Game Day |Rockets enter the eye of the storm in Lethbridge tonight
Rockets @ Hurricanes
Wednesday, December 12th, 2018
Game Time – 7:05 pm
Game Day Preview: The Kelowna Rockets play game two of a four-game Central Division road trip tonight in Lethbridge against the Hurricanes. The Rockets are an impressive 7-1-0-0 in their last 8 visits to Lethbridge dating back to the 2012-2013 season. The Rockets are coming off a 3-1 win last night over the Kootenay Ice. Leif Mattson scored twice while Kyle Topping scored his 13th of the campaign in the teams 15th win of the season. The Rockets were 3 for 4 on the power play. James Porter made 28 saves in the victory as the Rockets have now earned points in five straight (4-0-1-0). The Rockets are 11-5-2-0 in 18 games under head coach Adam Foote.
Who’s Hot: Nolan Foote has points in 8 of his last 10 games. Foote has 7+5=12 over that stretch. Leif Mattson has 6 goals in his last 8 games. The 19-year-old has registered at least one shot on goal in 31 of the teams 32 games this season. Kyle Topping has registered a point in 24 of the teams 32 games this season. In his last five appearances, goaltender James Porter has stopped 141 of the last 151 shots (.933 save percentage) he has faced. The Rockets penalty killing unit is 18 for 18 in their last four road games.
Broadcasters Notebook: The team has added 15-year-old Jackson Desouza to the roster for this road trip. The fourth round WHL Bantam pick in May is playing this season with the Okanagan Rockets of the BCMMHL….The Rockets made a change behind the bench Saturday, mutually agreeing to part ways with assistant coach Travis Crickard. Crickard joined the Rockets August 6, 2014, originally taking over from Kim Dillabaugh, who left the team to take a full-time position with the NHL’s LA Kings…The Rockets have acquired the playing rights to 17-year-old forward Alex Swetlikoff from the Lethbridge Hurricanes for a 4th round bantam pick. Swetlikoff, a Kelowna product, was originally drafted in the third round by the Seattle Thunderbirds. This season, Swetlikoff, who is committed to playing NCAA hockey at the University of Denver…Lassi Thomson (Finland) and Libor Zabranski (Czech Republic) have been invited to the training camp for the upcoming World Junior Hockey Championships….The Rockets traded 19-year-old Jack Cowell to the Kootenay Ice November 29th for a third-round bantam pick. The trade was voided when Cowell failed to report… The Rockets are 6-8-1-0 against BC Division teams this season….The Rockets have only one December birthday to celebrate. Lane Zablocki officially turns 20 on December 27th….Four members of the Kelowna Rockets have been named to NHL Central Scouting’s November “Players to Watch’ List. Forward Nolan Foote is an ‘A’ prospect, meaning a first-round candidate. Kaedan Korczak is a ‘B’ prospect which means he is a second or third round candidate. Roman Basran/Lassi Thomson are ‘C’ prospects, which means he could be taken in the third to the seventh round…Adam Foote was officially named the new head coach of the Kelowna Rockets on October 23, 2018, replacing Jason Smith.,,The Rockets are 3-7-1-0 when playing the second game of back-to-backs.
Season Highs/Lows:
Most goals scored: 8 @ Victoria October 19/18 (8-2 W)
Most goals allowed: 9 vs. Seattle October 10th, 2018 (9-6 L)
Most shots on net: 45 @ Seattle October 6th, 2018 (4-1 L).
Fewest shots on net: 13 @ Edmonton November 17, 2018 (3-1 L)
Most shots allowed: 50 @ Portland November 10, 2018 (3-0 L)
Fewest shots allowed: 16 vs. Victoria December 7, 2018 (2-0 win)
Last time shut out at home: October 3rd, 2018 vs. Vancouver (5-0 L)
Last time shut out on road: November 10, 2018 @ Portland (3-0 L)
Last shutout at home: December 7, 2018 vs. Victoria (2-0 W – Roman Basran 16 saves)
Most power play goals allowed: 4 vs. Seattle October 10th, 2018 (9-6 L). T-Birds were 4/5 on power play.
Most power play goals scored: 4 @ Victoria October 19, 2018 (8-2 W)
Roster Stats:
Player total: 22
Year by Year Breakdown:
20’s (1998) – 3 Gally, Zablocki, Chizen
19’s (1999) – 4 Topping, Mattson, Gardiner, Bruggen-Cate
18’s (2000) – 8 Farren, Thomson, Porter, Foote, Zabransky, Kindree, Brennan, Steffler,
17’s (2001) – 6 Korczak, Crosbie, Basran, Liwiski, Wilton, Augustine
16’s (2002) – 1 Ernst
Game Notes Compiled by Regan Bartel of AM 1150
