Game notes vs. Oil Kings

Tonight’s Preview: The Kelowna Rockets open a Central Division road trip tonight when they face the Edmonton Oil Kings. The Rockets play four games in five nights. Following tonight’s game the Rockets are in Lethbridge Friday, Medicine Hat Saturday and Calgary on Sunday. These two teams are meeting for the second time this season. On November 9^th, the Rockets’ earning a 2-0 win. Jordon Cooke made 25 saves in the shutout. Kris Schmidli and Justin Kirkland scored goals in the victory. The Rockets last appearance at Rexall Place was in a 5-3 loss back on October 27/2012. The Rockets carried a 3-2 lead into the third period before the Oil Kings struck for three goals (one into an empty net). The Rockets enter tonight’s game having won 17 of their last 18 games overall and 26 of their last 28 games. The Rockets are coming off a 4-2 win Saturday night over the visiting Vancouver Giants.  

Road Rash: The Rockets are on the road for the 11^th time in their last 13 games. The only home dates over that period were against Kamloops on December 27^th (7-1) and against Vancouver on Saturday (4-2). This is the start of six straight games on the road. The Rockets are in Victoria for back-to-back games to conclude 16 of 18 on opposition ice. Oh, by the end of this Central Division road trip the team will have spent 25 of the last 36 days on the road.      

Alberta Content: The Rockets have 10 players with ties to Alberta. Nick Merkley, Joe Gatenby and Jesse Lees were born in Calgary. Myles Bell is also from ‘Cowtown’. Jordon Cooke is from Leduc, Tyson Baillie is from Fort Saskatchewan, Mitch Wheaton is from Sherwood Park, Cole Linaker and Tyrell Goulbourne are from Edmonton and Justin Kirkland was born in Camrose.   

Two Years of Success: Myles Bell has 61+75=136 points in his last 106 regular season games since moving from defense to forward. Teammate Tyson Baillie has 44+58=102 in his last 106 regular season games. Baillie was not named to the CHL Top Prospects game in Calgary in mid January.   

Welcome Back Kotter: The Rockets welcome back three members of the team who attended the U-17’s in Nova Scotia. Assistant Dan Lambert was the head coach of Team West while 16 year-old rookies Nick Merkley and Joe Gatenby struck silver as members of Team Pacific.   

This and That: Myles Bell is third in the WHL in game winning goals with 6…Six alumni of the Rockets’ will play for their respective countries at the Sochi Olympics. Jamie Benn, Shea Weber and Duncan Keith will wear colours for Canada. Alex Edler (Sweden), Lauris Darzins ( Latvia) and Thomas Raffl (Austria) will also compete…Myles Bell is the WHL Player of the Week. Bell had 5+5=10 in four games last week. Teammate Nick Merkley won the award from September 30^th to October 6^th….Tyson Baillie was named the WHL Player of the Month for December. Baillie had 5+15=20 during the month….The Rockets 16 game winning streak was 6 wins shy of the league record of 22 set by the Estevan Bruins in 1967….Cole Martin leads the entire WHL with a plus/minus rating of +38…Myles Bell has 23 goals. Only three have been scored on the power play….The Rockets have been out-shot on home ice five times this season…After losing two of his first three games, Jackson Whistle has won seven of his last eight games….The Rockets have played in six shootout games this season and are 4 and 2. Three of the four shootout wins have come on the road in Victoria, Prince George and Seattle…Eighteen year-old Madison Bowey was named captain of the Kelowna Rockets November 1^st….Jordon Cooke was named WHL Goaltender of the Month for September/October…Jordon Cooke is 35-4-0-2 at home in last 41 starts at home dating back to last season…Jordon Cooke is 33-2-0-2 in his last 37 regular season starts dating back to last season…The Rockets have scored 4 or more goals in 17 of their 21 road games this season.    

Milestone Makers:

Zach Franko has 199 points, 1 shy of 200 for his career.

Myles Bell is playing in his 296^th game tonight – 4 shy of 300.

Ryan Huska, according to Hockeydb, has 279 WHL regular season victories.

Huska is coaching in his 472^nd regular season game tonight.     

Myles Bell has 94 career goals and 147 career WHL assists.

Madison Bowey has five more points (35) they he had in 69 games last season.

Carter Rigby has 43 goals in his last 122 regular season games since joining the Rockets. 

Rourke Chartier plays in his 98^th career game tonight – two shy of 100.

Notes, quotes and anecdotes - Part 2

Cooke`s tape job.

• What’s with the stick? Have you noticed the tape job, or lack of tape used on the stick of 20 year-old goaltender Jordon Cooke? A small strip of tape is used on the tip  leaving the majority of it exposed. Most goalies have the entire blade covered in tape. Cooke tells me his favourite number is six. He was born on June 6th. June is also the 6th month of the year. The Leduc, Alberta product was the Rockets 6^th player chosen in the WHL bantam draft. So, going with the 6 theme, Cooke wraps his stick in tape by going around....six times. Count it yourself if you don't believe me.
• The Vancouver Giants are one BC Division team that has had marginal success against the Kelowna Rockets this season. I asked head coach Don Hay why? “We just know that if we don’t come with a real hard game against Kelowna we are going to be embarrassed.  Probably a bit of fear motivates us too”.  
• The Rockets have an unprecedented ten Alberta born players on this seasons roster. Four of them call Calgary home. The Edmonton area used to be the hot bed for hockey talent, and still is, but the Calgary minor hockey system has really improved. That may explain why Team Pacific, with a vastly improved BC minor hockey system, had so much success at the recent Under 17’s. Oh, a growing population doesn't hurt either.
• I realize that the economy is solid in Fort McMurray, but as we traveled up to Edmonton, I can’t see many WHL owners getting excited over expanding/relocating a team to Fort McMurray. To think, once you arrive in Edmonton you need to drive an additional 4 and a half hours (436 kilometers) to find the city of 61,374. That's a long haul, even for Lethbridge and Medicine Hat.
• Tyson Baillie is wearing an Edmonton Oilers toque on this trip. That is a far better choice than that Toronto Raptors head gear he was sporting on the Saskatchewan swing. Did I mention I hate basketball?   
• Joe Gatenby and Nick Merkley are back with the team after winning a silver medal at the Under 17’s with Team Pacific. By all indications, Merkley was one of the best players on the team. The 16 year-old told me he wasn’t satisfied with his play. “Personally, I didn’t think I was very good in the tournament. I didn’t think I produced,” Merkley told me after practice today.  Harsh critic. Merkley was a point a game player alongside linemate Tyler Soy of the Victoria Royals.
• Excited! That would best describe rookie forward Kris Schmidili at the prospect of attending his first NHL game. The Rockets will attend tonight’s game between the Oilers and the visiting St. Louis Blues. The 17 year-old is also looking forward to playing two games on NHL ice, in Edmonton and Calgary. 
• Gas in Edmonton is 106.9. Hate the weather, love the price at the pump. 
• The Rockets had a morning practicing at the Canmore Recreation Centre. It is a two sheet of ice facility built in 1988 and is the home of the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Canmore Eagles. Who was the last Rockets player to come out of the AJHL? Mitch Wheaton played with the Spruce Grove Saints.
• It was nice to run into Canmore Eagles head coach Andy Milne. The 35 year-old and I go back to my early days as a broadcaster with the Swift Current Broncos. Milne helped me in the broadcast booth, often calling games with me on the road. I will never forget how fired up he would get on the air if a player took liberties on one of the Broncos. I remember him getting so excited in the booth that he ripped the phone cord off the wall, providing for a considerable amount of dead air.
• The City of Edmonton is known as the City of Champions. Hmm. The Oilers haven`t won the Stanley Cup since 1990. The Eskimos haven`t won the Grey Cup since 2005. Only the Oil Kings have kept up their end of the bargain with a WHL title in 2012.

Notes, quotes and anecdotes

• I sure liked Tyson Baillie’s comments when I spoke to him after being named the WHL Player of the Month for December. I asked him if the superb month had anything to do with being snubbed from the CHL Top Prospects game later this month in Calgary. “Ya, that gave me a lot of motivation. It kind of pissed me off actually. That is when I play my best when I am angry and pissed off.” You have to appreciate his honesty.
• I had to chuckle last week when guest coach Cam Paddock watched with amazement at practice as  Myles Bell was shooting the puck. “I’ve never seen someone in junior shoot that hard, and that accurate”, Paddock said. The 30 year-old spent over 300 games with the WHL, 16 games in the NHL and hundreds of games in AHL and Europe, so he has a pretty good grasp of who has a heavy shot and who doesn’t. Paddock has seen many teammates shoot the puck, but not like Bell.
• It has to be awfully tough for the coaching staff to break up the line of Tyson Baillie, Tyrell Goulbourne and Myles Bell now that Nick Merkley has returned after winning a silver medal at the Under 17’s in Nova Scotia. Merkley has been primarily playing alongside Bell as more of a set up man with the 20 year-old. Goulbourne has been a nice addition playing with the team’s top two goal scorers. “I love it.  I am playing with two great players. I am really close with them off the ice. I can’t get away without playing my role but it is nice to have two guys that can put the puck in the net,” Goulbourne added.
• Will the Rockets make a trade at or before Friday’s WHL trade deadline?  I spoke to Director of Player Personnel Lorne Frey about his team’s lack of movement at the deadline in subsequent years. “If I was doing this, I would never trade. I hate trading. There are exceptions but I don’t think it gets you too much.” 
• Trading partners with the Rockets would want to get their hands on Nick Merkley, Rourke Chartier and Justin Kirkland, but Frey says that won’t happen. “There is no way we are going to give up a good young hockey player. There aren’t too many places where you can trade yachts for canoes,” Frey said.
• I had to laugh the other day when some of the players were shooting baskets outside the hotel in Portland. One player comment, “Oh, no here comes Heff”. They were speaking of 19 year-old forward Colton Heffley. Why would it be a problem if Heffley came out to shoot some hoops? Because he’s good at everything is what I was told. I knew Heffley was a good baseball player but that obviously goes far beyond the hockey arena and the diamond.
• Tyson Baillie is my kind of hockey player. No pretty boy here who admires himself when he skates along the glass during warm up. Baillie loves the game and wants to win. On determination alone he will play pro hockey. Will he ever play in the NHL? The 18 year-old will die trying. That motivation is often lost in more skilled players. That may be a reason why I want Baillie to succeed so much. It’s  because he really wants it.
• Why does Tyrell Goulbourne work so well with Baillie and Bell? The 19 year-old – on a straight line – is arguably the fastest skater on the team. “I find myself moving my feet more. I am in a better position when I am playing with those guys because I am more sharp, because I have to be,” Goulbourne admitted.    
•  While the majority of the Rockets road trip through the Central Division is all work and no play, the team has a chance to attend the Edmonton Oilers home game against the St. Louis tomorrow night at Rexall Place. The Oilers made this happen. Thanks to them. 
• I always like to see how players mature before my very eyes over the time they come into the organization until the day they walk away to pursue a pro career. I remember my first interview with Tyrell Goulbourne. To put it mildly, it was pretty rough. He just couldn’t find the words to express himself. Yet when the tape recorded was put away, ‘Goulby’ was well spoken. Now three years later, Goulbourne is one of the better interviews. I asked him what changed?  “Just a little bit more confidence. You kinda scared me a little bit when we first started doing it”, Goulbourne said with a laugh.           

Sand in face doesn't sit well with Rockets

• I may be dating myself, but do you remember the print ad for Charles Atlas that first appeared in comic books in the 40's? If you don't, check the advertisement at the right. The Kelowna Rockets, who had sand kicked in their faces Friday night in Vancouver, muscled up and literally fought back 24 hours later in an impressive 4-2 win in the back end of a home and home series between the two BC Division rivals. The Giants tried to push the Rockets around in front of a sell out crowd of 6,172 Saturday night, but the home town team wouldn't have any of it. Just ask Tyrell Goulbourne, who clocked Giants forward Tim Traber with a series of punches in a second period scrap that left the 20 year-old bloodied after the one sided tilt. It was Goulbourne's first fighting major in 16 games but it didn't show. This wasn't a staged fight. This was picture perfect raw emotion. 
• Was I the only one in the building that thought the game had a playoff feel to it? Obviously not as head coach Ryan Huska agreed on his post game show comments. Huska told his players to treat it just like a playoff game. The intensity was there. The nastiness was there and if anything, the gritty play by the visitors woke up the home team, who looked sleepy the night before in a 4-2 loss. It was old school hockey. But again, when someone kicks sand in your face, you can cower or come right back and show them you won't be pushed around. What I saw Saturday night was the exposing of the Rockets true character. It was only a 4-2 victory at games end, but the win was far greater than that on so many levels.
• Jordon Cooke was terrific. How good was he early in the game and in the third period with several timely saves? I didn't much like his play in Portland despite back-to-back wins because he complicated things by doing too much and not letting the puck hit him. Saturday night, Cooke's positioning was excellent and his athleticism was on display. When he plays like that is he not the best goaltender in the Western Conference?
•  I sure wish Myles Bell would quit teasing me and just go out there and score a hat trick. Bell scored twice in the 4-2 win but has yet to add a three goal game to his resume. I am so happy for Bell that he has regained his form from last season. Bell now has the 6th most goals of any player in the WHL with 23. Not bad for a player who had one goal in 12 games from November 2nd to December 6th.       
• Every once in a while, colour analyst Gord McGarva surprises me with a comment on our radio broadcast. McGarva had this to say about the Rockets 16 game winning streak that came to an end Friday night in a 4-2 setback to the Giants. "It is better to be concerned about winning 16 games in late March than it is now. Sixteen wins in late March means you have won a league title and are off to the Memorial Cup in London, Ontario". True enough. Well said. Sixteen wins are far more important starting in late March then they are now. 
• You can make it back-to-back sellouts for the Rockets. Tip of the cap to those that took in Saturday's game. Interest in the team has never been higher as fans gravitate to a winner. Everyone wants to be associated with success and if being a fan of your local team fills that void, so be it.
• How do you like Tyrell Goulbourne's endorsement on the big screen for Jiffy Lube? He better be getting free oil changes with that endorsement deal. 
• Up next? A six game road trip which includes a four game Central Division swing which starts Wednesday in Edmonton. Lets hope rookie Nick Merkley is back in the line up. While only 16, the kid is a difference maker. Merkley has 10 power play assists. Only Tyson Baillie has more with 11. Merkley and teammate Joe Gatenby return to the team after winning a silver medal at the Under 17's in Nova Scotia. 

Giants end Rockets ridiculous run

• Jackson Houck said his three goals didn't matter. What mattered most to the Vancouver Giants forward was that his team upend the Kelowna Rockets 4-2 last night, ending the visitors 16 game winning streak. Houck was instrumental in the win, handing the Rockets their first loss on the road since a disappointing 6-3 setback in Spokane in late October. 
• This game looked like one team was well rested while the other finally landed in their hotel bed at 4:30 in the morning after beating the Portland Winterhawks the night before. The Rockets looked sluggish. The passing was off. The mental mistakes in their own zone where clearly evident and the decision making when attempting to get pucks towards the goal was off. Conversely, the Giants were on. They were always first to pucks, won the majority of the small battles and played with more desperation. The better team won, and on this night the Giants clearly were.
• The 16 game winning streak was a lot of fun. Every night going into an opponents building and finding a way to win was an amazing thing to be apart of. I will never forget it as the team set a new franchise record for consecutive wins and came two wins shy of tying the league record. What the 2013-2014 edition of the Rockets accomplished will go down as one of my hockey highlites as a broadcaster, and with this team, there are many. 
• The Rockets were playing their 4th game in seven nights. Tonight's rematch against the Giants at Prospera Place is the teams 5th game in eight nights.    

Clean sweep over Winterhawks

• Earning eight points in a seasonal series against the Portland Winterhawks over the last three seasons has almost been impossible for any of the 21 other teams in the WHL. The Kelowna Rockets managed that feat though, with four wins against the defending league champions, who without question will challenge again this season for another trip to the Memorial Cup. The Rockets took advantage of a short staffed team and promptly scored six unanswered goals in a 7-2 win Thursday night at Veteran's Memorial Arena. Myles Bell and Tyson Baillie lead the charge with two goals and two assists in the teams 16th straight road win. That consecutive win streak is two off the league record. After further review, the league record is indeed 18 straight road wins by the Calgary Hitmen in 2000.
• Despite the lopsided score at games end, the first period in particular saw Portland with the slight edge. For the Rockets to give up 18 shots in the opening 20 minutes is almost unheard of. It rarely happens and was a clear indication of how slow of a start the team had. I thought Jordon Cooke struggled early and Winterhawks starter Brendan Burke made some solid stops. Fortunately at periods end the visitors found themselves in a two-two tie.
• The Rockets took over the game in the second period. You could see the momentum shift as the league leaders ramped up their game. For a second straight outing the Rockets were able to chase Burke after Carter Rigby's ugly goal at the side of the Winterhawks net somehow snuck through.
• It was nice to see Jesse Lees score his first goal of the season. A 10 goal man from a year ago, Lees clearly plays in the shadows of Damon Severson, Madison Bowey and Mitch Wheaton. Playing with d-partner Riley Stadel, both players have the ability to shoot the puck and find the back of the net. If Lees can round out his offensive game, the team has six legitimate blue liners that can score.
• Did I expect the lopsided scores? I didn't think the Rockets would manufacture that much offense against the Winterhawks, not on back-to-back nights. If the games would have been closer many so called 'experts' would have been laughing at the Western Conference leaders that they were barely able to get by a Winterhawks team without four key players. But don't let any one tell you that the defending champions are in trouble despite giving up 16 goals in two games. Those people are full of hot air and don't deserve your attention. Only the true hockey fan knows that once all of Portland's players are in place - Matt Dumba included - the defending champions aren't going down without a fight.   
• The Rockets now average five goals per game on the road. That is the best of any team in the 22 league circuit.        
• The Rockets goal differential is now +76. That is +35 better than second place Portland +37 better than third place Edmonton.
• Myles Bell is exactly on pace for the 38 goals he scored one season ago. Despite the slow start, 21 goals after 35 games is an impressive total for the 20 year-old who has regained that confident swagger. His wrist/snap shot is the best I have ever seen. It is lethal from the blue line. Both his goals came on the power play. 
• The win keeps the Rockets ten points up on the surging Victoria Royals. Like the Rockets, the Royals keep winning. The two teams hook up two weeks from now on the Island.
• Lots of NHL scouts at this game. That's what winning does. It gives draft eligible players on the roster a chance to show off their talents. The Flames and Jets were well represented.
• Up next is the second of three games in three nights with another road game in Vancouver Friday night. The two teams met last Saturday at Pacific Coliseum in a 4-2 win. You can join Gord McGarva and myself for the pre-game show on AM 1150 at 7 and the play-by-play at 7:30.

News, quotes and anecdotes

Bell, Goulbourne and Cooke playing B-Ball. 

• Hello 2014. What will the new year bring with it? The Kelowna Rockets are an optimistic group and morale is high. Why wouldn't it be when wins are common place for this team. They aren't letting the success go to their heads though. Like any good athlete in order to have success you have to be confident in your abilities but remain cognoscente of what makes you a good team. If all 20 guys aren't willing to fulfill their role, success won't follow. This team is gifted as a group but not so much as individuals. Perhaps that could be said of any team.   
• I thought Rourke Chartier said it best in a pre-season interview when I asked him about his goal of catching the eye of NHL scouts in his draft year. "It is all about team success. If the team is winning everyone will be recognized in their own way. I am not worried about it as long as the team is winning games."  Pretty mature comment from a 17 year-old player.
• How did the team spend an off day in Portland on January 1st? A quick skate at the rink was followed by a meal in the hotel and then Myles Bell, Tyrell Goulbourne, Jordon Cooke and Tyson Baillie took advantage of the basketball court outside of the hotel. 
• I have been around Myles Bell a lot over the last few years but didn't notice until I saw him on the basketball court that he indeed is left handed. Bell shoots with his left hand and told me he also writes with his left hand. Oddly, he shoots right and also swings a golf club with authority from the right side too.stant General Manager
•  It appears the Portland Winterhawks have parted ways with former Kelowna Rockets forward Shane McColgan. "You want to see a player at 20 jump into a job with a new team and it is going to work out, but it doesn't always work out like that", Winterhawks GM Mike Johnston told me this morning. McColgan spent the first half of the season out of the line up after breaking his thumb. Twice, the now 21 year-old lead the Rockets in scoring.
• It has been interesting to watch newcomer Tait Coughlin, specifically in practice here in Portland. Listed by the Rockets after a strong training camp, Coughlin has some impressive skill for a young player (born in 1997) and he reminds me a bit of Brett Bulmer. Coughlin is also a bigger body at 6'1 and just shy of 180 pounds. Playing junior 'B' on the Island, Coughlin must feel like he has died and gone to 'Hockey Heaven'. The Victoria resident is practicing on a first place team, spending time in a first rate hotel and eating some of the best food junior hockey has to offer. When he returns to his old team he will have many stories to share I'm sure.            
• Dalton Yorke was used as a forward Tuesday night in a win in Portland, and to be honest, I liked him in that position. The rookie had two chances to score and seems more comfortable at that spot on the ice.       
• I know Blades radio guru Les Lazaruk likes to call his team the 'Bridge City Bunch', but shouldn't the Winterhawks be called that? Eight bridges...count them...eight pass over the Willamette River into the downtown core. In Saskatoon aren't there three?   
• Zach Franko plays his 250th career WHL game tonight against the Winterhawks. The best way for him to celebrate would be no less than a two point game to reach the 200 point plateau for his career. 
• Winterhawks head coach Mike Johnston says once his three players return from the World Juniors, they will play the first game back with the Winterhawks before receiving at least a week off. Derek Pouliot, Nic Petan and Taylor Leier will be allowed to go home and recharge their batteries for the second half of the season. "You always have to worry about their mindset, their mentality and their freshness. The young guys that went home for Christmas, now they are back and are energized and fresh but the guys at the World Juniors, I want to make sure they are energized in March, April, May," Johnston added.    
• Small observation after a significant stay in Portland: My straw poll reveals that one out of every four  men in Portland have beards. Oddly, the majority of them ride bikes.  
• Nice to run into Winterhawks Assistant GM Matt Bardsley at the morning skate. He was wielding that impressive WHL Championship ring. Very nice.   
• This is our 4th day in Portland. We arrived here at the hotel in the early morning hours of Sunday December 29th. It has been a good, yet long stay in the city of over 600 thousand. You couldn't wish for a better place to stay for an extended period of time. Again the Crown Plaza staff have been amazing. The rooms are excellent, the food is great and even the workout room (ya, I don't just sit around all day on the road) is solid. If you are ever visiting the Portland area, I strongly recommend this hotel.   
• Did you know Portland is the 5th healthiest city in America? Guess I better watch myself at the buffet table.
• Gord McGarva joins me on the broadcast tonight from Veterans Memorial Arena. We are on the air at 6:30 with the pre-game show and the play-by-play at 7.

Ringing in the new year with a ring-a-ding-dong-dandy!

A sold out Moda Center

• If you are a Kelowna Rockets fan, your team rang in the new year the right way Tuesday night in Portland. If you are a Winterhawks fan, like a loud mouthed guest at a New Years Eve party that is as drunk as a skunk, you just wanted them to leave. The Rockets scored early and often in a convincing 9-3 win last night at Moda Center. Madison Bowey, the games 1st star, scored once and added three assists. Bowey's team scored three times in the first, second and third periods to extend their winning streak to a team record 15th game. 
• The Rockets start was the key in the lopsided win. The first five minutes was played exclusively inside the Winterhawks zone. Have you heard the coaches using the term. 'coming in waves'? The Rockets did that with line after line buzzing inside the attacking zone. Carter Rigby would score less than two minutes into the game off a beautiful feed from Rourke Charter and the visitors were off to the races.   
• Eleven of the Rockets 18 skaters registered a  point. Chartier, who was quieter than a field mouse in October (no points in 10 games), had a career high four point game. Chartier now has five goals in his last seven games and 12 points in his last ten games.        
• Tyrell Goulbourne shouldn't be complaining about playing on a line with Myles Bell and Tyson Baillie. Goulbourne has points in five of his last six games and collected a goal and two assists in the win.
• They are contrasting styles and contrasting personalities, but Madison Bowey and Cole Martin sure compliment one another. Martin's strong defensive play allows Bowey to take off and create offensive.  Both players ended the game a +4.  Martin is now an impressive +37 on the season.
• Shane McColgan played against his old team for the first time Tuesday night. The now 21 year-old (He turned 21 today) saw limited time early in the game but saw increased ice time in the third period. McColgan was his agitating self but receives no where near the top end minutes on the power play or with the Winterhawks top players like he was granted during his time in a Rockets uniform.
• The Winterhawks played Tuesday's game without their top four players, but the Rockets deserve credit for not letting the home team off the hook. Even without those key guys, no one among the 11 thousand spectators that sold-out the Moda Center would have envisioned the score being 9-3 at games end. 
• The power play struck for two goals, but the real story was the teams ability to again create good scoring chances shorthanded. Much like we saw in Vancouver Saturday night, several odd man rushes resulted in glorious chances to score. Damon Severson's goal shorthanded less than 5 minutes into the third period was a big goal, considering the Winterhawks had reduced the deficit to three with a 5 on 3 goal of their own with significant time left on the clock. Severson's goal essentially put the game on ice.  
• The Rockets hadn't score 9 goals on the road since a 9-5 win in Regina in 2009. Oddly enough, Shane McColgan had 2+3=5 in that game. The Winterhawks haven't given up 9 goals at home since  a loss to Spokane back in 2007. 
• The month of December will go down in Kelowna Rockets history as the best ever. The team won all 12 games during the month. Last season the team was 9 and 2 in 11 games during the month.
• The Rockets were an incredible 57-9-2-2 in 2013. To that I say.....Happy New Year!!!!