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| Liam Kindree - Shoot the Breeze Photography |
Game Day Preview: The Kelowna Rockets
open a four game road trip tonight against the Kootenay Ice. It is the lone
meeting of the season between these two teams. These two organizations used to
have classic playoff battles when the Ice played in the BC Division. These two
franchises met in the Western Conference final in 2002, with the Ice winning in
five games. It was so memorable because it marked the first time the Rockets
franchise had been into the third round of the playoffs. In 2004, in the
opening round, the Rockets eliminated the Ice in four straight. In the 2005
WCF, the Rockets eliminated the Ice in 6 games. In 2006, again in round one,
the Rockets eliminated Kootenay in 6 games. That’s four playoff battles in the
five seasons the Ice were in the BC Division before moving to the Central for
the start of the 2006-2007 campaign. In the teams’ last appearance in
Cranbrook, December 10, 2016, Jake Kryski scored twice in a 7-3 win. On January
31, 2015, Leon Draisaitl had 1+1 in the Rockets 5-1 victory. Overall the Rockets have won 3 straight in
Cranbook, with their last loss coming February 22, 2011 in a 4-2 setback.
Jordon Cooke faced 51 saves and was named the second star. The Rockets are
10-5-2-0 in 17 games under head coach Adam Foote.
Who’s Hot: Nolan Foote has
points in 8 of his last 9 games. Foote has 7+5=12 over that stretch. Leif Mattson
has four goals in his last 7 games. The 19 year-old has registered at least one
shot on goal in 30 of the teams 31 games this season. Kyle Topping has registered
a point in 23 of the teams 31 games this season. In his last four appearances,
goaltender James Porter has stopped 113 of the last 122 shots (.926 save
percentage) he has faced. The Rockets penalty killing unit is 15 for 15 in
their last three road games.
Broadcasters Notebook:
The
Rockets made a change behind the bench Saturday, mutually agreeing to part ways
with assistant coach Travis Crickard. Crickard joined the Rockets August 6,
2014, originally taking over from Kim Dillabaugh, who left the team to take a
full time position with the NHL’s LA Kings…The Rockets have acquired the
playing rights to 17 year-old forward Alex Swetlikoff from the Lethbridge
Hurricanes for a 4th round bantam pick. Swetlikoff, a Kelowna
product, was originally drafted in the third round by the Seattle Thunderbirds.
This season, Swetlikoff, who is committed to playing NCAA hockey at the
University of Denver…Lassi Thomson (Finland) and Libor Zabranski (Czech
Republic) have been invited to the training camp for the upcoming World Junior
Hockey Championships….The Rockets traded 19 year-old Jack Cowell to the
Kootenay Ice November 29th for a third round bantam pick. The trade
was voided when Cowell failed to report… The Rockets are 6-8-1-0 against BC
Division teams this season….The Rockets have only one December birthday to
celebrate. Lane Zablocki officially turns 20 on December 27th….Four members
of the Kelowna Rockets have been named to NHL Central Scouting’s November
“Players to Watch’ List. Forward Nolan Foote is an ‘A’ prospect, meaning a
first round candidate. Kaedan Korczak is a ‘B’ prospect which means he is a second
or third round candidate. Roman Basran/Lassi Thomson are ‘C’ prospects, which
means he could be taken in the third to the seventh round…Adam Foote was
officially named the new head coach of the Kelowna Rockets on October 23, 2018
replacing Jason Smith.,,The Rockets are 3-7-1-0 when playing the second game of
back-to-backs.
Season Highs/Lows:
Most goals scored: 8 @ Victoria October
19/18 (8-2 W)
Most goals allowed: 9 vs. Seattle October
10th, 2018 (9-6 L)
Most shots on net: 45 @ Seattle October
6th, 2018 (4-1 L).
Fewest shots on net: 13 @ Edmonton
November 17, 2018 (3-1 L)
Most shots allowed: 50 @ Portland
November 10, 2018 (3-0 L)
Fewest shots allowed:
16 vs. Victoria December 7, 2018 (2-0 win)
Last time shut out at
home: October
3rd, 2018 vs. Vancouver (5-0 L)
Last time shut out on
road: November
10, 2018 @ Portland (3-0 L)
Last shutout at home:
December
7, 2018 vs. Victoria (2-0 W - Roman Basran 16 saves)
Most power play goals
allowed: 4
vs. Seattle October 10th, 2018 (9-6 L). T-Birds were 4/5 on power
play.
Most power play goals
scored:
4 @ Victoria October 19, 2018 (8-2 W)
Roster
Stats:
Player
total:
22
Year by
Year Breakdown:
20’s (1998) – 3 Gally, Zablocki, Chizen
19’s (1999) -
4 Topping,
Mattson, Gardiner, Bruggen-Cate
18’s (2000) – 8 Farren, Thomson,
Porter, Foote, Zabransky, Kindree, Brennan, Steffler,
17’s (2001) - 6
Korczak, Crosbie, Basran, Liwiski,
Wilton, Augustine
16’s (2002) - 1 Ernst
Game Notes Compiled
by Regan Bartel of AM 1150
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