Tonight’s Preview: The Kelowna Rockets
host the Moose Jaw Warriors tonight in the lone meeting of the season between
the two teams. Last season, in Moose Jaw, Jackson Whistle earned the shutout in
a 1-0 win. The game, December 16th, saw the lone goal come off the
stick of Dillon Dube at the 17:43 mark of the second period. The Warriors last
made an appearance at Prospera Place February 14th, 2015 in a 6-0
loss. Jake Morrissey earned the shutout with a 28 save performance. The last
time a Warriors player scored on a Rockets goalie was in the third period of a
game in Moose Jaw December 11, 2013. Scott Cooke scored a third period goal on
Jordon Cooke. No, I did not make that up. The shutout streak for the Rockets
against the Warriors is 131:34 seconds. The Rockets are riding a four game
winning streak against the Warriors. The last loss came December 10, 2011 in a
4-1 setback in Moose Jaw. Shane McColgan scored the lone goal while Rockets
assistant coach Adam Brown was tagged with the loss.
Rewards on Roady: The Rockets
completed a three game road trip Monday afternoon with a 5-4 loss in Everett.
Despite the setback, the team earned four out of possible 6 points and
out-scored the opponent 17-10. The Rockets beat the Victoria Royals by scores
of 4-3 and 9-2. The team has played a BC Division high 26 road games and head
back on the road to face the Vancouver Giants in Langley on Friday night.
That’s a Fact Jack: Defenceman Gordie
Ballhorn returns to the line-up tonight after missing 21 games after being
injured November 22nd against Victoria…Jack Cowell has 2+2=4 in his
last two games. It took him 26 games to score his first-two goals of his WHL
career…The Rockets are playing the second game of four games in 6 nights. The
Rockets visit the Vancouver Giants Friday before welcoming Portland Saturday
night…Cal Foote’s penalty Monday afternoon in Everett was his first minor
penalty in 11 games…The Rockets have surrendered 5 or more goals 8 times this
season. The teams’ record, not surprisingly, is 0-7-1-0…4 of the Rockets next 6
games are against teams from outside the BC Division…Four of the next five
games will be played on home ice…Calvin Thurkauf has points in 7 of his last 10
games…Tomas Soustal hit the 100 point mark for his career with two assists
Monday in Everett……Dillon Dube has been held off the score-sheet just 4 times
this season….7 of the teams last 10 games have been decided by a goal …Carsen
Twarynski, a third round NHL pick of the Philadelphia Flyers, is making his Kelowna
Rockets debut tonight against the Warriors…Reid Gardiner and Erik Gardiner are
the 6th set of Rockets brothers to play with one another. They join
Kiel and Gavin McLeod, Lucas and Evan Bloodoff, Josh and Jake Morrissey, Joe
and Danny Gatenby and Cal and Nolan Foote…The Rockets are 15-6-3-0 in their
last 24 games and have points in 16 of their last 21 (13-5-3-0)….Defenceman Cal
Foote and forward Kole Lind have been named to the roster for the CHL Top
Prospects game.
Broadcasters Bits: The Rockets are the
only team in the WHL with two players on their current roster that are first
round NHL draft picks. Nick Merkley was chosen in the 1srt round by the Arizona
Coyotes while Lucas Johansen was selected in the opening round by the
Washington Capitals…GM Bruce Hamilton has
traded/released
six players from the teams opening day roster…Kole Lind had his 13 game point
streak snapped December 18th against the Edmonton Oil Kings. It is
the longest point streak by a Rockets player this season …Calvin Thurkauf was
named the WHL Player of the Week December 7th to 11th …The Rockets
were 8-3-2-0 in December...The Rockets were 6-4-0-0 in 10 games in November
after going 8-4-0-0 in 12 games in October…The Rockets are the only team in the
WHL that has failed to surrender a shorthanded goal against this season…The
Rockets are 9-9-0-0 against BC based teams this season…Michael Herringer has started in 28 of the last 36 games…The
Rockets are 8-1-2-0 against U.S Division teams this season…January Birthdays:
Devante Stephens turned 19 January 2nd. Reid Gardiner turns 21 tomorrow
(January 19th). Assistant Coach
Kris Mallette turns significantly older on that same day. Michael Herringer (Jan
26th) also has a birthday in January…The Kelowna Rockets made four deals
in advance of the WHL trade deadline. The Rockets acquired 19 year-old forward
Carsen Twarynski and a conditional third round bantam pick for 18 year-old Jake
Kryski. The team shipped 18 year-old Jordan Borstmayer to the Vancouver Giants
for a 5th round bantam pick. The
team acquired Reid Gardiner from the Prince Albert Raiders for a 1st
round pick, a 5th round pick and a conditional 5th round
selection. To make room for Gardiner, Riley Stadel was sent to Edmonton for a 5th
round selection.
Game Notes Compiled by Regan Bartel of AM 1150
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