HAF
03-06-2006, 06:16 PM
Playoff race tightens as Rockets stumble
By Doyle Potenteau
Monday, March 6, 2006, 12:01 AM
What looked like a sure thing on Friday for the Kelowna Rockets doesn’t seem so sure now.
Torrie Wheat scored a natural hat trick as the Everett Silvertips beat the Rockets 4-1 in WHL action Sunday at the Everett Events Center. The loss was Kelowna’s second in a row following a convincing 4-2 win over Vancouver on Friday, a victory that seemed to cement the Rockets’ playoff stance.
Heading into their three-game weekend, Kelowna was four points up on the third-place Kootenay Ice in B.C. Division standings. After their one-for-three weekend, including a 2-1 loss to Portland on Saturday, and coupled with Kootenay’s two-for-two effort, the Rockets’ lead shrank to two points instead of having expanded to six despite having played an extra game.
“That was a game in hand we didn’t capitalize on,” said Rockets head coach Jeff Truitt, referring to Sunday’s setback. “We didn’t capitalize on our chances and that’s something we have to do. We have to do quality things when we get our chances. This (playoff) race, it’s coming down to the last minute.”
Brady Calla of Kelowna, with his eighth goal of the season, also scored for Everett (38-23-2-3), which recorded three natural hat tricks in five days. The Silvertips have nine hat tricks this season, four of them natural. Chris Ray, with his 23rd of the season, a tally that made it 3-1, replied for Kelowna (42-20-1-3), which trailed 2-0 after 40 minutes following a scoreless first period.
Kris Westblom made 19 saves for the Rockets, who visit the Kamloops Blazers on Wednesday. Leland Irving turned aside 29 shots for the Silvertips, who set a franchise record for most points in a season with 81, eclipsing the old mark of 80, set in the team’s inaugural season.
While the Rockets’ gap may have closed, Truitt wasn’t overly upset with his team’s efforts.
“Everett buried their chances and we didn’t,” he said. “You have to give them credit for that. But we outshot them and had pretty good tempo for the first two periods. When they got that third goal, it mentally slowed us down.”
“We’re still upbeat, though. In our last nine games, we’re 7-2. We were OK (Sunday), but being OK is one thing. We still want to keep pushing forward and getting better. We need to make sure that the little things are working, like being unselfish, playing a good defensive shift or taking a hit to make a play. At this time of the season, because of everything that’s going on, everything gets magnified.”
The Rockets temporarily lost the services of winger Troy Bodie, who was hit hard midway through the second period by 18-year-old Everett centre Ryan Sawka. Bodie left the game, his legs wobbly, but returned for the third. Just minutes earlier, Silvertips associate coach John Becanic told NorthSound 1380 AM that “I don’t think there’s any guy in the league that can stop (Bodie) when he’s got a full head of steam.”
“It was just a precautionary thing,” Truitt said of Bodie leaving the game. “I’m sure he had some cobwebs and was wondering what was going. But he shook them off and everything was fine.”
In B.C. Division standings, Vancouver is first with 94 points, Kelowna second with 88, Kootenay third with 86 and Prince George in fourth with 73. Kamloops, in fifth and last with 69 points, is four points behind the Cougars for the division’s final playoff berth. The Blazers have five games remaining; the Cougars have six, including two homestands against Everett this Friday and Saturday.
Any combination of Prince George wins and Kamloops losses totalling four will eliminate the Blazers, who split a weekend set in Prince George, with each team winning 4-1. Should there be a tie for fourth, a sudden-death playoff game will take place at the home of the team with the most regular-season victories. The Cougars have 34 wins, the Blazers 32.
“We can’t worry about where we are (in the standings,” Blazers general manager and head coach Dean Clark told the Kamloops Daily News. “We have to win five games in a row now and get help. They’ve got Everett coming in. I’m a Kevin Constantine fan now.”
Of Kelowna’s final six games, four are on home ice. The two road game are this Wednesday in Kamloops and March 17 in Vancouver.
ICE CHIPS: Kelowna’s scratches were Tysen Dowzak (knee, indefinite), Colin Long (mono, week-to-week), Kevin Reinholt, Brent Howarth, Josiah Anderson and Myles MacRae. . . . Kelowna was zero-for-five on the power play. Everett was two-for-five. . . . The three stars were Wheat, Irving and Everett centre Ondrej Fiala.
© Monday, March 6, 2006Copyright KelownaDailyCourier.ca
By Doyle Potenteau
Monday, March 6, 2006, 12:01 AM
What looked like a sure thing on Friday for the Kelowna Rockets doesn’t seem so sure now.
Torrie Wheat scored a natural hat trick as the Everett Silvertips beat the Rockets 4-1 in WHL action Sunday at the Everett Events Center. The loss was Kelowna’s second in a row following a convincing 4-2 win over Vancouver on Friday, a victory that seemed to cement the Rockets’ playoff stance.
Heading into their three-game weekend, Kelowna was four points up on the third-place Kootenay Ice in B.C. Division standings. After their one-for-three weekend, including a 2-1 loss to Portland on Saturday, and coupled with Kootenay’s two-for-two effort, the Rockets’ lead shrank to two points instead of having expanded to six despite having played an extra game.
“That was a game in hand we didn’t capitalize on,” said Rockets head coach Jeff Truitt, referring to Sunday’s setback. “We didn’t capitalize on our chances and that’s something we have to do. We have to do quality things when we get our chances. This (playoff) race, it’s coming down to the last minute.”
Brady Calla of Kelowna, with his eighth goal of the season, also scored for Everett (38-23-2-3), which recorded three natural hat tricks in five days. The Silvertips have nine hat tricks this season, four of them natural. Chris Ray, with his 23rd of the season, a tally that made it 3-1, replied for Kelowna (42-20-1-3), which trailed 2-0 after 40 minutes following a scoreless first period.
Kris Westblom made 19 saves for the Rockets, who visit the Kamloops Blazers on Wednesday. Leland Irving turned aside 29 shots for the Silvertips, who set a franchise record for most points in a season with 81, eclipsing the old mark of 80, set in the team’s inaugural season.
While the Rockets’ gap may have closed, Truitt wasn’t overly upset with his team’s efforts.
“Everett buried their chances and we didn’t,” he said. “You have to give them credit for that. But we outshot them and had pretty good tempo for the first two periods. When they got that third goal, it mentally slowed us down.”
“We’re still upbeat, though. In our last nine games, we’re 7-2. We were OK (Sunday), but being OK is one thing. We still want to keep pushing forward and getting better. We need to make sure that the little things are working, like being unselfish, playing a good defensive shift or taking a hit to make a play. At this time of the season, because of everything that’s going on, everything gets magnified.”
The Rockets temporarily lost the services of winger Troy Bodie, who was hit hard midway through the second period by 18-year-old Everett centre Ryan Sawka. Bodie left the game, his legs wobbly, but returned for the third. Just minutes earlier, Silvertips associate coach John Becanic told NorthSound 1380 AM that “I don’t think there’s any guy in the league that can stop (Bodie) when he’s got a full head of steam.”
“It was just a precautionary thing,” Truitt said of Bodie leaving the game. “I’m sure he had some cobwebs and was wondering what was going. But he shook them off and everything was fine.”
In B.C. Division standings, Vancouver is first with 94 points, Kelowna second with 88, Kootenay third with 86 and Prince George in fourth with 73. Kamloops, in fifth and last with 69 points, is four points behind the Cougars for the division’s final playoff berth. The Blazers have five games remaining; the Cougars have six, including two homestands against Everett this Friday and Saturday.
Any combination of Prince George wins and Kamloops losses totalling four will eliminate the Blazers, who split a weekend set in Prince George, with each team winning 4-1. Should there be a tie for fourth, a sudden-death playoff game will take place at the home of the team with the most regular-season victories. The Cougars have 34 wins, the Blazers 32.
“We can’t worry about where we are (in the standings,” Blazers general manager and head coach Dean Clark told the Kamloops Daily News. “We have to win five games in a row now and get help. They’ve got Everett coming in. I’m a Kevin Constantine fan now.”
Of Kelowna’s final six games, four are on home ice. The two road game are this Wednesday in Kamloops and March 17 in Vancouver.
ICE CHIPS: Kelowna’s scratches were Tysen Dowzak (knee, indefinite), Colin Long (mono, week-to-week), Kevin Reinholt, Brent Howarth, Josiah Anderson and Myles MacRae. . . . Kelowna was zero-for-five on the power play. Everett was two-for-five. . . . The three stars were Wheat, Irving and Everett centre Ondrej Fiala.
© Monday, March 6, 2006Copyright KelownaDailyCourier.ca