Rockets looking to end losing streak against Giants

[Malc]

By Warren Henderson

The Kelowna Rockets have a big, fat zero to show for their five meetings against the Vancouver Giants this season.

Not surprisingly, it’s a glaring statistic that doesn’t sit well with defenceman Tyler Myers or his teammates.

But as the clubs square off tonight at Prospera Place for the sixth time, Myers feels the Rockets are better equipped to challenge the Western Conference leaders than at any time this season.

With the likes of newcomers of Mikael Backlund, Ian Duval and Mark Guggenberger settling in, and the return of an injured Kyle St. Denis to the lineup, the Rockets are on their most productive run of the campaign.

Kelowna has won seven of its last eight games, outscoring the opposition 35-10 in the process.

“Now that we have all the guys back and everybody’s been together for a while, I think we have a different atmosphere in the room,” said the 6-foot-7.5 Myers.

“All the guys in the room are learning how to win, and our last 10 games or so have been pretty good for us, so we want to continue that trend against Vancouver.”

Still, Myers and the Rockets (33-19-1-2) know the Giants’ stellar record (47-5-0-3) hasn’t come by accident or as the result of plain, old good luck

With coach Don Hay pulling the strings, Vancouver has earned a reputation as one of junior hockey’s hardest working teams.

But it’s not just work ethic that makes the Giants tough to play against.

“They play really well as a team, they buy into what their team is all about and they’re very competitive,” said Myers.

“You can tell that they really want to win and, you know, we’re starting to get that attitude around here, too, so it should be a good matchup against them from here on in.”

While the Giants are well out of range in the standings with a 28-point lead on the Rockets, Kelowna would like nothing more than to make life difficult for their B.C. rivals over the final three meetings.

Forward Cody Almond said both teams will have a better idea of where they stand after tonight’s game.

“It definitely is a measure of where we’re at right now,” said Almond, who has 51 points this season.

“It’s a good test for us and we’ve been playing well lately.

“They’ve become a big rival of ours and they’re a team we’re going to have to prove we can beat if we want to go far in the playoffs.

“It’s a big game for both of us.”

The Rockets will host the Prince George Cougars on Saturday, before heading south to visit the Portland Winterhawks on Monday.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similkameen/kelownacapitalnews/sports/39542774.html

[Malc]

It‘s not hard to get up to play the Giants. Or it shouldn‘t be. Fast becoming the Western Hockey League‘s flagship franchise, Vancouver has lost only five times in regulation with eight total defeats through 55 games this season. The Kelowna Rockets aren‘t responsible for any of those outcomes – winless in five tries against the Giants to date – but they hope to change that with tonight‘s tilt versus visiting Vancouver (7 p.m., Prospera Place, AM1150).

“If we want to get anywhere in the playoffs, we‘re going to have to go through Vancouver,” Rockets head coach Ryan Huska said. “So, we have to show them that we can compete and that we can beat them. It‘s something our guys are looking forward to, because we‘ve been playing much better as a group as of late.”

Kelowna has been posting positive results ever since a 6-4 home-ice loss to Vancouver on Jan. 21. Winners of four straight with points in nine consecutive games (7-0-1-1), the Rockets are coming off a six-point weekend that included a 2-1 road decision over the defending Memorial Cup champion Spokane Chiefs on Sunday. Combined with Prince George‘s 3-2 victory over Portland on Monday, the Rockets officially clinched a playoff berth. There‘s still lots of hockey to be played between now and the playoffs, though. Kelowna has 17 games remaining in the regular season. For the time being, the Rockets‘ sights are set squarely on the Giants, who have emerged as the team to beat. And nobody is downplaying the significance of tonight‘s matchup, the sixth of eight regular-season meetings between the two clubs. The Giants had a 10-game winning streak snapped on Sunday in Seattle, losing 4-3 in regulation, but bounced back to beat Chilliwack 2-1 on Wednesday.

“Right now, our next game is always the biggest game of the season, but this is definitely up there,” Rockets captain Colin Long said. “We‘ve been playing well, we‘ve got something going and we want to keep it going. And we‘re going to have to start beating teams like this if we want to establish ourselves.”

Vancouver has been Kelowna‘s nemesis this season, outscoring the Rockets 24-11 through five contests. In fact, the Giants are the only Western Conference team the Rockets haven‘t beat. Kelowna has come close on a couple occasions, however. In the aforementioned 6-4 setback, the Rockets were leading 3-2 through two periods. And in their second to last encounter, on Dec. 29 in Vancouver, Kelowna was ahead 2-1 after 40 minutes only to lose 3-2.

“That‘s what makes them dangerous, is no matter what the situation is they keep playing hard,” Huska said. “If you let your guard down for a little bit, you allow them to get back into it. We have to make sure we‘re coming ready for 60 minutes, and we‘re going to try to outwork them if we can in our own building.”

Kelowna‘s last win over Vancouver came on Feb. 24, 2008, 3-2 in a shootout at Pacific Coliseum. The Rockets fared significantly better against the Giants last season, splitting their 10-game series. But Kelowna did drop the 2007-08 regular-season finale – falling 4-1 at home on March 5 – making for a six-game losing skid overall. So what would a win over Vancouver tonight mean?

“That‘d be huge, it would make a lot of noise and it would be great for our confidence in the room here,” converted defenceman Brandon McMillan said. “We‘re playing pretty well right now, but beating those guys would be great. To beat the best team in our league or maybe even in Canada, that would be a huge boost for us.”

This will be the best, or at least the most complete, Rockets‘ lineup to face the Giants this season. Finally healthy, forward Ian Duval (concussion) returned in Spokane – reunited on the BAD line with Mikael Backlund and Cody Almond – and defenceman Aaron Borejko (concussion) was cleared to play earlier this week. Kyle St. Denis also made a triumphant return on the weekend, after missing 37 games with a broken scaphoid bone in his right hand. St. Denis set up the winner in Friday‘s 2-1 overtime victory against Everett, then contributed a goal and another assist in Saturday‘s 5-1 win over Kamloops. St. Denis has since been promoted to the top line, flanking Long and leading goal-getter Jamie Benn. Stepan Novotny will centre Lucas Bloodoff and Ryley Grantham, leaving some combination of Evan Bloodoff, Mitchell Callahan, Curt Gogol and Spencer Main to fill out the fourth line, as Huska has the luxury of healthy scratches for the first time in a long time. But with tonight marking the first of seven games in 10 days for the Rockets, rest assured everyone will continue to see their share of ice. Mark Guggenberger will get the start in goal tonight.

“Vancouver is quite a bit ahead of the pack right now, so in regards to using them as a measuring stick, I think it‘s an important game,” Huska said. “It will be a good game, we always have good games with Vancouver. We‘ve come out on the short end of the stick this season, but hopefully (tonight) is our night where we can turn that around. And then hopefully we can carry it over and have a good effort when we go down there (the following Friday, Feb. 20).”

The Rockets host the Giants for a final time on March 7.

http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories_local_sports.php?id=164655

[dondo]

I think the Giants are very aware that the Rockets are specifically gunning for them, so I don't really see either team not showing up tonight.

In the past the Rockets have been a nemesis and now its the Giants who are the Rocket's nemesis, so hopefully we get a good clean hard game with a full sixty put in by both squads. The Giants need a bit of wake-up call right now as they have put together a few too many half-games for my liking and a tilt versus the Rockets might be just what the doctor ordered to get them back into the groove.

I know that sounds ridiculous considering our record this season, but the past three games the Giants have allowed teams to play their game instead of the Giants game and that has to stop now. The Rockets are a very good team to do that against.

I have to say that adding Guggenberger between the pipes has not really made the Rockets a force in the crease. He's good, but not even in the ball-park of great. He's going to have to play his best game to give his team a chance to get the win.

Prospera Place is always a tough place to get a win, so hopefully the boys show up ready to play from the drop of the puck and stop the silly dump-ins and half-assed chasing, that have been a part of their more recent contests.

[old_time_hockey]

Rockets get the win but the Giants take a point. Too bad the Hitmen won :burningma

I love Giants vs. Rockets games. They have lots of emotion to them, but are clean. What about Jamie Benn...skilled player that I love to watch. So quick with his hands and clicks so well with Colin Long.

Backlund however has seemed to tailed off. -1 tonight.

[hitmanfan]

Just wanted to saya big thank you from the Hitmen. Unfortunately the Giants got a point, but it's better than 2!

[Squig]

Can't fault him for either goal last night - the first one was tipped right in front of him and went five hole. The other one was a breakaway by Evander Kane. His Save percentage is fourth in the league and sits in seventh on goals against. He will benefit from a strong team in front of him down the stretch but his numbers are pretty good so far.

They had him on the post game show last night and he is really comfortable in front of a crowd. He was hamming it up a bit and at the end thanked all the fans punk rock

[Malc]

By Doyle Potenteau

Statistically, Tyson Sexsmith had an easy night. Realistically, it was far from that.

Colin Long scored in overtime as the Kelowna Rockets defeated the Vancouver Giants 3-2 in WHL action on Friday night. Long's marker came three minutes into the fourth period after he picked up a loose puck at the left cornerboards, circled around Vancouver's net, then went top shelf on Sexsmith. A clean shot, to be sure, but had it not been for Sexsmith, the Rockets would have put away the Giants much earlier in a well-played, entertaining affair.

"They had a lot of chances," said Sexsmith, the game's No. 2 star and arguably the first for his 24-save effort. "I noticed that Kelowna seems like Calgary," continued Sexsmith, who earned applause from the Prospera Place faithful at game's end. "It seems they always want to make that extra pass for the perfect play. They really keep me on my toes because they have a lot of good shooters and good playmakers that are definitely able to put the puck in the net."

While 24 saves may not seem like a lot, the Giants' netminder made several great saves, especially in the first period.

"I picked the puck up in the corner and I figured there'd be someone on me right away," Long said of his goal. "But I turned and there was no one on me, so I went to the net. And then no one came to me, so I just shot. I did a toe-drag and I saw that his glove was a little low.

"We had a lot of shots, but a lot missed, and that was something we addressed after the second period. It showed in the third because we had a lot more shots (12 to 7)."

Tyson Barrie, with his 10th of the season, and Jamie Benn, with his 36th goal, also scored for Kelowna (34-19-1-2), which entered Friday's game with a 0-5 record against Vancouver. Defenceman Tyler Myers assisted on both the tying goal and the winner.

Casey Pierro-Zabotel, with his 30th goal, and Evander Kane, with his 36th goal, replied for Vancouver (47-5-1-3), which led 2-1 midway through the third until Benn levelled the score. The Giants may have also lost more than a game, as top defenceman and captain Jon Blum suffered an apparent injury in the first after two hard hits by Benn. Blum (upper body) left the game shortly after Barrie's goal and never returned. Mark Guggenberger made 29 saves for the Rockets, who host the Prince George Cougars Saturday.

"We just tried to be physical on their whole defensive core," said Benn. "There's a time and place to hit them, and the team did a good job. We need to start hitting the net more, but we did a good job of sticking to the game plan as it paid off."

ICE CHIPS: Kelowna's scratches were D Aaron Borejko (concussion) and RW Spencer Main. Vancouver's scratches were LW Lance Bouma (hand, five weeks), LW J.T. Barnett (ankle, day to day), C Todd Kennedy and D Bronson Maschmeyer (concussion, day to day)... Kelowna was 1-for-8 on the power play; Vancouver was 0-for-6... The three stars were Benn, Sexsmith and Long.