Rockets rookies thrown into fire

• Key injuries to the Kelowna Rockets top end players and a lineup consisting of three defencemen playing forward added up to an expected result in a 6-1 loss in Vancouver Saturday night. With Dillon Dube scratched after being named the first star in Friday's 7-4 win over Lethbridge, every player on the Rockets roster was asked to elevate their play and essentially play more minutes than they are accustomed to playing. Marek Skrvne, a fourth line centre, was elevated to the second line and probably had more ice time Saturday night than he did in the first 18 games of the WHL career combined. Skrvne would score his first career goal, a power play marker in the third period, to erase the shutout bid by Giants goaltender David Tendeck. That was one of few bright spots on the score-sheet.
• Dube wasn't the only key player who didn't dress in Saturday's setback. For a second straight game leading scorer Kole Lind was ill and third line centre Jack Cowell and Nolan Foote were hurt in Friday's game. Throw Erik Gardiner's injury into the mix and the Rockets were playing without four of their top 6 forwards. That said, despite being short-staffed, the entire defensive core remained intact. The team was able to dress its three 20 year-old's, so it wasn't like the visitors were a glorified midget team against the G-Men.
• As mentioned, with the d-core essentially unscathed from Friday's physical affair against the Hurricanes, my hope was the game would be low scoring and the play inside the Rockets zone would be controlled and calculated. Sadly it wasn't, with the Giants handling the puck for a significant amount of time in and around goaltender James Porter. The game took a turn for the worse when Libor Zabransky took a tripping minor penalty and then team captain Cal Foote followed suit 1:48 seconds later. The Giants scored on a 5 on 3 with one second remaining in the two-man-advantage and then Tyler Benson's tap in goal from the front of the net 89 seconds later had the visitors in a hole that they would never recover from.  Two more goals in a span of about 90 seconds late in the first period and it was pretty much a done deal.
• While unable to create a lot of scoring chances, a few good looks early in the game had things looking promising for the Rockets. I thought Carsen Twarynski, Kyle Topping and Liam Kindree had several solid chances, including Kindree robbed on a rebound when the game was still scoreless. While not overly tested, Giants goaltender David Tendeck has to be applauded for coming up big when the game was still in doubt. Tendeck was named the second star. 
• Kyle Topping had a chance to score his 10th goal of the season when he was awarded a third period penalty shot. Unfortunately, Topping missed the net as he attempted to go glove side on the right handed catching goalie. 
• While Marek Skrvne's first goal of the season was a bright spot, the game also marked the WHL debut of 16 year-old Roman Basran. The third round bantam pick made 17 of 19 saves after relieving starter James Porter after the first period. 
• With so many key players missing from the line-up, the game allowed me a chance to see the future of the Rockets younger players. These third and fourth line players don't receive much ice time when the top 6 forwards chew up the majority of the playing time. With an increased role, many experienced how hard it is to compete at this level. It was an eye-opener for many. If you were slow to pucks, you were chasing the game all night. If you didn't play with determination, you looked silly out there against older, more skilled competition. 
• Of the so-called rookies that were required to 'step up', I thought 16 year-old Kaeden Korczak was the most noticeable when he attempted to lead a rush by skating the puck up ice on two occasions. I also thought Wil Kushniryk had two decent chances when he delivered the puck on goal with authority. What I was looking for was some assertiveness on behalf of the younger players on the roster. Were they willing to compete hard and make an impression or were they satisfied with being second best?  
• Ty Ronning extended his goal scoring streak to 10 games. That is an amazing run. The most impressive Giants player for me is Slovakian Milos Roman. Roman, who plays hard and appears to be as interested at defending as he is at scoring, is a very rare commodity coming from a European forward with skill.   
• The loss allowed the Giants to move within three points of the Rockets in the fight for second place in the BC Division while allowing the first place Victoria Royals to increase their lead to 6 points. The Rockets do have two games in hand. 
• Up next is game two of a three game road trip Wednesday night against Dan Lambert and the Spokane Chiefs. It will mark the first time 'Lambo' has faced his old team that he helped win the 2015 WHL championship.