Perplexing season

[Malc]

By Doyle Potenteau

Bad one night, great the next. What gives with season’s crop of Kelowna Rockets?

It’s a question that’s been perplexing Kelowna’s coaching staff, its management and angering nearly every Rocket fan in the Okanagan this season. Projected by yours truly and many other pundits to have a stellar 2011-12, the Rockets instead are languishing in the bottom half of the Western Conference, with this past weekend’s results underscoring this confusing season.

Kelowna was simply terrible in a 6-3 loss to the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Friday night, then quite solid in a hard-hitting, three-goal rally shootout win over the Vancouver Giants on Saturday night. While momentum swings are expected in junior hockey, Kelowna’s pendulum has swung so wildly this season, it’s amazing it hasn’t done a 360.

“We had a totally different mindset (from Friday to Saturday),” Rockets goaltender Adam Brown said after earning his 100th regular-season victory on Saturday. “We came into the game forgetting about (Lethbridge) but knowing what we had to do differently. I think we executed that.”

Asked what it’s been like inside the Rockets’ locker-room, Brown said there’s been a lot of personal mind games.

“You’re asking yourself ‘What I did Wrong’ or ‘what I could do better.’ Things like that,” he said. “That’s what you have to deal with; that’s the game and you have to battle through adversity sometimes.”

One reason that’s been bandied about why the Rockets are so up-and-down is that they’re young. It’s a somewhat valid excuse, but it’s also one that’s filled with holes, as every team in the league is young.

For example, at season’s beginning, WHL fan and stats guru Alan Caldwell broke down every team’s roster, and Kelowna’s average age was 17.79 years old. That placed the Rockets in a tie for being the youngest in the league, along with the Victoria Royals. Leading the pack at 18.27 were the Calgary Hitmen, whose average player was six months older than Kelowna’s. The league average was 18.02 years old.

Of course, such stats can be skewed by how many, or few, 16-year-olds or 19-year-olds a team has. But this up-and-down swing goes beyond age, and the problem seems to stem from up-and-down leadership and lack of effort.

“You kinda challenge your leaders, and I thought they responded well,” said Huska. “There are certain guys who have to be your best players every night, and if your older guys aren’t, then your team’s not going to have success. I thought against Vancouver, our older guys were our best players. It’s old saying: If your top-six forwards are good, your top four defencemen are good and your goalie’s on, you’re going to give yourself a chance to win a lot of games in junior hockey. (Against Vancouver), I thought our guys were.”

As good a night as Kelowna had against the Giants, however, that stinker against Lethbridge won’t be soon forgotten. Nor that lacklustre 3-2 loss to Everett last Wednesday.

“The guys are talking that the only way we’re going to win is if we play a full 60 minutes,” said Rockets defenceman Mitchell Chapman, who made it 3-2 against the Giants with a bomb from the point early in the third period. “We don’t have guys that can go out and score three goals for us and win games; we need to play as a team. We really got that engraved in our heads, that this is something we have to do.”

The current upside for Kelowna is that its locker-room was in a great mood on Saturday night after outplaying, then beating Vancouver for a well-deserved victory. For example, during media interviews, Brown was constantly teased by teammates during the question-and-answer session.

“(Saturday’s win) was a huge game for us to build on,” said Brown. “We need to keep doing this and keep going this week.”

“It was a great win for the guys,” added Chapman. “We got down by a couple, but the goal in the room was to stick with the game plan,” said Chapman. “That’s what we did, and it really paid off in the end. At times, there’s a little bit of frustration, but this was a key example of when you stick to a plan, good things happen at the end. I think we just wore them down after 60 minutes of full effort, and we can’t complain with the decision.”

Huska agreed it was a good effort.

“(It was a complete turnaround) from the last four games,” Huska said. “That’s why it’s been not a lot of fun around the place over the last little while. Over the last four games, I thought we haven’t played the way we were capable of. (Against Vancouver), it was more like we can. We’re going to make mistakes — that’s part of hockey — but you can skate, you can push your opponent a lot more than the previous four games.”

Saturday night’s sudden turnaround was, according to the team, induced by internal pressure, with the coaching staff and players getting snarly.

“Definitely a bit of both. And the fans help when they’re loud; the guys love the fans,” said Chapman. “But our coaches keep sticking to the same game plan and we’re getting it in our heads, too, that the only way we’re going to win the season is if we keep playing for 60.”

http://dubnation-news.blogspot.com/2...n-kelowna.html

[Malc]

by Wayne Moore

The Kelowna Rockets just didn't work hard enough Friday night.

That was the assessment from head coach Ryan Huska after watching his club fall 2-1 in a shootout to the lowly Seattle Thunderbirds.

"I don't think we worked hard enough tonight. When you have a hard working night you usually get things to go your way," says Huska.

"Seattle came in and played a good road game. I think they outworked us."

Friday's effort came on the heels of arguably the clubs best complete effort of the season in Wednesday's 3-2 shootout win over the Kamloops Blazers.

"I'm getting tired of the ups and downs and rollercoasters," stated Huska.

"As soon as we have some success it's almost as if we change our approach. That's the tough part we need to get over. It's taken us a long time to do it but we will get there."

Even the Rockets shootout mojo was missing Friday as T-Birds netminder Calvin Pickard stoned both Zach Franko and Myles Bell. Franko had scored the winner in four straight shootouts wins this month while Bell had connected on his last two attempts.

Colin Jacobs scored the only goal in the shootout for the T-Birds.

"We didn't have the effort we wanted over the first two periods," says goaltender Adam Brown.

"It's tough to win games when you don't have that, especially in the first period. We got out-worked, out-competed. We weren't good enough to start the game."

The Rockets opened the scoring when Colton Heffley's wrist shot from the slot elluded Pickard who got his glove on the puck but couldn't squeeze it.

Burke Gallimore tied the game at one early in the second when his slapshot from the left circle went off the far post and in past Brown.

The goaltenders took over from there keeping the shooters at bay.

The Rockets had several great chances especially early in the second when Pickard denies both Colton Sissons and Brett Bulmer on breakaways.

Heffley had a chance for his second late in regulation time but again Pickard stoned him on a quick one-timer from.

Brown stopped Luke Lockhart on a shorthanded breakaway in the third then got help from defenceman Mitchell Chapman who played goalie during a mad scramble around the Rockets crease with Brown down and out.

"Anytime you play an elite goaltender like that he's going to give his team a chance to win so you have to be especially on your game to give your team a chance to win," added Brown.

Sissons agreed the team was flat compared to Wednesday's effort.

He put that on the leadership group in the room.

"We're going our best but we have to be better consistently," says Sissons.

"We definitely didn't play as a team like we did against Kamloops. We didn't battle for each other. That has to come around again and we have to keep that going leading into playoffs."

Sissons says it's hard sometimes to bounce back after an emotional high but admitted the team will have to play at that level every night come playoff time.

"We have to find that somewhere."

The Rockets get another crack at the Thunderbirds Sunday when the teams battle in Seattle.

Friday's win by the T-Birds was just their second in 11 games.

http://www.castanet.net/news/Sports/...tional-letdown