Eight was great!

Trevor Wong - Shoot the Breeze Photo

If you are my age, you remember the TV sitcom - Eight is Enough. 

Last night at the Sandman Centre - 8 was enough for the Kelowna Rockets. 

Second year forward Trevor Wong, wearing sweater #8, was the best player on the ice in a 7-5 win over the Prince George Cougars. Wong scored four goals in the road win, tying him with Alex Swetlikoff for the team lead in points (4). The 17 year-old now leads the hockey club in goals. 

The four goal effort by a Rockets player doesn't happen often. Reid Gardiner had a four goal game in an opening round playoff series against the Portland Winterhawks in 2017. Myles Bell also had four goals against Kamloops in 2014. 

Wong prospered in a positional change. Playing centre, the likable smallish forward had success with Jake Poole and Dillon Hamaliuk as linemates. Poole collected two assists while Hamaliuk earned a helper in Wong's second period goal, collecting his 100th point in the process. 

Wong is no stranger to finding the back of the net. Much hype and pressure was put on his shoulders when he chose the WHL and was selected in the 1st round of the bantam draft - 18th overall. 

His rookie season was one filled with struggle. Just 6 goals and 14 points in 58 games had him playing second fiddle to rookie of the year nominee Pavel Novak. 

 A new season. 

A new position. 

A new coach. 

Let's see what Wong can do moving forward after taking 37 games to score 4 goals last season.

• Again, rookie Nolan Flamand impressed me. I am not sure if its his low centre of gravity or if his lower body resembles that of a tree trunk, but he looks to be hard to push off the puck. Maybe his edges are so good, but he seems to really be good on his skates. The part that sucks about this season is I don't see these players up close and out of their hockey gear to see how they are put together - physically. All I do know is Flamand really impresses me with his overall game. He is routinely around the puck. The fact that he is a Saskatchewan boy only earns him greater brownie points in my book.
• Scott Cousins made his WHL debut last night and didn't disappoint. He didn't look out of place after missing the first two games of the season. Earning an assist on Trevor Wong's laser beam - wrister - on a two-on-one, Cousins had the luxury of getting in his rookie lap prior to the pre-game warmup. The fact that the Prince George resident made his debut against the Cougars only added to a great evening.
• Andrew Cristall is doing what we hoped. When first round picks in the WHL bantam draft are few and far between for this franchise, which had to mortgage the future for championship success, you need to hit on players like Cristall. The 16 year-old scored his first goal of what is hoped to be a great junior career for the Burnaby product. If he shoots more, look for goals to follow. He has one shot on goal this season. That one shot found the back of the net. Ok, it was actually a tip of a puck in mid-air, but you get the idea.
• A small sample size, but the best second year player in my mind is d-man Elias Carmichael. I really like his offensive awareness. A second round draft pick from 2018, I have noticed him several times making nice outlet passes and getting the puck through to the net for tips or rebounds. I am not sure about his defensive game. I will be watching that closer to see if he is a liability in his own end, but mark me down as someone who's impressed by what he has shown us in the opening three games.
• Mark Liwiski and Dillon Hamaliuk really set the physical tone last night. I love how both players play with reckless abandon. I thought both made solid contributions by playing their role to perfection.
• Tyson Feist made his 2021 debut and ended the evening with a +5 rating. 
• It was the Rockets first win in Kamloops since February, 2019. That snapped a winless streak of 7 games. 
• The Rockets power play needs some work. But lets be fair here. The team had 19 days off dealing with COVID-19. It didn't create much last night and ended up surrender two shorthanded goals against.   
• Despite the loss, Prince George has 4 wins in its opening 10 games. It took them 22 games to win 4 times last season. 
• Alex Swetlikoff received a 5 minute major and game misconduct after getting his stick high into the chicklets of a Cougars d-man late in the second period. Prince George was able to score only once on that extended power play.