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Playoff Pondering: Nineteen year-old
forward Nick Merkley and 20 year-old Captain Rodney Southam both have 40 games
of WHL playoff experience under their belt. Merkley has 9+38=47 playoff points….Reid
Gardiner may have played 290 regular season games in the WHL, but the 21
year-old has never gotten out of the first round. Gardiner has played just 14
playoff games and has 5+4=9 over that period…Tomas Soustal is the highest
returning point producers from last year’s post season. Soustal had 5+7=12 in
18 playoff games including three of those goals coming in the opening round
against the Blazers…Weird stat. Despite going all the way to the Western
Conference final last season, the Rockets playoff record was a very ordinary
8-10-0-0….Justin Kirkland was the Rockets leading scorer in the 2015-2016
playoffs with 11+4=15 in 18 games…Michael Herringer played in all 18 playoff
games a season ago, posting a goals against average of 2.44 and a save
percentage of .928…The Rockets are attempting to advance to the Western Conference final for a fourth
straight season…The Portland Winterhawks went to the Western Conference final 5
consecutive seasons (2010-2015).
Season in Review: The Rockets finished
in 2nd place in the BC Division with 95 points this season. That was
one point shy of Prince George in the fight for a BC Division banner. The team
was 45-22-5-0, which was good for 6th place in the overall WHL
standings. The team scored the third most goals in the WHL (283) and tied with
Seattle for the 4th fewest goals against. The team scored 14 more
goals and allowed 12 fewer against than in 2015-2016. The Rockets had the third
best power play in the WHL and the 9th best penalty killing unit. Cal
Thurkauf led the team in goals with 33. Kole Lind had a team high 57 assists
while Lind was the scoring leader with 87 points. Nick Merkley led the team with 12 power play
goals. Cal Foote had a team high +39 rating. Rodney Southam had a team leading
121 penalty minutes.
Rockets Award
Winners: General
Manager Bruce Hamilton has been named the Western Conference nominee for
Executive of the Year. Hamilton won the award back in 1991-1992 with the Tacoma
Rockets and in 2002-2003. Forward Kole Lind was named a Western Conference 2nd
team all-star. At the teams annual year end awards, Calvin Thurkauf was the
MVP, Cal Foote was the Top Defenceman and Nolan Foote was the Rookie of the
Year. The Unsung Player of the Year was
Devante Stephens while the Most Improved Player was Kole Lind. Lind had 46 more
points than he had a season prior.
Reaping Reward of New
Recruits: Reid
Gardiner played in 28 regular season games with the Rockets after being
acquired at the WHL trade deadline. The 21 year-old was held off the scoresheet
just three times and collected 18+19=37 in 28 games. Carsen Twarynski, also
acquired at the deadline, had 7+15=22 in 28 regular season games after his
acquisition from the Calgary Hitmen. If
you follow the bouncing ball, the Rockets essentially obtained Twarynski for
Joe and Danny Gatenby.
That’s a fact Jack: Michael Herringer was
named the WHL Goalie of the Week March 6th by posting a record of
3-0-0-0 with a goals against average of 1.10…The Rockets have now won 20 or
more road games in five consecutive seasons. The last time they failed to hit
20 wins was in 2011-2012 when they won 15 games away from Prospera Place…The 56
shots the Rockets put up against the Vancouver Giants February 10th were
a season high….The 15 shots the team surrendered February 22nd against the
Edmonton Oil Kings was a season low…The Rockets have generated 30 or more shots
in 28 of their last 32 games…Tomas Soustal has missed 8 straight
games after being hurt March 1st against Prince George. The Rockets
are 13-2-0-0 in 15 games when Soustal has been injured this season….The Rockets
are 64-1-4-0 when leading after 40 minutes in the last two seasons….The Kelowna
Rockets lost 10 of their first 21 regular season games. Since then, the team
has 12 losses in the last 50 games… In the Rockets last 13 losses (regulation
or overtime loss) the opposition has opened the scoring…The Rockets are 20-7-2-0
since the trade deadline
Game Notes Compiled by Regan Bartel of AM 1150
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