Rockets Almost Back to a Full Lineup
Wednesday held good and bad news for the Rockets.
The bad news was obvious, the Rockets fell 2-1 in a hard fought battle to the Prince George Cougars after outshooting them 33-26 but being shut down by a hot goalie.
The good news was that the Rockets will be nearing a full lineup on Friday when Calvin Thurkauf and Lucas Johansen rejoin the club.
Thurkauf and Johansen will be meeting the Rockets in Prince George and will be in the lineup on Friday night.
Dillon Dube was also released by the Calgary Flames but his return to the Rockets is still unknown.
Thurkauf and Johansen are welcome additions to the Rockets lineup.
Both players offense will be needed if the Cougars goaltender continues his play from last game.
Last season Calvin Thurkauf played 61 games for the Rockets recording 18 goals and 27 assists for 45 points as well as a +19 plus/minus record and 54 penalty minutes.
Lucas Johansen played in 69 games for the Rockets last season posting 10 goals and 39 assists for 49 points, a +11 plus/minus, and 20 penalty minutes.
The lone remaining Rocket at NHL camp is Nick Merkley who is still at the Arizona Coyotes training camp.
The Rockets felt a bit of relief in last night’s game as Devante Stephens and Braydyn Chizen made their returns to the back end.
Head coach Jason Smith says having those guys back helped a lot.
“Obviously they’re big parts of the future of the team and us growing as a team” said Smith. “They’re going to play minutes and they’re going to be a big part of the success of the team. We’ll get things going and we’ll get our lineup rolling and they’ll be big contributors.”
Devante Stephens was happy to be back and he’s eager to get things going again with the Rockets.
“It’s nice to be back and see the guys and everything. It was a fun time at camp, I enjoyed myself and I learned a lot of things and I’m just going to try to bring that back and bring it into my game here” Stephens said. “Tonight felt good at some points… I was still a little jet lagged and stuff but my feet will get going and I just need to get some time to get some chemistry with the boys. I haven’t been practicing with them for very long but that’ll come with time.”
The Rockets are set to test their revamped lineup when they square up with the Prince George Cougars on Friday night at 7PM, and then again on Saturday night at 7PM.
Both games are in Prince George.
