Game Day! Courier preview
r By Doyle Potenteau – Kelowna Daily Courier
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r The last time the Kelowna Rockets and Prince George Cougars met, it was a one-sided affair. Tonight, judging from statistical appearances, it appears the Rockets will once again go Cougar hunting.
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r In their first meeting with the Cougars on Oct. 10, the Rockets drilled Prince George 7-1 at Prospera Place. That game featured two teams going in opposite directions, with the Cougars on a four-game losing skid, while the Rockets were on a five-game winning streak.
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r For tonight‘s contest, it‘s much the same – the rebuilding Rockets (8-7-1-0) have decent results lately, albeit with a 2-3 run, while the Cougars (3-12-0-0) are on yet another downer, as they were for most of October.
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r Last month, Prince George lost nine of 10 games, with the Cougars‘ sole win being a 5-4 shootout win on home ice over Chilliwack on Oct. 24, a decision that snapped an eight-game losing streak.
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r Further, the Cougars lost a two-game home set to Tri-City, losing 3-2 and 4-0. The Americans (13-3-0-0), outshot their hosts 77-47 over the weekend series. Contrast that to Kelowna‘s last two results: A 4-3 loss to Spokane (7-6-1-0) and a 4-1 win over Calgary (13-5-0-0).
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r Yet, on Tuesday, the Rockets said they‘re not preparing for Prince George as much as they are working on their own plans.
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r “We had a tough outing against Spokane,” Rockets head coach Ryan Huska said of the Chiefs, who are much better than their record indicates. “Right now, we‘re looking to get our good play back with a good, hard-working game.
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r “At this point of the season, who you‘re playing isn‘t the biggest thing; it‘s how you‘re playing, and how the team is playing according to its structure.”
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r Player-wise, the Rockets are still the knicked-up bunch they‘ve been since season‘s beginning, with five players on today‘s injury list: Goaltender Mark Guggenberger (hernia, four weeks), forwards Evan Bloodoff (knee, five months), Codey Ito (ribs, day to day) and Max Adolph (ankle, one week) and blue-liner Kyle Verdino (ankle, knee, 1-2 weeks).
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r The Cougs are only reporting one injury, forward Brett Connolly (hip, 1-2 weeks). A Prince George product, Connolly was last season‘s CHL rookie of the year, having tallied 30 goals and 60 points as a 16-year-old. This season, the 6-foot-2 left winger, has six points (4-2) in seven games. His last game was Oct. 3, a 9-2 loss to Lethbridge.
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r In other news, the Rockets are fighting the good fight against the H1N1 flu that‘s sweeping through North America.
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r Kelowna‘s dressing room features four hand sanitizers that were installed at season‘s beginning, and each player has his own water bottle and individual bench towels (commonly used for wiping sweat off faces and visors).
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r “We‘re taking as many steps as we can to keep (the flu) out of our dressing room,” said Huska. “In our line of work, (the flu) can be tough. We‘re on the bus a lot, where there‘s a lot of recycled air, and if one guy gets it, it doesn‘t take long before everyone else is in the same boat.
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r “We haven‘t had any symptoms yet, but we‘re knocking on wood.”
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r In related news, the Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL had to postpone their Sunday home game against the Montreal Junior due to sickness and injuries. The Wildcats had only 11 players who were healthy enough to suit up. The QMJHL made the decision to postpone the game 90 minutes before the scheduled local 4 p.m. start time.
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r “Because of the recent announcement that 100 NHL players are ill, because of all of the hype surrounding H1N1, this just adds fuel to the fire,” Wildcats general manager Bill Schurman told The Canadian Press. “We‘re trying to be respectful for that hype, but we‘re also trying to diminish it because nobody on our team has been diagnosed with H1N1.
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r “When you add up the players lost to injury and sickness, we just didn‘t have enough players to play a game today.
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r “We only had 11 players, and the league minimum to have a game is 16 (players).”
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r Moncton had just one goaltender, four defencemen and six forwards who were healthy enough to play. Are the 11 sick players experiencing a reaction from the H1N1 vaccine or seasonal flu vaccine?
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r “A lot of it could be related,” said Wildcats athletic therapist Guy Savoie. “It‘s a common side-effect from any vaccination, especially the H1N1. It‘s a stronger virus, although it‘s not a live virus, like some of the vaccines are.
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r “Some of these side-effects can last in your body up to 48 hours after taking the H1N1 vaccine. If they don‘t get seriously better within 48 hours, then you have to start to wonder if it‘s H1N1 related or if it‘s only a side effect of the vaccination. I want to stress that nobody on this team has been diagnosed with H1N1.”
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r ICE CHIPS: The Rockets are 5-5 in their past 10 games, while the Cougars are 1-9. . . . Kelowna‘s home record is 6-3-1-0, while the Cougars‘ road record is 1-6. . . . Special teams: Power play – Kelowna, 5th at 25.3 per cent (23/91); Prince George, 21st at 12.7 per cent (10/79). Penalty killing – Kelowna, 12th at 79.7 per cent (16/79); Prince George, 22nd, and last, at 68.3 per cent (26/82). . . . Kelowna‘s top scorers are RW Stepan Novotny (12-9-21), RW Shane McColgan (6-15-21), RW Kyle St. Denis (8-8-16), LW Brandon McMillan (4-11-15) and RW Mitchell Callahan (5-8-13). Prince George‘s top scorers are C Marek Viedensky (2-10-12), LW Alex Rodgers (5-4-9), D Jesse Fors-berg (1-7-8), Connolly and LW Del Cowan (3-3-6).
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