The bar has been raised

The save!!

Oh my. Wow,. Holy smoke. Terrific. Just some of the words that came out of my mouth last night in watching the Kelowna Rockets rough up the Victoria Royals in a 5-0 win. This was relentless. It was wave upon wave of pressure hockey. The forecheck was as good as I've seen. No player lacked effort. The use of teammates was as good as I've seen and the bar has clearly been raised with this performance. Granted, this was against a lesser opponent, but that's what it should look like if you indeed - quietly - consider yourself a better team. You should be executing and not playing down to the level of the opponent. You should be dictating the play. I'd argue the Rockets were significantly better Saturday night against the Royals then they were a night prior in a 9-2 victory over Prince George. This game should be used as a reference point of how good this team can play. 

• Decision making. It was at about a 9 out of 10 last night. Examples? On the penalty kill, Turner McMillen has a puck deep in the corner. Being pressured, he calmly passes the puck to Jake Lee, who is situated three feet away. Lee, promptly, returns the pass to McMillen who fires the puck all the way down the ice. Small detail right? Like butter, it looks calm, composed, smart and was beautifully executed. Another example? Tyson Feist has the puck at the Rockets blueline. He wants to pass it cross-ice to his d-partner. He second guesses and alertly concludes if the pass is made it will be picked off and an offense chance will be created by the Royals. Instead, the veteran d-man skates up ice on right wing, making the wise play instead of the dangerous one. That was another example of how smart and dialed in the team was in last night's victory. 
• Rookie Jari Kykkanen earned his first career WHL shutout. His best save, while wearing new pads and gloves, came when Royals forward Brayden Schuurman tried to go glove-side on a breakaway  (photo evidence above). Kykkanen made the stop - his best in his young career. It was the Rockets first home ice shutout of the season. The other two have come on the road in Vancouver and Prince George.  
• The Rockets allowed a season low 15 shots on net last night. The previous low was 18. 
• Andrew Cristall, like his team, was playing at his optimum level. Finding the back of the net for his 24th goal of the season, the 16 year-old is one goal shy of the franchise record for goals by a 16 year-old, which is 25, set twice by Nick Merkley and Shane McColgan. Cristall moved past Merkley for points as a 16 year-old. Cristall has 59, Merkley had 58 in year one. McColgan had 69 points as a rookie in 2009-2010. 
• Jake Lee is back!! That's great news for the Rockets and not so good for the opponent. Goals in back-to-back games gives him 16 on the season. Lee is clearly the Rockets D-Man of the Year, edging out Captain Tyson Feist for that honour. The last d-man to score that many goals was Cal Foote, when he found the back of the net 19 times in 2017-2018.
• Colton Dach has 19-multiple point games this season. With 25 goals and 6 more games to play, surely 30 is attainable. I'd be hungry for it. I'd hope he is too.  
• Adam Kydd picks up an assist last night, but his best work was in his own end. His hustle and determination was impressive. I have him easily earning an overage spot with the team next season. And yes, his 11+16=27 in 33 games also doesn't hurt.  
• Finally the Rockets gained some ground in the standings. Seattle doesn't slip often, but a one goal loss in Portland makes the race for 4th place in the Western Conference a smidge tighter. The T-Birds have a 6 point lead with the Rockets having two games in hand.  But we saw this song and dance against Kamloops. The Rockets had games in hand, but didn't take advantage of it. Do they drop the baton again?  They get a mulligan - using a golf term here. If you want to right a wrong, here is your chance!
• The Rockets have points in 15 consecutive home games. The last regulation loss came to the Prince George Cougars (February 16th), who have handed the Rockets two of its 5 losses at home this season.
• The Rockets have scored 5 or more goals 15 times this season on home ice. 
• What's next? It's the Rockets last 'hotel stay' road trip of the regular season when they visit the Prince George Cougars in back-to-back games Tuesday and Wednesday. These are rescheduled games from January 11th and 12th when the Cougars were dealing with COVID.
• Here's one for ya. The last time the Rockets played a game in April up in Prince George was 22 years ago. April 7, 2000 in an opening round playoff series. The crowd that night? Five thousand, 977. Rockets Assistant Coach Quintin Laing played in that game. His 15 year-old son, Hunter, is now a draft pick (2nd round - 33rd overall in 2021) of the Cougars and may play against the Rockets this week.