Coach calls for defense
r By Warren Henderson- Kelowna Capital News
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r Twelve goals surrendered in two games wasn’t Ryan Huska’s idea of a smooth start to the 2009-10 Western Hockey League season.
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r Little surprise then that the Kelowna Rockets’ focus in practice this week has much more to do with defending than attacking.
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r “We’re spending a lot of time concentrating on our defensive zone play and working at doing a much better job of winning the battles along the boards,” said Huska, the Rockets head coach.
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r “We need a lot more awareness in our zone than we saw in our first two games.”
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r The Rockets emerged from opening weekend with just a single point after losing 6-5 in overtime to the Vancouver Giants Thursday, then dropping a 6-1 verdict to the Tri-City Americans Saturday in Kennewick, Wash.
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r With a relatively young defensive corps in front of him, second-year netminder Adam Brown saw plenty of rubber—75 shots —over his first 122 minutes of the regular season.
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r “I thought Adam was pretty good in Tri-City, he made some key saves or the score might have been worse,” said Huska. “I think for a young goalie, to take some time to adjust is kind of expected. He’ll play the bulk of the games early on for us and it’ll be a challenge for him. But I think after he gets a few games under his belt, he should settle in.”
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r With no fewer than nine new faces expected to crack the club’s roster, the Rockets fully expect their share of growing pains.
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r Huska said it’s vital for the club to exercise patience, particularly through the early stages of the season.
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r “With a young team, it’s about the process each and every day,” said Huska. “We have to see improvements every day and we want to see hunger went we go into games. The sooner we can pick things up, the better we’re going to be as a hockey team.”
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r The fate of two veterans for this season remain in limbo as Tyler Myers remains with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, while centre Colin Long was assigned this week to the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League.
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r Huska said the Rockets are preparing for the strong possibility that neither will be back, even though Long has yet to sign a pro deal with the Phoenix Coyotes.
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r “It’s best for our group not to wait around wondering, to have this hang over their heads,” said Huska. “If we get someone back, it’s a bonus but we have to move on and plan to be without them.
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r “We’re fully expecting Colin to play in the AHL, he’s had a good camp,” said Huska. ”We’re also expecting Tyler to continue to get better and that the Sabres will give him the opportunity to play some games early in the season.”
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r The Rockets will visit the Kamloops Friday, then will return home to host the Blazers Saturday, 7 p.m. at Prospera Place.
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