Preview: Rockets kick off prairie road trip in Saskatchewan

The Kelowna Rockets departed Wednesday morning for their annual prairie road trip. The team will travel upwards of 4241 kilometres across four provinces over 11 days, and play six games in nine nights.

Kelowna will open their East Division road swing tomorrow night against the reigning WHL champion Prince Albert Raiders at the Art Hauser Centre. Following Friday night’s game, the Rockets will then head to Saskatoon to take on the Blades.

Head coach Adam Foote said that the long trip is good not only for bonding but also to stay focused.

“It’s going to be a good trip for us,” said Foote. “It’s great because it’s a lot of bus time, a lot of time together. I think it’s good to be out on the bus at this time of the year with the distractions of the holiday season coming up. It’s probably good were on the road and not in a mall or somewhere like that.”

Rockets forward Michael Farren will have the chance to play against former for the first time on the road Saturday night. The former Blade played two seasons for Saskatoon before being traded to the Rockets last October.

“I think we’re on a hot streak here,” said Farren. “I think if we keep riding the wave; forechecking and working hard, not stopping, then good things will keep happening. This road trip is good for us, it’s fun on the bus. Some of the guys bring some movies, we’ll watch those and play some card games.

“I’m really looking forward to the game against Saskatoon. It’s going pretty exciting to see my billets, my friends, and old teammates again this weekend.”

The Rockets are 5-0-0-1 in their last six games. They were last in action on Saturday night when they took down the Prince George Cougars with a 3-2 win on Teddy Bear Toss night.

Prospects Steel Quiring, Jackson DeSouza, and Deegan Mofford have joined the Rockets for the trip.

Prince Albert last played on the weekend, they swept the Swift Current Broncos in a home-and-home series. The Raiders moved up to the fourth spot on the week 12 edition of the Kia CHL Top-10 Rankings for the 2019-20 season. The weekly rankings of the CHL’s Top-10 teams are selected by a panel of National Hockey League scouts.

The Blades will be well-rested and waiting for the Rockets, they have tomorrow night off. They’ve been out of action since last Saturday when they fell to the Medicine Hat Tigers 5-3.

B.C. Division Standings

East Division Standings

2019-2019 Season Series vs Prince Albert Raiders: 1-0-0-0

Jan. 19, 2019: Prince Albert 3 at Kelowna 4 SO

2019-2019 Season Series vs Saskatoon Blades: 0-0-0-1

Dec. 1, 2018: Saskatoon 5 at Kelowna 4 OT

Players to watch:

Kelowna: 

• Rockets captain Nolan Foote lead the team to victory last weekend with two goals. The 19-year-old was invited to Hockey Canada’s 2020 World Junior selection camp earlier this week, he’ll depart the Rockets after this weekend to attend the camp.

• The newest Rocket, Jadon Joseph, had assists on both of Foote’s goals. In two games with the Rockets, he has a faceoff percentage of 61.4%, winning 27 of 44 draws.

Prince Albert

• Washington Capitals prospect Aliaksei Protas is tied for the league lead in scoring with 42 points (18G, 24A), he has zero penalty minutes through 27 games played.

• Defenceman Kaiden Guhle is listed as an ‘A’ rated prospect on the NHL Central Scouting’s updated ‘Players to Watch’ list, his A rating indicates that he’s a first-round candidate for the upcoming 2020 NHL Draft. Guhle was the first overall selection during the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft.

Saskatoon

• Goaltender Nolan Maier was teammates with Foote, Kaedan Korczak and Dillion Hamaliuk on Team WHL at the 2019 CIBC Canada Russia series a couple of weeks ago.

• Defenceman Scott Walford was traded to the Blades from the Victoria Royals ahead of the season. The Montreal Canadiens prospect has 5 goals and 12 assists in 29 games this season.

Puck drop is set for 5:0 pm PST both nights. You can listen to the game on AM 1150, watch on WHL Live or follow the Rockets Twitter for live updates.