Game Day: Rockets set to battle Blazers
Rockets vs. Blazers
Saturday, February 2nd, 2019
Game Time – 7:05 pm
Game Day Preview: The Kelowna Rockets face the Kamloops Blazers for the 6th time this season. The Rockets are 1-3-1-0 in the seasonal series. The Blazers have won by scores of 4-1, 3-1, 3-2 and 4-3. The Rockets lone victory came December 29th in a 2-1 win. Yes, three of the five games have been decided by a single goal. These two teams are separated by one point in the BC Division standings, with the Blazers holding one game in hand. Leif Mattson leads the team with 2+3=5 in the five games. Nolan Foote and Kyle Topping each have 2+2=4. Roman Basran has appeared in three games while James Porter has started in two of them. Basran has allowed 8 goals against while Porter has allowed 7. The Rockets are coming off a 4-0 loss last night to the Spokane Chiefs. It marked the fifth time this season the team has been shut out, with four of those coming on the road. Following tonight’s game, the Rockets host Spokane Wednesday Overall, the Rockets are 4-8-2-1 in 15 games since the Christmas break. The Rockets are 16-15-4-1 in 36 games under head coach Adam Foote.
Who’s Hot: Kyle Topping has 6+8=14 in his last 14 games…Nolan Foote has 6+6=12 in his last 12 games….Lassi Thomson has 4+3=7 in his last 12 games…The Rockets penalty killing unit is 45 for 55 in their last 13 road games…The Rockets have points in 12 of their last 16 home games (9-4-3-0).
Broadcasters Notebook: The team has called up forward Cole Carriere. Carriere is a fourth round bantam pick from 2017…Rookie Trevor Wong plays his fourth game with the Rockets this evening. The 15 year-old made his debut October 27th against Prince George. Wong was the Rockets first round pick (18th) in the 2018 WHL bantam draft….The Rockets have 18 games left in the regular season. Of those 18, 12 are against teams in the BC Division…The team will play three games in three nights March 1st, 2nd and 3rd…..The team has been out-shot in 13 of the last 14 games…The Rockets are 5-8-1-0 in 14 games against a US Division team this season. Three of the four wins have come against Tri City with a single victory over Everett and Seattle…The team plays 6 more games against US Division rivals with three games against Spokane, two with Portland and a single against Everett.…The Rockets have played 15-one goal games at home this season. Last year they played 15-one goal games at Prospera Place…The team has played in nine-one goal games on the road…The Rockets are 8-12-2-1 against BC Division teams this season…Five members of the Kelowna Rockets have made NHL Central Scouting’s latest rankings. Lassi Thomson is rated 14th, Nolan Foote is ranked 26th and Kaedan Korczak is 31st. Kyle Topping is 195th while Alex Swetlikoff is 217th, Among goalies, Roman Basran is 11th among North American netminders…..Adam Foote was officially named the new head coach of the Kelowna Rockets on October 23, 2018 replacing Jason Smith.,,The Rockets are 7-11-1-0 when playing the second game of back-to-backs….The team acquired 20 year-old Shael Higson from the Brandon Wheat Kings for 20 year-old Braydyn Chizen and a 5th round bantam pick. The team then claimed 20 year-old defenceman Matt Barberis off waivers from the Vancouver Giants. To make room for Barberis, the team released overage forward Lane Zablocki, who is now with the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers.
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: February 1, 2019 @ Spokane (4-0 L)
Last shutout at home: December 7, 2018 vs. Victoria (2-0 W – Roman Basran 16 saves)
Last shutout on the road: January 18, 2019 @ Everett (2-0 W – James Porter 40 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)
Overtime Games: vs. Seattle (3-2 Loss) January 30, 2019, @ Kamloops (3-2 Loss) December 28, 2018, vs. Saskatoon (5-4 Loss) December 1, 2018, @ Tri City Nov 30, 2018 (3-2 win), @ PG (4-3 Loss) November 14, 2018, vs. PG (4-3 win) October 27, 2018.
Game Notes Compiled by Regan Bartel of AM 1150
