Rockets look to start winning again on the road

[Malc]

By Warren Henderson

With six straight wins to launch February, the Kelowna Rockets looked a lot like a team rounding into form for a meaningful playoff run.

Then came a pair of unexpected setbacks to two of the WHL's have-nots.

A 4-3 loss in Portland on Monday, followed by a 4-3 shootout defeat at home to Chilliwack on Wednesday has the Rockets scratching their collective head as they face the formidable challenge of a six-game, nine-day road trip beginning tonight in Vancouver.

Rockets GM Bruce Hamilton has watched his club take a considerable step backwards since last Friday's workmanlike 3-2 overtime win against the first-place Giants.

"It's a little disappointing that we haven't figured it out this late in the year that you have to work hard, it doesn't matter who you're playing," said Hamilton. "There are some guys, Cody Almond for example, who were playing like world beaters two weeks ago that have really slid back.

"On paper, there's a lot of depth on this team," Hamilton continued. "We've had some good wins with this group, but one or two good ones doesn't make a season. We need to see it over a stretch of nine or 10 games."

Particularly concerning for the Rockets was the way they lost on Wednesday to the Bruins.

Kelowna erupted for three goals in a 66-second the opening period to take a 3-0 lead, chasing rookie Lucas Gore from the Chilliwack net.

But the Rockets couldn't find a way to beat Mark Friesen the remainder of the way, allowing the last-place Bruins to claw their way back into the game.

Brandon Manning's goal on an end-to-end rush with less than three minutes to play tied the game, before Chilliwack sealed the deal in the shootout.

The Rockets were without forward Jamie Benn due to a strep throat, but Hamilton said the team's troubles ran much deeper than the absence of their leading goal scorer.

"The effort just wasn't there, and instead of putting them away when it's 3-0, we decide we're going to go out there hocking for points," said Hamilton. "We needed some saves, too, over the last couple of games and haven't got them.

"We need effort from everybody, and not having Jamie Benn in the lineup is no excuse."

Hamilton would also like to see more production out of Swedish forward Mikael Backlund who has seven goals and 11 assists in 17 games since joining the WHL club in mid-January.

"It's time for (Backlund) to step up, he's had enough time in this league now, he should know his way around. He's a guy who should dominate games in the offensive zone and we haven't seen that yet."

Complicating matters for the Rockets is the loss of forward Kyle St. Denis for the second time this season.

The speedy forward has been sidelined indefinitely with a concussion after taking a check into the end boards against Chilliwack on Wednesday night.

St. Denis missed 36 games earlier this season with a broken hand.

While the fourth-place Rockets (35-20-1-3) were entertaining serious thoughts of catching a team or two in front of them a week ago, those plans have been derailed, at least temporarily, by two poor efforts.

"Last week, we looked like we had a chance to move up on Spokane and Tri-City and now these two losses have really made that more difficult," said Hamilton.

"If you look at it, it goes back even further than that when we lost a couple of games in Prince George and some important points. We haven't made it easy on ourselves."

The Rockets road trip continues Saturday in Everett, before moving on to Chilliwack to meet the Bruins on Sunday.

Then, after a brief stopover back in Kelowna, the Rockets are off to the Prairies for games next week against Medicine Hat, Red Deer and Calgary.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similkameen/kelownacapitalnews/sports/39897308.html

[Malc]

By Doyle Potenteau

Which Kelowna Rockets team will show up tonight in Vancouver? The one that‘s dropped two stinkers of late, or the one that knocked off the Western Conference‘s top team not so long ago?

Bruce Hamilton hopes it‘s the latter.

Either way, it‘s going to make for an entertaining game at Pacific Coliseum. If the Rockets do show up against the Giants, fans should be treated to a great game, much like Kelowna‘s 3-2 overtime victory over Vancouver on Feb. 13 at Prospera Place.

And if not, well, count on Vancouver piling up the points.

The Giants are 5-0-1-0 against the Rockets this season, including a 3-0 record at home.

"This is getting really frustrating," said Hamilton, Kelowna‘s president and general manager, referring to Monday‘s 4-3 loss in Portland and Wednesday night‘s 4-3 shootout defeat to visiting Chilliwack.

Prior to losing to the Western Conference‘s worst two teams, the Rockets were 9-0-1-1 in their last 11 games.

"You start to think that we‘ve got it figured out, what it takes to win," continued Hamilton. "And then we go to Portland and we don‘t play very well there, and (Wednesday night)... a lot of it is we don‘t bear down enough. We outshoot teams, but there‘s a price to be paid for taking shots in front, and we have a group of players who are a little careful of that right now.

"I thought we had turned the corner... if you get beat by a team that outworks you or is better than you, then fine. But to get beat by Portland and Chilliwack, it‘s disappointing. To have a 3-0 lead against Chilliwack and then let it go, a lot of it is the will to win. We needed to score the fourth goal and that would have put Chilliwack out of the game. But we let them hang around and we have too many guys not playing."

Kelowna‘s best player on Wednesday night was captain Colin Long, who scored the game‘s first goal, then his team‘s only shootout marker after the Bruins netted a pair in the third to overcome a 3-1 deficit. His effort, however, wasn‘t matched by any other Rocket, though Bruins netminder Mark Friesen put in an equal effort, stopping all 32 shots he faced in relief.

"When we got up 3-0, with the exception of Colin Long, a lot of our guys decided the game was in the bank, and that it was a points night. Just like what Long said," said Hamilton, referring to Long‘s post-game comments in this newspaper. "It wasn‘t because Chilliwack‘s players are fighting for their jobs next season. So they‘re not going to quit playing.

"We just can‘t have Colin Long and Jamie Benn. We need Cody Almond and Mikael Backlund going as well. Cody was going good for awhile, and now he‘s faded off and Mikael... those two guys in particular should dominate in a game like that."

Out with strep throat on Wednesday night, Benn, Kelowna‘s leading goal scorer, is expected to play tonight. However, Kyle St. Denis will not play.

Against Chilliwack, St. Denis sustained a concussion when he was hit hard into the end boards by Bruins defenceman Carter Berg. The Rockets say the five-foot-eight forward from Trail will be out at least a week.
The loss also cost Kelowna (35-20-1-3, 74 points) a valuable point in their quest to overtake the Spokane Chiefs for third place in Western Conference standings.

Spokane (39-16-0-3, 81 points), which posted a big 7-3 win over Seattle on Wednesday, now has an eight-point lead over Kelowna with a game in hand. The Rockets have 13 regular-season games remaining, and catching Spokane is all but an impossibility now, meaning Kelowna will finish fourth. That will likely earn the Rockets a second-round playoff date against Vancouver (48-5-1-3, 100 points).

"We‘ve given away four points in Portland this season and three or four points in Prince George," said Hamilton. "And we gave up two points to Moose Jaw here. That‘s 10 point lost and now we‘re going to slide into fourth unless something really happens above us.

"The higher up you finish, the weaker the team you play. We were going to play a good team in the first round anyway, but now we‘re going to play a really good team and we have to prepare for that."

ICE CHIPS: Odds are tonight‘s game will be decided in the first period. The Rockets are 20-1-0-1 when leading after 20 minutes while the Giants are 33-2-0-2. After 40 minutes, Kelowna is 23-2-0-2 when leading while the Giants are 40-0-0-1... Benn has two goals and five points in five games against Vancouver, while Long has one goal and four helpers. D Tyler Myers also has five points (1-4) against the G-Men. Vancouver‘s top players against Kelowna are Evander Kane (8-5-13) and Casey Pierro-Zabotel (2-11-13).

http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories_local_sports.php?id=166259

[Malc]

By Doyle Potenteau

Make it two and counting for the Kelowna Rockets.

Cody Almond scored three times for Kelowna, including two in the second period, as the Rockets tripped up the Vancouver Giants 6-2 in WHL action at Pacific Coliseum on Friday. The game was the seventh contest this season between the two B.C. Division teams, a series the Giants began by winning the first five.

Today, though, the Rockets appear to have the Giants' number, having won the last two games, including a 3-2 overtime decision eight days ago. In that well-played game, Kelowna outhit Vancouver, and on Friday night, the Rockets repeated that physical effort.

"Tonight, we were physical," said Rockets head coach Ryan Huska after Kelowna's first win of the season in Vancouver. "We have to be when we play (the Giants), and I thought the guys did a good job in that area. We did a better job as the game went on, and I thought we were the better team in the third period."

Colin Long, with his 30th goal of the season, a marker that opened the scoring late in the first, Mikael Backlund, with his eighth, and Evan Bloodoff, with his 10th, also scored for Kelowna (36-20-1-3). Almond had a four-point night, including an assist, while Ian Duval collected four assists for the winners.

Friday night, the Rockets trek south to Everett (25-26-7-2), the second of a busy three-game weekend that ends Sunday in Chilliwack (15-41-2-4). The Rockets are 2-1 against Everett, with both wins coming at home. In the lone game played at Everett, the Silvertips doused the Rockets 8-6 on Oct. 17, a contest which saw the hosts score four times in the third period to erase a 6-4 deficit.

Gary Nunn and Craig Cunningham replied for Vancouver (48-6-1-3), which outshot the Rockets 38-22 yet trailed 5-2 after the second period following a 1-1 tie after 20 minutes.

The loss was just Vancouver's second regulation-time defeat at home this season (25-2-0-2) and fourth loss overall. The Giants' first regulation-time home loss was 2-1 to Kamloops on Jan. 3. Friday's defeat was also Vancouver's worst loss of the season, a four-goal margin which speaks of how well Vancouver plays. On Jan. 16, the Giants lost 6-3 in Calgary.

"It was an important win for us," said Huska. "We believe that if you're going to go far in the playoffs, you'll eventually have to get Vancouver. We have to win on the road in Vancouver, and it's good for our guys to know that they can win here. This is a difficult place to play."

Mark Guggenberger made 36 saves for the Rockets. At the other end, Tyson Sexsmith took the loss, making 10 saves on 14 shots before getting pulled and giving way to Jamie Tucker.

ICE CHIPS: Kelowna's scratches were D Aaron Borejko and RW Kyle St. Denis (concussion, one week)... Kelowna was 2-for-4 on the power play; Vancouver was 0-for-6... The three stars were all Rockets: Tyler Myers, Almond and Duval.

http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories_local_sports.php?id=166519