Rockets game notes vs. Winterhawks

Tonight’s Preview: The Kelowna Rockets will ring in the New Year with the Portland Winterhawks tonight at Moda Centre. This is the first of two games between the two teams over the next three nights. They meet again Thursday, but this time at Memorial Coliseum. Back on October 4/5^th, the Rockets beat their U.S Division rivals 6-2 and 6-3. Following a double dip in Portland the Rockets are in Vancouver Friday night before hosting the Giants on Saturday. Overall, the Rockets have won 14 straight games after victories against Kamloops (three times), Vancouver (twice), Tri City, Everett, Kootenay, Swift Current, Moose Jaw, Brandon, Regina, Prince Albert and Saskatoon. The Rockets have out-scored the opposition 63-31 over that stretch. The Rockets split a pair of games against the Winterhawks in Portland last season, losing 1-0 before earning a 4-3 win. Myles Bell had two goals in the game two win.      

Record Breaking Effort: The Kelowna Rockets set a new team record with their 13^th straight road victory December 17^th in Saskatoon in a 7-1 win. The league record is 20 consecutive road wins by the Calgary Hitmen in 2000. Overall, the team has won 14 straight games on the road, having out-scored the opposition 67-35. Overall, the team has won 22 of their last 23 games. The Rockets are in the midst of playing 16 of their next 18 on the road.            

This and That: Ryan Olsen signed an entry level contract with the Winnipeg Jets. Olsen is a 6rh round pick from three years ago...Cole Martin leads the entire WHL with a plus/minus rating of +33…Myles Bell has 18 goals. Only one has been scored on the power play….The Rockets have been out-shot on home ice five times this season…After losing two of his first three games, Jackson Whistle has won seven straight….The Rockets have played in six shootout games this season and are 4 and 2. Three of the four shootout wins have come on the road in Victoria, Prince George and Seattle…Eighteen year-old Madison Bowey was named captain of the Kelowna Rockets November 1^st….Jordon Cooke was named WHL Goaltender of the Month for September/October. Cooke was 8-0-0-2 with a goals against average of 1.85…Sixteen year-old rookie forward Nick Merkley was named the CHL and WHL Player of the Week from September 30^th to October 6^th….Assistant Coach Dan Lambert is away from the team competing at the World Under 17 Challenge in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia as the head coach of Team Western. Lambert returns to the team January 8^th in Edmonton….Jordon Cooke is 34-4-0-2 at home in last 40 starts at home dating back to last season…Two members of the Rockets are playing for Team Pacific at the Under 17 World Hockey Challenge. Nick Merkley and Joe Gatenby are teammates… Rockets alumnus Cam Paddock is behind the Rockets bench as a guest coach. Paddock played 323 regular season games with the team from 1999-2003. Paddock’s best season was 2001-2002 when he scored 38 goals. Including the playoffs, the North Vancouver resident played 384 games in a Rockets uniform and was a member of the teams Memorial Cup winner in 2004. Now 30, Paddock was a 5^th round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins and played 16 games at the NHL level with the Sat. Louis Blues in 2008-2009…Jordon Cooke is 30-2-0-2 in his last 34 regular season starts dating back to last season…The Rockets have scored 4 or more goals in 15 of their 18 road games this season…This is the fourth straight season the Rockets have played a double header in Portland.     

  

Who’s Hot: Tyson Baillie had a six game point streak snapped Friday against Kamloops. Baillie has 4+10=14 in seven of his last eight games….Myles Bell had a six game point streak snapped Saturday night in Vancouver. Bell had 8+3=11 over that period….Ryan Olsen has 6+5=11 in his last eight games…Zach Franko has 5+7=12 in his last eight games…Franko has five goals in his last eight games.  

Milestone Makers:

Zach Franko is playing in his 249^th career game tonight – one shy of 250. 

Zach Franko has 196 points, 4 shy of 200 for his career.

Myles Bell is playing in his 292^nd game tonight – 8 shy of 300.

December’s Offensive Leaders: Tyson Baillie has 5+13=18 in 11 games during the month. Myles Bell has 9+5=14 this month. Zach Franko has 5+7=12…Jordon Cooke is 8-0-0-0 in December with a goals against average of 2.35 and a save percentage of .918.    

Notes, quotes and anecdotes

Jordon Cooke should take a bow

• Welcome to Portland. It is great to be back in the best city on the WHL circuit. Vancouver would likely get top rating, but unfortunately the Rockets spend little time there outside of the playoffs. Spending a couple of days in the 'Rose City' is nothing new for us, considering this is the fourth season that the Rockets have played a double header here with both games either at Moda Centre, or split between Moda and Veteran's Memorial Coliseum. This season the team is spending close to five days in a city that has so much to offer.  
• You have to give the organization credit for electing to travel down to Portland following a road win in Vancouver Saturday night. It would have provided for even more bus travel had the team went back to Kelowna before leaving again Monday for the long 8 and a half/ 9 hour bus ride to Oregon for Tuesday's game. Traveling only five hours down the road from Pacific Coliseum is a better option considering the team has played seven of its last eight games on the road. Everyone should be better for it considering the New Year schedule has the team playing 10 of 15 games on opposition ice.
• The Rockets used an off day Sunday by relaxing and going to a movie. Anchorman 2 received mixed reviews. The general consensus was a strong start and a sad finish. As one player said to me, "If Anchorman was 35 minutes, it would have been a masterpiece". 
• The Rockets will officially hit the half way point of the season Tuesday night against the Winterhawks. My first half MVP is goaltender Jordon Cooke. I thought Cooke was the real reason why the team was able to get off to a terrific start. Cooke was named the first star six times, tying him with captain Madison Bowey for the team lead in the three star selection. "Whenever you can come out of the first half with 22 wins it is a great start to the year. To be honest, it was a team effort and not just me in the first half. We get along together well as a group and I just took off from there."
• Cooke has been named a star in 8 games this season. That ties him with Madison Bowey for the team lead. Both have been named the 1st star six times. Jackson Whistle and Nick Merkley lead the team in second star nominations with four apiece while Zach Franko has the most third star selections on the team with five. 
• Speaking of Franko, the 20 year-old has five goals in his last eight games. That's a nice run for a player who traditionally doesn't find the back of the net on a consistent basis. In fact, Franko has as many goals in December as the previous two months combined (October and November). Franko is looking forward to back-to-back games against the Winterhawks. "Every time you see the Portland Winterhawks on your schedule...they are the champs. They have always been, since I've been in the league, one of the top teams in the league and its a test to see where we are at. They may be missing a few guys but they are still finding ways to win", Franko added.     
• It is always nice to have new, yet familiar faces around the team. Ex-Rockets forward Cam Paddock is spending the week with the team, attending practices, team meetings and getting a good grasp of what it takes to coach at the WHL level. Paddock works with elite minor hockey players in North Vancouver and would consider coaching at the major junior level down the road. "I want to gather experience from watching Ryan. The teams I coach at North Shore Winter Club are off until early January so it really works out well."      
• Here is an interesting stat for ya. Only Kelowna and Portland are top five in the WHL in both home goal differential and road goal differential. The Rockets home goal differential is +32. The road differential is +33. The Rockets and Oil Kings are tied for best road goal differential at +33.
• Austin Glover is with the team as he recovers from a broken ankle suffered November 16th against Lehtbridge. The 17 year-old is now skating and could be ready to rejoin the team by the end of January. "I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am working on my conditioning and trying to get into game shape, so I am looking forward to getting back. It is a little weak right now, but being on the ice feels pretty good," Glover added.
• European Kris Schmidli has turned into a pretty decent player. While 19 points in 32 games won't put the fear of god into the opposition, those numbers stack up pretty well if you compared the production/or lack-thereof of other European born players that have worn a Kelowna Rockets uniform. Schmidli's 19 points are better than those of Henrik Nyberg (17 pts), Filip Vasko (12 pts), Gal Koren (3 pts), Andreas Stene (16 pts) and Lukas Matejka (2 pts). Schmidli only trails Stepan Novotny (41 pts), Lauris Darzins (34 pts), Mikael Backlund (30 pts) and Milan Kytnar (22 pts) for points in one season by a Rockets import.    
• Best sound system in the league has to go to Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum. The music drives through the speakers with unbelievable clarity. My only complaint is a lack of a PA feed for the opposition broadcaster. It should be mandatory for every broadcast location. The same holds true in Saskatoon. The PA announcers in both cities are top quality. It is a shame they can't be apart of the radio broadcast. 
• The Rockets were on the ice at 10 am Monday morning for a practiced at Veteran's Memorial Coliseum. It's old (opened in 1960), but it still has a certain charm. The seats are the same as they were in the 60's. The score clock at centre ice is old and the score clocks in the corner of the building remain operational even though they were originally designed for the NBA's Portland Trail  Blazers, who called VMC home from 1970 to 1995. As part of the team's 40th anniversary celebration, the Blazers played a pre-season game at Memorial Coliseum in 2009 against the Phoenix Suns.
• It was the first time I had a chance to see the new ice surface at Veteran's Memorial Coliseum, which is now regulation size. Along with a larger sheet of ice, new boards, glass and benches for the players are part of the upgrades. I never noticed this before but the coaches can now enter through a door at the back of the benches rather than sliding their way, with their dress shoes on, from where the players enter the ice from the home and visiting dressing rooms.  
• The Rockets play Tuesday's game at Moda Centre (game time is a special 8 o'clock) before moving back to Veteran's Memorial Coliseum for Thursday's rematch.

Pic's from an off day in Portland

Jackson Whistle gets instruction from one of the best - Kim Dillabaugh

Coach Cam Paddock watching practice

Wouldn't want to lose your cell phone down there!

An interesting sign on the sidewalk leading to our bus

Injured Austin Glover doing bike work in Portland

Practicing at Memorial Coliseum in Portland

First to 30 wins

Photo courtesy: Shoot the Breeze

• Winning 30 games would be considered a tough season in the Western Hockey League. Winning 30 games in your first 35 regular season games though, is a totally different story. The Kelowna Rockets managed the impressive feat this weekend with back-to-back wins against the Kamloops Blazers and Vancouver Giants. The Rockets dominated the Blazers to the tune of 7-1 Friday night and then went out on the road a night later for a 4-2 victory at Pacific Coliseum. If their was any thought that the team had lost momentum they had gained after a strong first half, that was all erased this weekend with two significant victories. 
• Saturday night's win in Vancouver came against a Giants team that is no slouch. Playing their first game after the Christmas break, the G-Men looked sluggish out of the gates, which was expected, yet the Rockets were unable to bury them despite several quality chances in the opening 20 minutes. The best scoring chance came when rookie Justin Kirkland missed a sure goal on a slow developing three on one while shorthanded. Instead of being up 1-0, the Rockets manufactured ten shots on net but came away empty handed in the opening frame.
• Kirkland wasn't the only Rockets player that missed a glorious chance to score. Tyrell Goulbourne was robbed by the out-stretched glove of Giants goaltender Jared Rathjen in a second period set up by line-mate Tyson Baillie. Had Goulbourne scored it would have been a 3-1 game. Instead the Rockets settled for a one goal lead heading into the third period.
• What stood out for me after Goulbourne was robbed was the reaction of line-mate Tyson Baillie. Baillie skated back to the bench with Goulbourne and patted him on the rear end sending the physical message that it was ok that the golden scoring chance went for not. For me, that is a sign of quality player and a quality teammate. That is also a sign of a team playing with confidence and believing that more quality scoring chances will be manufactured even if one is snuffed out. In other words, their is no need to cry over spilled milk.
• Baillie scored his 16th goal of the season in the second period to give the visitors a 2-1 lead. Baillie is well ahead of last years scoring pace when he had 12 goals at the end of December. Last season, Baillie didn't score his 16th goal until January 25th.
• Specialty teams were the story in this one. The Rockets scored three times with the power play and created numerous scoring chances shorthanded. In fact, I haven't seen a game this season where the Rockets have been that dangerous when playing a man short. Cole Linaker would score the game winning goal - shorthanded - 1:34 into the third period.
• Of the three goals scored on the power play, Madison Bowey's point shot was the most impressive. Making the score 4-2, Bowey drove a hard shot past a startled/screened Rathjen for his first goal in 13 games. That 12th goal ties the career high the 18 year-old set last season.
• Jordon Cooke earned his 22nd win of the season, which ties him for the league lead in that category. The 20 year-old made two timely saves in the second period when the game was tied at one. That is why is would be considered the Rockets MVP in the first half.    
• The Giants played a physical brand of hockey against the Rockets, which was a far contrast to the stick checking exploits of the Kamloops Blazers a night earlier. This game took more courage to play in because of the lack of room on the ice. What was impressive was the teams ability not to be frustrated and consequently fall into the trap of taking bad penalties. The only fight came late in the game with Giants forward Tim Traber grabbed a hold of defenceman Jesse Lees after 20 year-old shook free from the grasp of a linesman.
• Damon Severson returned to the line up for the first time since being a casualty of Team Canada. 
• Cole Martin is a +80 when you combine this seasons +/- with last seasons impressive +47.
• Kelowna Rockets alumnus Cam Paddock was behind the bench Saturday night. Paddock is mentoring under Head Coach Ryan Huska and Assistant Kim Dillabaugh. Paddock, who just retired this off season, is coaching minor hockey players in Vancouver and is using this four game road trip as a chance to learn what it takes to coach at the major junior level. You have to give the organization credit for being open minded in allowing Paddock to get this first hand experience.  
• The Rockets have won 14 straight games. Last season the Portland Winterhawks also won 14 straight. The longest winning streak last season was held by the Saskatoon Blades. The 'Bridge City Bunch', as broadcaster Les Lazaruk likes to refer them as, went 18 straight games without feeling defeat. 
• Up next is a date between the two best teams (statistically) in the WHL Tuesday night when the Rockets visit the Portland Winterhawks for not one, but two games. More about that match up later.

Rockets game notes vs. Blazers

Tonight’s Preview: The Kelowna Rockets open the post-Christmas break with a home game against the visiting Kamloops Blazers. The two teams are meeting for the fifth time this season. The Rockets are 4-0-0-0 with the last two games in the seasonal series decided by a single goal. After tonight’s game, these two BC Division rivals meet again in a home and home series January 31^st and February 1^st. Overall, the Rockets have won 12 straight games after victories against Kamloops (twice), Vancouver, Tri City, Everett, Kootenay, Swift Current, Moose Jaw, Brandon, Regina, Prince Albert and Saskatoon. The Rockets have out-scored the opposition 52-28 over that stretch. Following tonight’s game the Rockets are in Vancouver tomorrow night to open a four game road trip with two games against the Giants and two games against the Portland Winterhawks.   

Road Show Review: The Rockets were 6-0-0-0 on an Eastern Conference road trip. The team out-scored the opponent 33-18. Tyson Baillie had 3+9=12 on the trip. Ryan Olsen had 4+5=9 in the six games. Myles Bell had seven goals in the six games. Jordon Cooke played in four of the six games. The power play was 8 for 24 (33.3%) while the team was 22 for 25 on the penalty kill. Of the 33 goals scored on the road trip, twelve came in the third period. The Rockets outshot their opponent in 5 of 6 games with one tied.    

Record Breaking Effort: The Kelowna Rockets set a new team record with their 13^th straight road victory December 17^th in Saskatoon in a 7-1 win. The league record is 20 consecutive road wins by the Calgary Hitmen in 2000.

Road Rash: Overall, the team has won 13 straight games on the road, having out-scored the opposition 63-33. Overall, the team has won 21 of their last 22 games. The Rockets are in the midst of playing 16 of their next 18 on the road…Ten of the Rockets next 12 games are on the road. Home games over that period include tonight against Kamloops and January 4^th against visiting Vancouver.           

This and That: Cole Martin leads the entire WHL with a plus/minus rating of +29. No Kelowna Rockets player has ever lead the entire league in +/- at season’s end….Myles Bell has 17 goals. Only one has been scored on the power….Only the Erie Otters (OHL) have more wins (29) at the Christmas break than the Rockets do….Damon Severson returns to the team tonight after being a late cut of Team Canada at the World Hockey Championships in Sweden….The Rockets have been out-shot on home ice five times this season…After losing two of his first three games, Jackson Whistle has won seven straight….The Rockets have played in six shootout games this season and are 4 and 2. Three of the four shootout wins have come on the road in Victoria, Prince George and Seattle…Eighteen year-old Madison Bowey was named captain of the Kelowna Rockets November 1^st….Jordon Cooke was named WHL Goaltender of the Month for September/October. Cooke was 8-0-0-2 with a goals against average of 1.85…Sixteen year-old rookie forward Nick Merkley was named the CHL and WHL Player of the Week from September 30^th to October 6^th. Merkley had six points in three games including back-to-back two goal games before earning two assists in a 6-3 win over the Portland Winterhawks…Assistant Coach Dan Lambert is away from the team competing at the World Under 17 Challenge in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia as the head coach of Team Western. Lambert returns to the team January 8^th in Edmonton….Jordon Cooke is 33-4-0-2 at home in last 39 starts at home dating back to last season…Two members of the Rockets are playing for Team Pacific at the Under 17 World Hockey Challenge. Nick Merkley and Joe Gatenby are teammates…The Rockets won 12 straight games overall in 2002-2003. That season they went 24 straight games without a regulation loss. 

Who’s Hot: Tyson Baillie is riding a career high six game point streak (3+9=12)…Myles Bell has a five game point streak (7+3=10)….Ryan Olsen has 4+5=9 in his last six games…Zach Franko has 4+5=9 in his last six games. 

Milestone Makers:

Zach Franko is playing in his 247^th career game tonight – three shy of 250. 

Zach Franko has 193 points, 7 shy of 200 for his career.

Myles Bell is playing in his 290^th game tonight – 10 shy of 300.

Random road pics that didn't make the original cut

These desperately needed a wash at trips end.

Just click on each photo for a larger image. You know the drill.  

The Regina Pats biggest fan. (bad joke)

Art Howser Centre in Prince Albert.

Myles Bell's Xmas gag gift. 'Old man shoes'.

Some newer sticks have Rockets logo on them.

Nick Merkley in Swift Current before off-site practice.

Madison Bowey wearing skate guards for off site practice.

Rourke Chartier making his way on bus in SC.

A place you want to avoid in Brandon. Dentist chair.

Visiting dressing room in Regina.

Old school hand washing trough in Regina

Merry Christmas from me to you!

Thanks for stopping by my blog from time to time. I want to wish all of you a Merry Christmas. Enjoy the 25th and 26th, because it is back in the saddle come the 27th for an exciting second half of the WHL schedule. 

Hoo - hoo - hoo. They went 6 and 0!

• Hoo, hoo, hoo they went 6 and 0.The Kelowna Rockets did what many said ‘couldn’t be done’ in a six game sweep of the Eastern Division. The Rockets put an exclamation mark on the 10 day road trip Tuesday night with a dominating 7-1 win over the Saskatoon Blades. For the first time in this road trip the game was over after the opening 20 minutes. In a one-one tie, Tyson Baillie and Rourke Chartier scored goals 19 seconds apart to take a 3-1 lead into the dressing room. From there it was all downhill for the Blades. Like a good long distance runner, the Rockets wanted to finish the race hard and scored two more times in the second and two more times in the third for their 28^th win of the season. The team ends the pre-Christmas break with 28 wins, three regulation losses and two shootout losses.
• The win set a franchise record. The team has now won 13 consecutive road games, seven shy of the league record of 20 set by the Calgary Hitmen in 2000. With one loss in 16 road games, only Portland has scored more road goals (79 compared to 75) but has also played three more games.     
• It only seemed fitting that the Rockets would win their final game of the road trip with six different scorers. It has been like that all trip. Scoring by committee has been the common theme for the first half of the season. Oh sure, Myles Bell had multiple goal games on this trip, as did Carter Rigby, but this isn’t a one man band. The Rockets only play finally tunes music when they play a team game with no one individual doing the heavy lifting. Let me correct myself slightly on that statement. The exception would be goaltender Jordon Cooke, who on at least three occasions in the first 33 games was the first star and was likely the difference between a win and a loss.
• The real key to the road trips success was the older players finally scoring on a regular basis. The cold prairie air allowed Myles Bell to regain his confidence. The 20 year-old was clearly a force on this trip and scored three massive goals. Bell scored twice in overtime and once late in the game in Brandon to tie the score. The Calgary resident was money. Fellow 20 year-old Zach Franko and nineteen year-old Ryan Olsen were also solid contributors on the trip. Tyson Baillie was also good, and as the teams leading scorer, he too came to the table when called upon. 
• The most impressive win of the six games came in Brandon obviously. The comeback was impressive considering how poorly they played through 57 minutes of hockey. Down two goals with just over two minutes left and the goaltender pulled for the extra attacker, the Rockets turned into a pack of wolves before my very eyes. It was weird. It was impressive. On a dime they attacked the Wheat Kings net before Zach Franko scored to make it a one goal game, and then again with Jackson Whistle pulled, Myles Bell sent the game into overtime.
• In my 18 years of calling WHL games on the radio, no team that I’ve been associated with has ever gotten off to this type of start. You only dream of covering a team that wins this many games before the Christmas break. I have seen some awfully impressive rosters during my time in Kelowna, but this one could be the most balanced. Just look at the top scorers in the WHL. You won’t find a Kelowna Rockets player anywhere close. Too many different players score on this team so it is distributed evenly throughout the lineup. When defensive defenceman Mitch Wheaton is able to manufacture a four point night, the belief in the room is that no one is a farm hand, a second fiddle or a bystander.  
• Let’s talk about the jerseys. The Rockets wore the same home white jerseys for every game on the trip. What no one knew externally was those jerseys were never washed during the road trip. Nope, not once. Oh ya, they smelled putrid, but that’s the point. It was all about winning dirty and winning greasy. Playing minor hockey, all these players likely washed their jerseys once every two weeks tops. The last time the Rockets took a similar path is when they didn’t wash their jerseys in 2005-2006 and again ran the table with six consecutive wins on the Eastern Division road trip.        
• The team arrived in Kelowna a little quieter and a lot less congested than when we headed out 11 days ago. Only three players returned with the coaching staff, trainer and radio guy. Jackson Whistle (West Kelowna), Carter Rigby (Penticton) and Joe Gatenby (Kelowna) all came back on the team bus with the satisfaction that while six wins wasn't easy, they can enjoy the Christmas break with an additional 12 points in the bank.