Game Day: Rockets Welcome Hurricanes
Tonight’s Preview: The Kelowna Rockets play their 47th game of the season tonight when they host the Lethbridge Hurricanes. These two teams met back on December 7th with the Rockets earning a 5-2 win. The Rockets close out the seasonal series in Lethbridge on February 24th. Kelowna is playing game two of five straight on home ice. The Rockets host Vancouver tomorrow night before welcoming Kamloops next Wednesday and concluding the home stand against Seattle one week from this evening. The month comes to a close on January 29th with a trip to Kent to face the T-Birds. The Rockets enter tonight’s game with just two wins in their last seven home games. Despite the lack of success at home, the Rockets have points in eleven of their last sixteen road games (8-5-1-2). Overall, they have won five of their last eight games.
Who’s Hot: Colton Sissons has goals in three straight games…Carter Rigby has seven points (3+4=7) in his last six games…Brett Bulmer has thirty-five points in twenty-eight games this season (19+16=35). Bulmer has points in fourteen of his last nineteen games (15+6=21)…Shane McColgan has fifteen points (4+11=15) in his last seventeen games…Adam Brown has started in goal in thirty-two of the first forty-six games. Who’s Cold: Cody Chikie has been held off the score-sheet in 11 of his last 12 games. Zach Franko has one goal in his last 16 games.
This and That: Thirteen of Colton Sissons 24 goals have been scored on the road this season…Brett Lyon has 1+2=3 in five games with the Rockets since the 20 year-old was acquired from the Moose Jaw Warriors at the trade deadline…..Defenceman Myles Bell has 23 points this season. Fifteen of those points (65%) have been recorded on the road…Zach Franko has 7 goals after 46 games this season. Last season Franko had 11 goals after 46 games…Four members of the Kelowna Rockets are rated in NHL Central Scouting’s mid-term rankings. Captain Colton Sissons is ranked 14th among North American skaters for this summer’s draft. Teammate Damon Severson is rated 46th, rookie defenceman Cole Martin is ranked 146th and Colton Heffley (191) is also rated. Both Sissons and Severson will participate in the CHL Top Prospects game at Prospera Place at the end of the month…The Rockets were 3-5-0-2 in ten games with head coach Ryan Huska at the World Junior Hockey Championships…The Rockets are just 20-18-0-2 in their last 40 home games dating back to last season…In eight of their last ten wins, the Rockets have given up two or less goals per game…The Rockets are 14-11-1-3 with Brett Bulmer in the line-up….Tyrell Goulbourne leads the team with 11 fighting majors. Mitchell Chapman has nine….The Rockets are 1-8-0-1 when giving up five or more goals…Last season they gave up five or more goals in ten games…The Rockets have been involved in twenty two-one goal games this season. The Rockets are 10-7-1-4 in those twenty-two games…The Rockets are playing their 1487th regular season game tonight and will hit the 15 hundred mark when they host Red Deer on February 18th…Birthdays. Shane McColgan turned 19 (Jan 1), Austin Ferguson turned 17 on Wednesday (Jan 11th) and Tyrell Goulbourne turns 18 (Jan 26) later this month…Following this five game home stand, the Rockets play 12 of their final 22 games on the road…Zach Franko has scored in five consecutive shootout situations. The 18 year-olds only miss came on opening night against Everett…Only Franko and Colton Sissons have played in all 46 regular season games this season.