Malc
03-19-2009, 01:46 PM
By DOYLE POTENTEAU
At one time, it was a rivalry to behold: The Kelowna Rockets and Kamloops Blazers.
So heated were the emotions between these two teams that there were those observers who felt it was the equal of the WHL‘s top rivalry, the ongoing and likely never-ending feud between the Regina Pats and Moose Jaw Warriors.
Those hot, fight-filled days, however, appear to be long gone, with Kelowna consistently pounding Kamloops into the ground this decade.
It could be more of the same this week and next, when Kelowna and Kamloops meet in first-round playoff action.
The best-of-seven series starts Friday in Kelowna with Game 2 on Saturday. It then moves north to Kamloops for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Those wanting to watch this series should get their tickets early because statistics indicate that this affair will be over in short order.
How short? Quite short, what with Kelowna having ruled its season series against Kamloops 9-0-0-0.
No, that isn‘t a typo – 9-0. If that doesn‘t underscore a sweep, or over in five, what does?
Yet, in Kelowna, the Rockets aren‘t playing the overdog card despite having outscored Kamloops 49-18 since Jan. 1.
There also is momentum in Kelowna‘s favour, with the Rockets having gone 15-0-0-0 against playoff-bound teams since Feb. 1, including three victories over each of the Vancouver Giants and Spokane Chiefs, and one against the Calgary Hitmen.
The Rockets also ended regular-season play on an eight-game winning streak.
“It‘s guys maturing a little bit over the course of the season,” Rockets head coach Ryan Huska said of the roll Kelowna has been on for the last six weeks. “Maybe some of the adversity or tough times we faced earlier on were good learning experiences. I think our leaders have taken a big step forward on how they have to handle the (dressing) room.
“That‘s probably the biggest reason as to why our team improved over the second half of the season.”
That, and adding the likes of Swedish forward Mikael Backlund and speedy centre Ian Duval, heavyweight Ryley Grantham and goaltender Mark Guggenberger at the trade deadline didn‘t hurt.
With three good lines – arguably the league‘s deepest set of forwards, led by Colin Long and Jamie Benn – Kelowna‘s offence has spearheaded the Rockets‘ late-season charge. In their past 21 games (18-2-0-1), the Rockets have outscored their opponents 82-36 while limiting the opposition to one goal or less on 12 occasions.
To put Kelowna‘s hot streak in perspective, the Western Conference-winning Giants were 13-6-2-0 over the same time span and 8-8 against playoff-bound teams.
Meanwhile, Kamloops – which closed out its season with back-to-back losses against Kelowna, 6-4 and 7-1 – was 10-10-1-0 overall and 7-11 against playoff-bound teams.
According to the Rockets, though, those numbers are meaningless.
“Playoff time is a different time of the year,” Huska said. “If we approach it looking at what happened, or what happened during the season series (with Kamloops), we‘re in trouble. We have to look at it now that everybody‘s on even footing, that we‘re starting on the same ground. We have to be prepared to play just one game at a time.”
“Right now, we‘re looking past (9-0) and getting ready for the playoffs,” said Rockets defenceman Collin Bowman, who was a team-high plus-32. “The playoffs are a new season and a fresh start.”
Given all the stats in Kelowna‘s favour, it‘s not hard to see why the Rockets are excited about these playoffs.
“I‘ve been here for four seasons, and this season has a different feeling to it,” Almond said. “We‘ve really learned how to win over the last little while; the team‘s really tight and really wants to win. I definitely think we have the team to do it.”
For Almond, who‘ll likely make the jump to the pro game next season, this is probably his last stint in a Rockets uniform – as it is for Benn, Long and Backlund, as well as the 20-year-olds Tysen Dowzak, Grantham and Duval.
http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories_local_sports.php?id=172203
At one time, it was a rivalry to behold: The Kelowna Rockets and Kamloops Blazers.
So heated were the emotions between these two teams that there were those observers who felt it was the equal of the WHL‘s top rivalry, the ongoing and likely never-ending feud between the Regina Pats and Moose Jaw Warriors.
Those hot, fight-filled days, however, appear to be long gone, with Kelowna consistently pounding Kamloops into the ground this decade.
It could be more of the same this week and next, when Kelowna and Kamloops meet in first-round playoff action.
The best-of-seven series starts Friday in Kelowna with Game 2 on Saturday. It then moves north to Kamloops for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Those wanting to watch this series should get their tickets early because statistics indicate that this affair will be over in short order.
How short? Quite short, what with Kelowna having ruled its season series against Kamloops 9-0-0-0.
No, that isn‘t a typo – 9-0. If that doesn‘t underscore a sweep, or over in five, what does?
Yet, in Kelowna, the Rockets aren‘t playing the overdog card despite having outscored Kamloops 49-18 since Jan. 1.
There also is momentum in Kelowna‘s favour, with the Rockets having gone 15-0-0-0 against playoff-bound teams since Feb. 1, including three victories over each of the Vancouver Giants and Spokane Chiefs, and one against the Calgary Hitmen.
The Rockets also ended regular-season play on an eight-game winning streak.
“It‘s guys maturing a little bit over the course of the season,” Rockets head coach Ryan Huska said of the roll Kelowna has been on for the last six weeks. “Maybe some of the adversity or tough times we faced earlier on were good learning experiences. I think our leaders have taken a big step forward on how they have to handle the (dressing) room.
“That‘s probably the biggest reason as to why our team improved over the second half of the season.”
That, and adding the likes of Swedish forward Mikael Backlund and speedy centre Ian Duval, heavyweight Ryley Grantham and goaltender Mark Guggenberger at the trade deadline didn‘t hurt.
With three good lines – arguably the league‘s deepest set of forwards, led by Colin Long and Jamie Benn – Kelowna‘s offence has spearheaded the Rockets‘ late-season charge. In their past 21 games (18-2-0-1), the Rockets have outscored their opponents 82-36 while limiting the opposition to one goal or less on 12 occasions.
To put Kelowna‘s hot streak in perspective, the Western Conference-winning Giants were 13-6-2-0 over the same time span and 8-8 against playoff-bound teams.
Meanwhile, Kamloops – which closed out its season with back-to-back losses against Kelowna, 6-4 and 7-1 – was 10-10-1-0 overall and 7-11 against playoff-bound teams.
According to the Rockets, though, those numbers are meaningless.
“Playoff time is a different time of the year,” Huska said. “If we approach it looking at what happened, or what happened during the season series (with Kamloops), we‘re in trouble. We have to look at it now that everybody‘s on even footing, that we‘re starting on the same ground. We have to be prepared to play just one game at a time.”
“Right now, we‘re looking past (9-0) and getting ready for the playoffs,” said Rockets defenceman Collin Bowman, who was a team-high plus-32. “The playoffs are a new season and a fresh start.”
Given all the stats in Kelowna‘s favour, it‘s not hard to see why the Rockets are excited about these playoffs.
“I‘ve been here for four seasons, and this season has a different feeling to it,” Almond said. “We‘ve really learned how to win over the last little while; the team‘s really tight and really wants to win. I definitely think we have the team to do it.”
For Almond, who‘ll likely make the jump to the pro game next season, this is probably his last stint in a Rockets uniform – as it is for Benn, Long and Backlund, as well as the 20-year-olds Tysen Dowzak, Grantham and Duval.
http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories_local_sports.php?id=172203