Rockets in good spot in final 5 weeks of season

It's a gut feeling. It's something that coaches don't like to do. Pulling your starting goalie is never the preferred option, but reading the situation correctly can do wonders in an effort to win a game. Kris Mallette was reluctant to do it Sunday afternoon when rookie goalie Jari Kykkanen surrendered three goals on 11 shots in the first period. Not wanting to put the blame on the shoulders of his back-stopper, Mallette made the difficult choice of replacing him with number one goalie Talyn Boyko. The move paid off. Boyko provided a mental spark, made a handful of solid saves and his teammates did a better job of defending in a 5-4 win over the Vancouver Giants. On the post game show, Mallette wanted to make it perfectly clear that the change in goal was more made out of necessity to spur his team on to defend better. Whatever you may think about the change in goal, the astute move helped the Rockets win a game they needed if they have any hope of catching Kamloops for first place in the BC Division. You really needed to win these games with the Blazers idle. It was the teams 34th victory of the season and moved them within 8 points with 16 games left in the regular season. The Blazers have 13 remaining. 

• A road game and a veteran needs to step up. Who is the Kelowna Rockets road warrior? Mark Liwiski is the answer. 'Lewy' was clutch, not once, but twice in Sunday's one goal win. Liwiski scores a shorthanded penalty shot goal, showing ice in his veins and then pots the game winner by showing off his spectacular speed by outracing Giants d-man Connor Hornung to a loose puck and beating the goaltender with a nifty backhand. Liwiski has 20 goals. Impressive considering it is the second most goals on the team. Only Pavel Novak (24) has more. What is more impressive is of the 20 goals Liwiski has scored this season, 13 have come on the road. 
• Should we be surprised with Liwiski's ability to find the back of the net? Not really. He did lead the team in goals with 9 in 16 games during the abbreviated season. I'd argue that was against lesser competition. Not this season though. Liwiski got off to a slow start with three goals in his opening 16 games. In his last 20, the pain in the derriere forward has 11 goals. Not bad for a player who has also been suspended for four games this season. 
• How fun would it be to have a race featuring Liwiski and rookies Marcus Pacheco and Rilen Kovacevic? All three are speed demons and are quick to pucks. In a straight line, that trio can scoot. It would be fun to do two races. One with the puck, the other without.  
• Since the media started getting his name right, me included, Gabriel Szturc (Shhhh-stew-zzz) is on a roll. Riding a four game goal scoring streak, 'Gabby' has 7 goals in his last 13 games. Why the recent success? Shooting the puck more is one massive factor. Fifteen shots in his last four games will do that. 
• Andrew Cristall may be playing in the shadows of a 16 year-old like Connor Bedard, but let's call him Kelowna's little secret. With 49 points in 42 games, the first round WHL bantam pick, taken 17 players after Bedard was chosen first overall, is having a spectacular season. A three point effort (1+2=3) against the G-Men pumps up his goal total to 19. His three point game was his 6th of the season. Nothing against Everett Silvertips forward Niko Huuhtanen, who leads the Western Conference in rookie scoring, but the Finnish born forward is 18. That two years difference is massive in junior hockey. With a 9 point lead on Cristall in the Western Conference rookie scoring race, Huuhtanen has also played four more games. Being nominated as the Western Conference rookie of the year is no small feat this season, considering three Seattle Thunderbirds are also making a strong bid for the honour. 
• The last Rockets player to be named Western Conference rookie of the year was Nick Merkley in 2014. He won the award that season with 58 points. Shane McColgan was also named Western Conference rookie of the year in 2009-2010 by leading the team in scoring with 25 goals and 69 points. He would lose the league honour that season to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Red Deer Rebels.
• One goal games. It's been common place this season. Sunday's win was the teams 25th this season. It is the most of any WHL team. Looking back, the 2019 edition of the Vancouver Giants played in 29-one goal regular season games in advancing to the WHL final, where they would lose a one goal game in overtime to the eventual league champion PA Raiders. When all the dust had settled, regular season and playoffs, the G-Men had played in 40-one goal games.
• The Kelowna Rockets have been given the fewest power plays of anyone in the WHL. Crickets from everyone outside of Kelowna. But if the team has the most power play chances of any of the 22 teams, the conspiracy theorists come out in droves. The silence right now is deafening. 
• Rilen Kovacevic is leading the WHL in fighting majors. I didn't see that coming. The rookie isn't picking his spots either. Of the 9 fighting majors, eight have come on opposition ice. Oh, he is just 17 people!
• For those keeping count, the Rockets have 10 players with 30 or more points. No team has more. A few others equal that total including high powered Everett, Edmonton and Winnipeg. Next to join the 30 point club is Max Graham (29 points) and Jake Poole (28).
• The Rockets earned a playoff spot on the weekend. If the 'real season' started today, it's the Seattle Thunderbirds in round one. First place in the BC Division is still within reach, but with time ticking down, Captain Obvious can tell you the division will be won or lost in the next four games. Why? The Rockets and Blazers meet in four consecutive games. The schedule maker....we applaud thee!!!