Cardinal Sport Preview: Rockets conclude Alberta road trip in Edmonton with matchup against Oil Kings
The Kelowna Rockets will conclude their Alberta road trip on Friday night against the Edmonton Oil Kings at Rogers Place.
The Rockets come into the contest having lost 5-2 to Medicine Hat on Tuesday and 7-4 on Wednesday night to the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Hayden Paupanekis was strong in both games, lighting the lamp three times while Levi Benson recorded his first multi-goal game at the Major Junior level in Lethbridge.
The loss to the Hurricanes eliminated the Rockets from playoff contention with six games remaining in the regular season.
OIL KINGS
Edmonton comes into Friday with a record of 33-24-2-2, good for 70 points and sixth in the Eastern Division. However, the Oil Kings have lost two straight, a 5-3 decision to Saskatoon and a 3-2 loss to Brandon on Wednesday.
ROCKETS ROSTER AND INJURY UPDATE
The Kelowna Rockets have three players out for the remainder of the season due to injury. Tij Iginla is out following successful hip surgery while Max Graham underwent successful knee surgery that will sideline him for the remainder of the season as well.
Michael Cicek will also miss the remaining regular season games after he underwent successful surgery to repair a laceration to his left forearm. Jaxon Kehrig is out indefinitely with an upper body injury.
ROCKETS TO WATCH
- Carter Kowalyk will make his return to Edmonton following a trade to Kelowna last season. The 19-year-old was drafted by the Oil Kings in the fourth round of the 2020 WHL Prospects Draft and spent parts of three seasons with the organization. Kowalyk was a member of the Oil Kings 2022 WHL Championship team, suiting up in 15 playoff games.
- Levi Benson has seemingly found his offensive stride in the second half of the season as his two-goal performance on Wednesday puts him past the 20 point plateau while also getting him within a goal of reaching double digits.
OIL KINGS TO WATCH
- Gracyn Sawchyn is the leading scorer on the Oil Kings as the Florida Panthers second rounder has 28 goals and 71 points in 47 games.
- Joe Iginla, younger brother to Rockets forward Tij, is in his rookie season with the Oil Kings. In 53 games the 16-year-old forward has eight goals and 12 points.
THE LAST TIME THESE TWO MET
Edmonton paid their only visit to Prospera Place in early January of last season. The Oil Kings raced out to a quick 3-0 lead but Kelowna responded with a goal in the second period and three goals in the third for a 4-3 victory.
SEASON RECORD
VS EDM
- Mar. 7 at EDM • @ 6:00 PM
WATCH AND LISTEN
Radio broadcast
Rockets games will be broadcast on 104.7 FM the Lizard this season with Regan Bartel calling all of the action.
Don’t forget to download the RocketFAN app and visit rocketfan.ca for more exclusive Rockets content from Pattison. Fans can stream the radio broadcast of all Rockets games on the app.
Click here to download RocketFAN on Google Play
Click here to download RocketFAN on the App Store
Online video stream
All Rockets games will be available on WHL Live. WHL Live on is available to fans anywhere in the world, providing high-quality streaming of WHL games on Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV platforms, via mobile with iOS and Android, and on web using Safari or Google Chrome web browsers. Visit watch.chl.ca for complete details and subscription options.
Six and twelve game Mini Packs for the Kelowna Rockets season are now on sale through Select Your Tickets. To learn how to save on walk-up tickets and use the flexibility of a Mini Pack click here.
