, he was all smiles as he shook hands with various members of the media as he worked the room. I also had the pleasure of speaking with Quinn, who truly appreciates being involved in this event. Quinn is the honorary coach for Team Orr along with Vancouver Giants Don Hay. When asked what role he will play with Team Orr, Quinn said he will be doing very little because, "Hay doesn't need the help."
  
• Mark Recchi flew in from Pittsburgh last night for the event and was surprised to learn that he would be on the ice with his new team, Team Cherry, for a lite skate that evening at Prospera Place. Recchi is an honorary coach and will be behind the bench with Rockets head skipper Ryan Huska.
• Monday night was a good opportunity to meet the players participating in this two day showcase. My focus was on the WHL players here but one Ontario Hockey League player that I wanted to speak with was 19 year-old Tanner Pearson. Pearson, who plays with the Barrie Colts, is the oldest player at the event and is considering a late bloomer. NHL Central Scouting ranks him as the 22nd best prospects for the draft. Pearson is one of only two players at this event that played for Canada at the World Juniors. The other is Everett defenceman Ryan Murray.
• Pearson has never been to Kelowna, and when asked what he thought of the Okanagan his first response was, "It looks like Banff". It is really a shame that these players won't get a real feel for the city over the next two days as the majority of the time will be spent either inside the rink or in a hotel room.
  
• The best interview I conducted was with Red Deer Rebels d-man Matt Dumba. "I love coming to Kelowna. It is a great city. The weather is always nice here....it's a bit of a change from Red Deer." Dumba is a confident 17 year-old who has his head screwed on straight. He is not only an impressive player on the ice but equally as impressive and comfortable behind a microphone.
  
• I had to talk with Dan Marr, the Director of NHL Central Scouting before this event began. "No one will ever lose their stock at an event like this. Some players here have an opportunity to play outside of the role they play with their home teams so they can showcase their abilities a little more. What the scouts like about it is they (players) are very competitive."
• What does Marr and NHL Central Scouting think of Colton Sissons? "We like him because he has a lot of versatility. He is strong in a lot of areas. There are no weak links to his game. He is a player that comes at you every game and that's what scouts like to see when they are at a game. They don't want to have to look for a player."
• The Vice President of the WHL is here. Richard Doerksen is always good to chat with. Doerksen has seen his share of Prospects Game's include most recently in Edmonton and Vancouver. "This is very exciting for us as a league. I know it is for the Kelowna Rockets and any time you can host a prestigious event of this nature, we have been looking forward to it."
• A lot has been made out of the players that are not here because of injury. The biggest hit is obviously the loss of Sarnia's Nail Yakupov. Yakupov will likely be the first pick in this summes draft. The good news is second ranked Mikhail Grigorenko is here.
  
• The biggest opportunity over the next two days is with the players that were added to the roster because of injuries.Chris Driedger of the Calgary Hitmen, Tim Bozon of Kamloops, Dalton Thrower of the Saskatoon Blades and Branden Troock of Seattle are all additions to Prospect Game because of injuries to players that were originally named to the 40 man roster.
• One rumor this morning centered around Edmonton Oil Kings Griffin Reinhart not playing in the Prospects Game because he was injured. Well, I saw the white of his eyes last night at Prospera Place, so I would put my money on him dressing for Team Orr. I don't think the Oil Kings would send him to this event if they figured he couldn't play.
  
• The skills competition goes tonight at Prospera Place. Kelowna Rockets Damon Severson is in the fastest skating competition while Rockets captain Colton Sissons is in the breakaway event. Personally, my favourite event is the hardest shot. I will be Tweeting the results, so follow me (Reganrant) if you so desire.
• I heard a number of times last night from visiting media that I must feel fortunate to be in Kelowna as a member of the media hosting this event. That statement is true. The only downside is life stays the same when it is in your own backyard, so enjoying the Top Prospects Game to it's maximum is tough to do. As a member of the local media, I still drive my kids to school, do home work with them, do house hold chores and complete my obligations with the radio station. If you are visiting media, the sole focus is on the event and the activities surrounding it. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining, but 'life' gets in the way a bit, so you can't enjoy it to its maximum.

Top Prospects in Pictures

Kelowna Rockets captain Colton Sissons speaking with R.J Broadhead of Sportsnet. Team Cherry jerseys.
Team Orr uniforms.
The top rated player in the NHL draft isn't here, but Russian Mikhail Grigorenko made an appearance. Grigorenko is expected to be selected 2nd overall.
I'm thinking we will see a lot of this guy in the playoffs. Derek Pouliot. Good Saskatchewan kid.
Everett Silvertips Ryan Murray getting weighed.
Kelowna Rockets d-man Damon Severson signing some jerseys.
Red Deer's Matt Dumba. Best interview I conducted when it came to the players.
Griffin Reinhart of the Oil Kings in the media spotlight.
The logo at Prospera Place looks good.
I had to take a pic of Swift Current Broncos forward Coda Gordon. If he's from 'Swifty', he's a good guy in my books. Technically he is from Cochrane Alberta, but you get the idea.

Rockets rolling in January

At the start of January the Kelowna Rockets likely looked at the daunting schedule hoping it would come to an abrupt end. Now that it's over, saying goodbye to a month that treated them so well is a tough thing to do. The Rockets concluded a stretch of playing 14 games in 29 night's with a 4-3 win Sunday over the Seattle Thunderbirds. The Rockets closed off the month going 8-5-0-1. Those 17 points that were earned in January were five points better than the 14 points the team collected in November.

The key in Sunday's win was a four goal second period. Damon Severson, Cody Chikie, Colton Sissons and Brett Lyon scored in a period where the visitors generated 21 shots on goal. Lyon's goal with four seconds left in the period was the game winner when he received a pass from Tyrell Goulbourne at the right face-off circle and knifed it high under the cross bar of T-Birds goaltender Calvin Pickard.

Sissons goal, his 26th of the season, came on the power play, which ended the night going 1 for 4. But it was the Rockets penalty killing unit that deserves the most credit after shutting out the T-Birds on three power opportunities and a crucial fourth chance with Goulbourne in the box late in the game and Pickard on the bench for the extra attacker.

Carter Rigby got into the act with a fight with T-Birds d-man Dave Sutter. It was Rigby's third fighting major of the season. Brett Bulmer also got into a fight with Brad Deagle, but that scrap was more of a wrestling match than anything. I thought both teams showed more emotion in the re-match after a hum-drum effort Friday night in Kelowna.

Jordon Cooke earned his 6th win of the season in a rare start. The 18 year-old's best save came against d-man Dave Sutter when the T-Birds were holding a 1-0 lead. Sutter received a nice cross-crease pass but saw his shot go directly into the path of the left pad of a sprawling Cooke.

The Rockets sit 11 points back of the Giants for 5th place in the Western Conference and now sit 12 points up on Seattle for 6th. Up next, a trip to Prince George for back to back games next weekend.

A fascinating lady at T-Bird games

Who's that lady that has been attending Seattle Thunderbirds hockey games for years now, always busy knitting before and during games?
For the last 17 years, I've notice that she shows up close to two hours before the game and is often seen an hour after the game busy knitting.
What's her story? My curiosity got the best of me and I had to find out.
Now I have the answer.
Her name is Char McDonald. Char is the mother of Bruce MacDonald, who provides color commentary on T-Birds radio broadcasts. Char has been attending T-Bird games with her son Bruce for years, knitting a winter hat every game and then giving it away to the less fortunate. In some cases she has even knitted a hat for a T-Birds player.
What a special lady with a great heart. I'm glad I took a few minutes to find out who she was. McDonald is just one of the many people I see on the road during the hockey season but often don't take time out to find out their story.
Now, I am glad I did.

Look who I ran into

I took in the second and third period of Saturday night's game at ShoWare Center between the T-Birds and the Winterhawks. I thought I would drop by the Winterhawks broadcast booth where I said hello to Andy Kemper (left) and Todd Vrooman (right). These two guys like to live on the edge. Considering the hatred towards the Winterhawks, these two elected to keep the broadcast door unlocked.

Seattle 2 Adam Brown 1 (SO)

• Fortunately Adam Brown was on his game last night against the Seattle Thunderbirds. Had the 20 year-old Kelowna Rockets goaltender followed the lead of his teammates, they would have been in a heap of trouble. Brown was sharp, making 12 saves in the first period, in a 2-1 shootout loss to the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds. Brown made several solid stops as the home team was fortunate to escape with at least a point.



• Colton Heffley opened the scoring in the first period despite the T-Birds carrying the majority of the play. The 17 year-old returned to the line up after missing 10 games with an upper body injury. It is interesting to note that Heffley has scored goals in back-to-back games though. The Swift Current resident scored January 4th against Spokane, the game in which he was hurt, and then returned last night and fired home his fourth of the season.



• T-Birds goaltender Calvin Pickard had a relatively easy night. A breakaway stop against Colton Sissons and a nice right pad save in the third period on Colton Heffley were his best efforts. In the shootout, Pickard shut down Zach Franko and Myles Bell.



• Speaking of Franko, it was his first miss in the shootout in eight attempts. Franko went stick side against Pickard, who appeared to be leaning that direction before the 18 year-old picked up the puck at centre ice. I was wondering if Franko would go for that move considering Pickard is a student of the game and would have likely seen Franko on video preform that move/shot time and time again.



• I was really impressed with the play of Branden Troock. I thought the 17 year-old had some really good scoring chances and brought a solid work ethic to the ice. Troock is a replacement for the CHL Top Prospect game in Kelowna next week.



• The T-Birds dominated at the face-off circle. It was not a good night for the Rockets face-off men.



• Unlike what we saw Wednesday, no real big hits in this game. It was a tame affair by comparison with no hatred among the two teams. The T-Birds couldn't have wished for a better scenario as they kicked off a weekend playing three games in three nights. The T-Birds host Portland tonight before welcoming the Rockets on Sunday (5 PM).

Game notes vs. Seattle

Tonight’s Preview: The Kelowna Rockets play their 50^th game of the season tonight when they host the Seattle Thunderbirds. These two teams are meeting for the first of four times this season. The Rockets are in Seattle (Kent) Sunday before the seasonal series comes to a close with games February 8^th (home) and February 14^th (road). The Rockets will play the T-Birds four times in their next eight games. The Rockets were 2-2-0-0 against the T-Birds last season and were out-scored 13-10. Seattle was one of only two teams to shut out the Rockets on home ice last season. Chilliwack was the other. Calvin Pickard made 23 saves March 23/11 in a 5-0 road win. The Rockets are playing the fifth and final game of a five game home stand. The Rockets are 2-2-0-0 in the first four games, winning the last two by shootouts. The Rockets enter tonight’s game with four wins in their last ten home games. On the road, the Rockets have points in eleven of their last sixteen road games (8-5-1-2). Overall, the Rockets have won seven of their last eleven games.

Who’s Hot: Cody Chikie has 1+2=3 in his last three games. Chikie had a five game point streak to start the season…Colton Sissons has goals in four of his last six games…Carter Rigby has eight points (3+5=8) in his last nine games…Brett Bulmer has thirty-six points in thirty-one games this season (20+16=36). Bulmer has just two goals in his last eight games…Shane McColgan has seventeen points (5+12=17) in his last twenty games, yet has just two goals in his last nine…Adam Brown has started in goal in thirty-four of the first forty-nine games. Who’s Cold: Zach Franko has one goal in his last 19 games. Yet in saying that, Franko has seven shootout goals this season in eight attempts. No player in the WHL has scored more shootout goals than Franko this season. Geordie Wudrick had five shootout goals last season and didn’t miss in any of the five games he participated in.

This and That: Last season the Rockets played in six shootout games. This season the Rockets have been involved in nine that required a shootout. The Rockets are 6 and 3 in those nine shootout situations… The Rockets were 8-5-0-0 in 13 games last January. This season they are 8-4-0-0 during the month…Colton Sissons has been named the captain for Team Orr for next Wednesday’s CHL Top Prospects Game in Kelowna….The Rockets have two 20+ goal scorers this season. Colton Sissons (25) and Brett Bulmer (20) lead the charge. Last season the team had five 20+ goal scorers… Forward Brett Lyon turned 21 on Monday…Damon Severson returned to the lineup Wednesday after missing 16 games with a hand injury…..Thirteen of Colton Sissons 25 goals have been scored on the road this season…Brett Lyon has 1+2=3 in eight games with the Rockets…Defenceman Myles Bell has 24 points this season. Fifteen of those points have been recorded on the road…Four members of the Kelowna Rockets are rated in NHL Central Scouting's mid-term rankings. Captain Colton Sissons is ranked 14th among North American skaters for this summer’s draft. Teammate Damon Severson is rated 46^th, rookie defenceman Cole Martin is ranked 146^th and Colton Heffley (191) is also rated. Both Sissons and Severson will participate in the CHL Top Prospects game at Prospera Place at the end of the month…The Rockets were 3-5-0-2 in ten games with head coach Ryan Huska at the World Junior Hockey Championships…In ten of their last twelve wins, the Rockets have given up two or less goals per game…The Rockets are 16-11-1-3 with Brett Bulmer in the line-up….Tyrell Goulbourne leads the team with 13 fighting majors. Mitchell Chapman has nine….The Rockets are 1-9-0-1 when giving up five or more goals…Last season they gave up five or more goals in ten games…The Rockets have been involved in 24 one goal games this season. The Rockets are 12-7-1-4 in those twenty-four games….The Rockets are playing their 1490^th regular season game tonight and will hit the 15 hundred mark when they host Red Deer on February 18^th…Birthdays. Shane McColgan turned 19 (Jan 1), Austin Ferguson turned 17 on Wednesday (Jan 11^th) and Tyrell Goulbourne turned 18 (Jan 26) yesterday…Following this five game home stand, the Rockets play 12 of their final 22 games on the road…Zach Franko has scored in seven consecutive shootout situations. The 18 year-olds only miss came on opening night against Everett…Only Franko and Colton Sissons have played in all 49 regular season games this season.

How do you like me now?

Country singer Toby Keith sang it best, "How do you like me now". How do you like the Rockets now?

• Ryan Huska didn't want to admit it was his teams biggest win of the season. Yet, he did agree that it was one of the most complete efforts of the 2011-2012 campaign. The Kelowna Rockets knocked off the best team in the Western Hockey League Wednesday night with an impressive 3-2 shootout win over the Kamloops Blazers. The Blazers hadn't tasted a defeat in nine straight games. Zach Franko,again, scored the shootout winning goal with his 7th of the season after beating Blazers goaltender Cole Cheveldave to the stick side. Franko's heroics came on the heels of a third period goal from Brett Bulmer, who tied the game at two after a great rush up the ice. It marked only the second time this season, and second in two games, that the Rockets rallied to win after trailing after 40 minutes. Up until that point, the Rockets had gone 19 games without a win when trailing after two periods.
• I thought the Rockets had a really good start thanks to an opening shift by veteran Cody Chikie. The 20 year-old set the tone that a win in Kelowna wouldn't come easy for a Blazers team loaded with depth and talent. While out-shot 9-6 in the opening frame, the Rockets created no less than three solid scoring chances.
• Brett Bulmer! What can you say? When he is on his game the 19 year-old is a force. Bulmer scored a crucial goal in the third period but was dangerous every time he touched the puck. He looked so much better alongside Shane McColgan after head coach Ryan Huska changed up the lines in an effort to generate more offense. Bulmer was named the games first star.
  
• Damon Severson returned to the line up Wednesday night after missing 16 games with a hand injury. The 17 year-old, remarkably, didn't miss a beat and was arguably the Rockets best d-man. In fact, the entire d-core had an extremely solid game, and despite a series of turnovers, they did a good job of recovering after making an error.
• How big was MacKenzie Johnston's sweep check in the dying seconds of regulation time off of Blazers leading scorer Brendan Ranford? Ranford picks up a pass behind Johnston and is going in on what appears to be a breakaway in a 2-2 game. Johnston doesn't give up on the play, skates back hard, dives, and gets his stick on the puck and sweeps it aside. What a great play with a tremendous desire to compete. Impressive.
  
• Speaking of impressive. How about Tyrell Goulbourne's second period fight with Blazers d-man Tyler Bell. Goulbourne again showed that he is one of the toughest 17 year-old's in the entire WHL. Question is, has Goulbourne lost a fight this season?
• The Rockets were clearly ramped up for this game. They were facing the best team in the league, had a national TV audience watching and a big crowd in the building. Clearly if they could play with that type of passion and intensity every game they wouldn't find themselves in the lower portion of the Western Conference. In saying that, if this indeed is the turning point of the season so be it. It is better to find your game in late January than lose it with two months left in the regular season. Because as they say, anything can happen in the playoffs. If the Rockets play like they did Wednesday, beware!
  

Rockets game notes vs. Blazers

Tonight’s Preview: The Kelowna Rockets play their 49^th game of the season tonight when they host the Kamloops Blazers. Surprisingly, this is only the fourth of eight meetings between these two teams this season. The Rockets are 0-3-0-0 against Kamloops this season, with losses 3-2 (Oct 16), 5-2 (Oct 28) and 4-3 (Oct 29). Overall the Blazers have out-scored the Rockets 12-7 in the first three games. Kelowna is playing game four of five straight on home ice. The Rockets conclude the home stand against Seattle Friday night before visiting the T-Birds on Sunday. The Rockets enter tonight’s game with three wins in their last nine home games. Despite the lack of success at home, the Rockets have points in eleven of their last sixteen road games (8-5-1-2). Overall, the Rockets have won six of their last ten games.

Seasonal Series Breakdown:

Period 1 2 3 Total

Rockets: 2 2 3 7

Kamloops: 2 7 3 12

*The Blazers have out-shot the Rockets in two of three games. Overall, the Blazers lead the shot-clock 100-85 in the three games. The Rockets are 3 for 15 (20%) on the power play in the seasonal series while the Blazers are 3 for 11 (27.3%) with the extra man.

Who’s Hot: Adam Brown has started 20 regular season games over his career against the Blazers and is 10-8-0-1. In one game he was pulled but not tagged with the loss…Colton Sissons has goals in four of his last five games…Carter Rigby has eight points (3+5=8) in his last eight games…Brett Bulmer has thirty-five points in thirty games this season (19+16=35). Bulmer has just one goal in his last seven games…Shane McColgan has fifteen points (4+11=15) in his last nineteen games, yet has just one goal in his last eight…Adam Brown has started in goal in thirty-three of the first forty-eight games. Who’s Cold: Zach Franko has one goal in his last 18 games. Yet in saying that, Franko has six shootout goals this season in seven attempts. No one in the WHL has scored more shootout goals than Franko this season.

This and That: Forward Brett Lyon turned 21 on Monday…Tanner Moar’s third period goal against Vancouver on Saturday was his first in 22 games….Tyrell Goulbourne’s goal last Friday was his first in 19 games…Thirteen of Colton Sissons 25 goals have been scored on the road this season…Brett Lyon has 1+2=3 in seven games with the Rockets…Defenceman Myles Bell has 24 points this season. Fifteen of those points have been recorded on the road…Four members of the Kelowna Rockets are rated in NHL Central Scouting's mid-term rankings. Captain Colton Sissons is ranked 14th among North American skaters for this summer’s draft. Teammate Damon Severson is rated 46^th, rookie defenceman Cole Martin is ranked 146^th and Colton Heffley (191) is also rated. Both Sissons and Severson will participate in the CHL Top Prospects game at Prospera Place at the end of the month…The Rockets were 3-5-0-2 in ten games with head coach Ryan Huska at the World Junior Hockey Championships…The Rockets are just 21-19-0-2 in their last 42 home games dating back to last season…In nine of their last eleven wins, the Rockets have given up two or less goals per game…The Rockets are 15-11-1-3 with Brett Bulmer in the line-up….Tyrell Goulbourne leads the team with 12 fighting majors. Mitchell Chapman has nine….The Rockets are 1-9-0-1 when giving up five or more goals…Last season they gave up five or more goals in ten games…The Rockets have been involved in 23 one goal games this season. The Rockets are 11-7-1-4 in those twenty-two games…The Rockets are playing their 1489^th regular season game tonight and will hit the 15 hundred mark when they host Red Deer on February 18^th…Birthdays. Shane McColgan turned 19 (Jan 1), Austin Ferguson turned 17 on Wednesday (Jan 11^th) and Tyrell Goulbourne turns 18 (Jan 26) later this month…Following this five game home stand, the Rockets play 12 of their final 22 games on the road…Zach Franko has scored in six consecutive shootout situations. The 18 year-olds only miss came on opening night against Everett…Only Franko and Colton Sissons have played in all 48 regular season games this season.

On location

Adam Brown, fresh off his 100th WHL career win, joined Gord McGarva (centre) and myself at Bar One in the Sandman Hotel Tuesday for AM 1150's Rockets Round table. It was a lot of fun. We spent the first hour exclusively with General Manager Bruce Hamilton.

Join us!

Shoot the Breeze - photography by Marissa Baecker

AM 1150 is proud to present our first ever, Kelowna Rockets Round-Table.
From 5 until 7, Tuesday (Jan 24), we will be broadcasting live talking Rockets at Bar One in the Sandman Hotel. You can join us at Bar One and be a part of our live audience, or you can listen on AM 1150 or AM 1150.ca.
Rockets GM Bruce Hamilton, coach Ryan Huska and players Brett Bulmer, Mitchell Chapman and Adam Brown will be there. Plus we will be joined on the phone by Tyson Barrie, who is enjoying his first season of pro hockey in the American Hockey League.
Hope to see you there.

100!

• Will the real Kelowna Rockets please stand up? The Rockets looked nothing like the team we witnessed in losses to Lethbridge and Everett earlier in the week. Instead this team that struggles, more out of a lack of effort than anything else, had their work boots on Saturday night in a 4-3 shootout win over the visiting Vancouver Giants. On this night, I could have taken a loss and still been impressed with the overall effort. But isn't it funny if you really put forth the work, you tend to win the game at the end of the night? In a worse case scenario you give yourself a fighting chance? What stood out most for me was the Rockets physical play. Huge hits, gritty play and just determination were massive factors in the 20th win of the season. When you witness Shane McColgan and MacKenzie Johnston making efforts to hit people, you can't help but get involved in the act and be inspired.

• One of the players I was most proud of last night was Johnston. Amping up his physical play to a height we have not seen before, 'Johnny' had the jam to get involved physically and win puck battles. It was nice to see him rewarded with two assists for sticking his neck out physically. He was named the third star on our broadcast even though he didn't receive a star in the building. If Johnston wants an example how he needs to play, look at the video tape from the game on January 21st against Vancouver. If you play like that, even minus the two assists, you increase your effectiveness two-fold.
  
• Cody Chikie, who has been as quiet as a mouse over the last two weeks has come alive over the last two games. The 20 year-old scored a greasy goal late in the second period to send his team into the dressing room down by two. Then to witness the Rockets score three straight goals, including the winner from Zach Franko in the shootout was impressive. Franko has now scored six consecutive shootout goals in seven attempts. Money.
  
• Congratulations to Kelowna Rockets goaltender Adam Brown for reaching 100 wins for his WHL career. How about his stop on Marek Tvrdon in the second period on a bang-bang play? Unreal. Some people have accused me of being a big fan of Brown...to which I say..yes I am.
  
• It was fun to watch 17 year-old Tanner Moar score such a crucial goal late in the game to tie the score at 3. How can you not get excited when a 4th liner is able to contribute at such an important time of the game?
• Can the Rockets play better than what we witnessed Saturday? No question. I still think Colton Sissons and Brett Bulmer can be better, and will need to be when the top team in the WHL, the Kamloops Blazers pay a visit on Wednesday.
• This game is another reason this Rockets team would be scary to face in an opening round playoff series.
• A reminder to join us at Bar One in the Sandman Hotel on Tuesday as AM 1150 presents our first ever, 'Rockets Round Table'. General Manager Bruce Hamilton and Head Coach Ryan Huska will join us as we broadcast live from 5 until 7 pm as we talk Rockets Hockey. Come down and be a part of our live audience. Brett Bulmer and Adam Brown will also join us plus we will hear from Tyson Barrie, who is now in his first season in the AHL.
  

One line won't do it

• The line of Cody Chikie, Carter Rigby and Colton Sissons created numerous scoring chances last night in a 5-3 home ice loss to the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Unfortunately, while that line was generating the bulk of the offense, the other three lines were pretty much non existent.
• Specifically Chikie and Rigby had glorious chances to score in the first period but were denied by Hurricanes goaltender Liam Liston, who despite facing just eight shots in the first, no less than five of them were quality saves.
  
• The best player on the ice was 20 year-old Brody Sutter. Sutter, the Hurricanes captain, created numerous scoring chances and dominated the play in the first period. Sutter then went out and scored twice in a span of 1:19 seconds early in the second frame to help the Hurricanes to their sixth road win of the season.
  
• Rockets starting goaltender Jordon Cooke was yanked after giving up the Hurricanes fourth goal. No less than three of the goals Cooke gave up where grade 'A' scoring chances by the Hurricanes. The fourth one was a centering pass that appeared to go off Cooke and into the back of the net .
  
• Despite being down 5-0 in the second period, the Rockets did show some fight by getting goals from Jesse Lees and Colton Sissons to close out the period down 5-2. Had they scored on a early third period power play, we would have been in for a terrific finish but again Liston was there to thwart any comeback attempt by the home team.
  
• Colton Sissons has now scored goals in four consecutive games.
• Tyrell Goulbourne's third period goal was his first in 19 games.
• The Rockets are now two games below the .500 mark on home ice. Only once have the Rockets been two games under .500 at home. In 1999-2000, the team was 16-18-1-1. Back then the record translated to 16 wins, 18 losses, one tie and one overtime loss. The shootout format wasn't used back then.
  

Rockets game notes vs. Hurricanes

Tonight’s Preview: The Kelowna Rockets play their 47^th game of the season tonight when they host the Lethbridge Hurricanes. These two teams met back on December 7^th with the Rockets earning a 5-2 win. The Rockets close out the seasonal series in Lethbridge on February 24^th. Kelowna is playing game two of five straight on home ice. The Rockets host Vancouver tomorrow night before welcoming Kamloops next Wednesday and concluding the home stand against Seattle one week from this evening. The month comes to a close on January 29^th with a trip to Kent to face the T-Birds. The Rockets enter tonight’s game with just two wins in their last seven home games. Despite the lack of success at home, the Rockets have points in eleven of their last sixteen road games (8-5-1-2). Overall, they have won five of their last eight games.

Who’s Hot: Colton Sissons has goals in three straight games…Carter Rigby has seven points (3+4=7) in his last six games…Brett Bulmer has thirty-five points in twenty-eight games this season (19+16=35). Bulmer has points in fourteen of his last nineteen games (15+6=21)…Shane McColgan has fifteen points (4+11=15) in his last seventeen games…Adam Brown has started in goal in thirty-two of the first forty-six games. Who’s Cold: Cody Chikie has been held off the score-sheet in 11 of his last 12 games. Zach Franko has one goal in his last 16 games.

This and That: Thirteen of Colton Sissons 24 goals have been scored on the road this season…Brett Lyon has 1+2=3 in five games with the Rockets since the 20 year-old was acquired from the Moose Jaw Warriors at the trade deadline…..Defenceman Myles Bell has 23 points this season. Fifteen of those points (65%) have been recorded on the road…Zach Franko has 7 goals after 46 games this season. Last season Franko had 11 goals after 46 games…Four members of the Kelowna Rockets are rated in NHL Central Scouting's mid-term rankings. Captain Colton Sissons is ranked 14th among North American skaters for this summer’s draft. Teammate Damon Severson is rated 46^th, rookie defenceman Cole Martin is ranked 146^th and Colton Heffley (191) is also rated. Both Sissons and Severson will participate in the CHL Top Prospects game at Prospera Place at the end of the month…The Rockets were 3-5-0-2 in ten games with head coach Ryan Huska at the World Junior Hockey Championships…The Rockets are just 20-18-0-2 in their last 40 home games dating back to last season…In eight of their last ten wins, the Rockets have given up two or less goals per game…The Rockets are 14-11-1-3 with Brett Bulmer in the line-up….Tyrell Goulbourne leads the team with 11 fighting majors. Mitchell Chapman has nine….The Rockets are 1-8-0-1 when giving up five or more goals…Last season they gave up five or more goals in ten games…The Rockets have been involved in twenty two-one goal games this season. The Rockets are 10-7-1-4 in those twenty-two games…The Rockets are playing their 1487^th regular season game tonight and will hit the 15 hundred mark when they host Red Deer on February 18^th…Birthdays. Shane McColgan turned 19 (Jan 1), Austin Ferguson turned 17 on Wednesday (Jan 11^th) and Tyrell Goulbourne turns 18 (Jan 26) later this month…Following this five game home stand, the Rockets play 12 of their final 22 games on the road…Zach Franko has scored in five consecutive shootout situations. The 18 year-olds only miss came on opening night against Everett…Only Franko and Colton Sissons have played in all 46 regular season games this season.