Rockets hit the road for a three game trip starting with Tri-City
The Kelowna Rockets visit the Toyota Centre in Kennewick, WA on Wednesday night to take on the Tri-City Americans.
The Rockets have won their last three games, including one against the Americans. Kelowna defeated Tri-City 4-3 in overtime last Friday at Prospera Place. Assistant coach Kris Mallette says the key to continuing the teams recent success is not to be content, but to always push for more.
“We’ve had success in our last few games because we’ve been working hard in all three zones and playing much quicker hockey as a team. Our message as coaches is to continue to build on our recent success but not be satisfied. We remind them daily of what keys have led to their success – short shifts, discipline, and quick support to name a few,” Mallette said. “We have to approach every game with the same mindset. If we play our game the right way but remain aware of our opponents tendencies we should be in every game.”
This is the third meeting of the season between the two clubs. They first met on October 17th at the Toyota Centre and the Rockets fell 2-1 in Kennewick that evening. They met again last Friday, October 27th in Kelowna and the Rockets made a late third period comeback and won 4-3 in overtime. Wednesday night will be the final meeting of 2017 between these two clubs, as they don’t face each other again until January 3rd, 2018 when Tri-City visits Prospera Place for the fourth and final time of the regular season.
The Rockets enter Wednesday night with a record of 7-5-1-1 on the season giving them 16 points, placing them second in the B.C. Division, two points ahead of the third place Prince George Cougars. Victoria sits in the top spot in the division with 25 points, but the Rockets have three games in hand on the Royals.
The Americans head into Wednesday night with a record of 9-4-2-0 giving them 20 points, and placing them in first in the U.S. Division, two points ahead of both the Portland Winterhawks and the Spokane Chiefs.
The next stop for the Rockets is in Victoria where they play back-to-back nights against the Royals on November 3rd and 4th.
Kelowna is back home again on Friday, November 10th when they host the Vancouver Giants followed by the Red Deer Rebels the very next night.
Tickets are available for Rockets home games through selectyourtickets.com, at the Prospera Place box office or by phone at 250-762-5050.
