Congrats Rockets

[dagley]

Just want to say congrats on winning the WHL title. I think I can speak for all WHL fans on this board, we are all Rocket fans now....we all support the WHL and it's desire to continue to be the best junior hockey in not only the CHL but the entire world. Rockets for the Memorial Cup!

[Rockets1231]

Hopefully the Rockets don't disappoint, they'll be facing 3 great teams in the Mem Cup. It was a great series, hopefully the momentum will carry over. I think it was good that Calgary won a couple games, it forced Kelowna to play through some adversity.

[LifelongChiefsFan]

Way to go Kelowna! Your team sure turned it up the second half of the season and kept it rolling all the way to the end. Can't let up now, just got one more hill to climb!

I remember last year reading about a Kelowna fan who couldn't believe he was rooting for the Chiefs! It was pretty amusing, but also very appreciated. I know Chiefs fans will be reciprocating the favor this year. Keep the cup in the West Kelowna! Good luck at the Memorial Cup.

[apsco17]

I have a lot more confidence in the Rockets now that both Jamie Benn and Kyle St Denis are back in the lineup. Go Rockets!

[G-MAN]

way to go rockets!now its time to represent!

[Chipper]

Congratulations Rockets! now go and win the Memorial cup and bring it back to the Dub where it belongs.applause

[Bocephus]

Congrats to the Rockets and to Guggenberger, who only last year was playing for Portland! What a set of circumstances that have allowed him to go from a backup on the worst team in the WHL in recent memory to a starting goalie on a championship team.

[rebel]

let me just say congrats to the rockets for a great run to the ED CHYNOWETH cup and make the WHL proud at the memorial cup.applause

[Malc]

By Warren Henderson - Kelowna Capital News

Just one team in Western Hockey League history has lost a playoff series when leading three games to none.

The Kelowna Rockets refused to become the second.

Tyson Barrie scored on the power play at 8:13 of overtime to lift the Rockets a 3-2 home-ice victory Saturday over the Calgary Hitmen in Game 6 of the WHL final, earning Kelowna a berth in the 2009 Memorial Cup championship in Rimouski, Quebec.

With Alex Plante in the penalty box for hooking, Barrie took a cross-ice pass from Jamie Benn and buried it behind Hitmen goalie Martin Jones sending the sellout crowd of 6,383 into a frenzy.

It was the Rockets’ third WHL title in seven seasons.

“I can’t say how bad, me personally, and all the guys wanted to win,” said Barrie. “Calgary gave it a real good push there the last couple of games, this was a heck of a game too, and we showed some resiliency and got it done in front of the hometown fans, so it was great.”

The Rockets bolted out to a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series only to watch the Hitmen rebound with back-to-back wins in Games 4 and 5.

But the Rockets, inspired by the return of Jamie Benn and fellow forward Kyle St. Denis, showed plenty of energy and jump from the outset, outshooting the Hitmen 50-26.

It was Benn’s first of two assists that helped the Rockets break a 1-1 tie at 12:33 of the second period when the 6-foot-2 forward’s centering pass deflected off Lucas Bloodoff’s skate past Hitmen goaltender Martin Jones to make it 2-1.

Benn, the playoffs leading scorer (13 goals and 20 assists), hadn’t played since early in Game 2 due to an undisclosed injury, while St. Denis had been sidelined since the series opener, also with an undisclosed ailment.

Calgary battled back to force overtime on a power play goal by Joel Broad at 12:57 of the third.

The Hitmen opened the scoring at 7:45 of the opening period with a shorthanded goal by Bostjan Golicic as he stepped out of the penalty, took a breakaway pass from Kyle Bortis, then beat Mark Guggenberger to the glove side.

Forty-one seconds after the Golicic marker, the Rockets appeared to tie the score when Tyler Myers’ shot from the point beat Martin Jones but, after a video review, the officials ruled the net had come off its moorings before the puck went in.

Captain Colin Long, with his fourth goal of the playoffs got the Rockets on the board at the 14:43 of the second period on the power play.

Long said the Rockets simply refused to be denied.

“We have so much pride in that room, we faced so much adversity this year,” Long said.

“There was a lot of people that thought we could do it and you know we proved everyone wrong.”

Tyler Myers was named the WHL championship series MVP.

The Rockets will open play at the Memorial Cup next Friday night against the host Rimouski.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similkameen/kelownacapitalnews/news/44654757.html

[Malc]

By Doyle Potenteau

Mark Guggenberger can‘t speak a lick of French. Neither can Tyler Myers. That might be a problem later this week.

For the fourth time in seven years, the Kelowna Rockets will play in the Memorial Cup, with this year‘s edition taking place in Quebec. On Saturday night, the Rockets booked their eastbound ticket by defeating the Calgary Hitmen 3-2, in overtime, in Game 6 of the Western Hockey League championship series.

With the win, Kelowna claimed the best-of-seven affair, 4-2, and will represent the WHL at the national championship tournament in Rimouski that runs May 15-24. The Rockets also earned trips to the Memorial Cup in 2003 and 2005 as league champions, and 2004 as tournament hosts. The Rockets won the 2004 event, going 4-0.

Guggenberger wasn‘t in Kelowna, or even playing in the league, when the Rockets won junior hockey‘s holy grail that year. This year, though, he was a key component in helping Kelowna knock off the WHL‘s top team. On Saturday night, he made 24 saves.

Another key player was Myers, Kelowna‘s towering 6-foot-8 defenceman who was named the WHL‘s playoff MVP.

“Can I speak any French? Not that I know of,” a smiling Guggenberger said as the Rockets celebrated on the ice after Tyson Barrie scored the game-winning goal at 8:13 of overtime. “I think I might have to go buy a (English-to-French) dictionary. But, honestly, this feels great.

“It‘s really a dream come true,” continued the 20-year-old from Minnesota. “All the teams play for this and we‘re fortunate enough to get it this year.”

Myers knows a little bit of French: Where‘s the toilet?

“That‘s what I always used to try to get out of class,” said a near-breathless Myers, who was a workhorse on Saturday night. “This is unbelievable, but we still have more games to play.”

Colin Long and Lucas Bloodoff also scored for Kelowna, which trailed 1-0 after the first period but led 2-1 after two. Bostjan Golicic, who opened Saturday‘s scoring, and Joel Broda, late in the third, replied for Calgary before a loud and standing-room only crowd of 6,383. Martin Jones turned aside 47 shots for the Hitmen, who were outplayed, especially physically, as the game wore on.

Prior to Saturday night, of the nine times the WHL championship has been played for this decade, the Ed Chynoweth Cup had only been won on home ice twice (Kootenay Ice, 2002; Medicine Hat Tigers, 2007).

“This is unbelievable . . . I‘m so proud of the kids,” said Rockets head coach Ryan Huska. “These guys worked so hard, and a lot of people said they could never do it. They were all over our club at Christmas time, and I‘m very proud of what our guys were able to do.

“This is simply unbelievable.”

In overtime, Barrie ended the series on the power play, as he snuck in from the point and converted a back-door pass from Jamie Benn. The shot was Kelowna‘s 50th of the night on Jones.

http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories_local_sports.php?id=184930

[GBG BLEED BLUE]

Congratulations Rockets you truly deserve to be representing the WHL in the Memorial Cup,now go there and show the entire CHL what the WHL is all about. Good luck Rockets!!!

[apsco17]

By Doyle Potenteau, Kelowna Daily Courier
Monday, May 11, 2009

In the end, it was a matter of when, not if, the Kelowna Rockets would win the Western Hockey League championship.
Saturday night was proof of that.
In what was their biggest game of the season, the Rockets came out with their biggest effort. How big? Consider this: The Calgary Hitmen, the WHL‘s best team in the regular season, couldn‘t contain the Rockets, and were outshot nearly 2-to-1. Yes, 2-to-1 in a game that was, arguably, one of the best ever played at Prospera Place. That‘s how unstoppable the Rockets were.
Technically, the shots were 50 to 26 for Kelowna. But that the Rockets put up 50 shots in a clutch game, against the league‘s top team, speaks volumes.
“That was our best game of the playoffs,” said Rockets centre Mikael Backlund, who had two assists in Kelowna‘s 3-2 overtime victory in Game 6. That win, played before a loud crowd of 6,383, earned the Rockets a 4-2 decision in the best-of-seven series.
“We dominated the whole game,” continued Backlund. “We made mistakes, and they had power plays (1-for-7), but when we made our mistakes, they didn‘t have many chances. We just dominated.”
For Rockets captain Colin Long, it was an unbelievable night. Two years ago, the Rockets failed to reach the playoffs. Last year, Kelowna was bounced from the playoffs in the first round.
So when he hoisted the Ed Chynoweth Cup moments after defenceman Tyson Barrie snapped home the winner eight minutes into overtime, a sea of thoughts and emotions came crashing down.
Thoughts of how Kelowna entered the playoffs on a hot roll. Thoughts of how the Rockets knocked off the Kamloops Blazers in four games, then reeled off six-win victories over three impressive teams: the U.S. Division champion Tri-City Americans, the B.C. Division and Western Conference champion Vancouver Giants, then, finally, the Central Division and Eastern Conference champion Calgary Hitmen.
“It was surreal . . . really surreal,” said Long. “To see guys doing it every year, and always looking from the outside in, when you‘re not making the playoffs . . . it was awesome.
“Back at Christmas, I remember doing a lot of interviews, where we were getting criticized a lot because we were supposed to be one of the better teams in the league. We were underachieving a little, but then we had some big (trade-deadline acquisitions) that were huge, and the second half we really came together. It‘s been amazing.”
“This feels amazing,” added Rockets left winger Jamie Benn, who provided his team with a momentum-turning spark.
Ninety seconds into the second period, Backlund was sprung free from the penalty box for a late-first period penalty for delay of game. Upon hitting the ice, the puck squirted to him for what he thought would be a long breakaway. However, with his head down, he was levelled just above the blue-line by Hitmen defenceman Michael Stone.
The hit was so hard that it separated Back-lund from his helmet, both gloves and stick. Backlund‘s visor was also broken on the play.
But just seconds after, Benn jumped into the fray, dropped his gloves and hammered Stone with hard punches, with one of them almost buckling the 6-foot-4 blue-liner from Winnipeg. Benn, in his first game back following a week off due to a concussion suffered in Game 2, wound up with a four-minute penalty for roughing, two penalties which Kelowna killed.
So, instead of Calgary earning momentum with a bone-rattling hit, it was, conversely, Kelowna, courtesy of Stone.
“When I got out of the box, I saw the puck and thought for sure I had a breakaway,” said Backlund. “So I had no clue (Stone) was coming and he . . . well, it was like I went into a wall.
I couldn‘t breath. After a while, I felt better. I didn‘t see Benn fight, but I heard about it and it feels good to have players stand up for you.”
Added Long: “We were getting a lot of guys hit by Calgary, and no one was really jumping in. Then Benn jumped in and that was pretty tough of him to do that. That really sparked our bench and we knew it was a penalty we were going to kill.”
After being the first to hoist the Cup, Long passed it off to Rockets president and general manager Bruce Hamilton, who, with a big cheer, celebrated as much as his players did.
“I‘m just so happy for these kids,” said Hamilton. “Our scouting staff and our coaching staff did a remarkable job of bringing these guys along. Full credit to the guys because they beat the best team here, they beat Tri-City, Vancouver and now they beat the best team (Calgary).
“We‘re just so thankful and honoured to win this trophy.”

[dondo]

Congrats Rockets and Rocket fans -- you guys wanted it more -- now go kick some serious butt in Rimouski -- keep the cup in the West

[dagley]

Go there and show the entire CHL what the WHL is all about. Good luck Rockets!!!

Love it, at least we all unite when it matters. WHL baby!