Cardinal Sport Preview: Rockets conclude regular season against Blazers and Giants
The Kelowna Rockets will wrap up its 2024-25 campaign with a pair of games against two divisional foes, first hosting Kamloops in the Fan Appreciation Game on Saturday, March 22nd before concluding the season on the road against the Vancouver Giants on Sunday, March 23rd.
The Rockets come into the game having lost a tightly contested game with the Victoria Royals on Wednesday. Kelowna got goals from Hiroki Gojsic, Levi Benson and Jakub Stancl but Victoria scored late in the game and secured the empty netter for a 5-3 victory.
BLAZERS
The Blazers most recent meeting was with the Victoria Royals on Tuesday, March 18th. Kamloops lost the game 5-3 and will conclude its regular season with games against Vancouver on Friday and Kamloops on Saturday.
GIANTS
The playoff bound Giants have lost two consecutive games heading into Friday night, a 4-3 defeat to Victoria and a 4-2 loss to Portland on March 16th. The Giants will travel to Kamloops on Friday before hosting Kelowna on Sunday to wrap up their 68 game schedule.
SATURDAY’S FAN APPRECIATION GAME
Saturday’s Fan Appreciation game will feature a special throwback themed jersey that the players will gave off their backs to the fans in the season long draw that will take place Saturday during the game, a 50/50 Jackpot that started online sales earlier this week at $10,000, live music from iSTARiO, face painting and a team poster giveaway.
For the jersey giveaway, fans will have until puck drop to enter the final ballot from the Game Day Program. Following the game, the Rockets players will give their special, one of a kind jerseys to the fans whose names were drawn during the first intermission.
The online and in-person 50/50 gives fans located in British Columbia along with fans attending games the chance to win during every Rockets home game this season while raising important dollars for the Kelowna Minor Hockey Association. 50/50 tickets are on sale now online at rockets5050.com and will end at the start of the third period. Fans can use debit, credit or cash to purchase tickets in person at the game. For more information about the 50/50 click here.
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 and Jake Henderson are out week-to-week with upper body injuries.
ROCKETS TO WATCH
- Will Sharpe scored twice in the most recent meeting with Vancouver, including a highlight reel overtime winner in a 4-3 victory on February 22nd. He also scored the opening goal on March 14th against Kamloops.
- Kayden Longley has found some success this season against Kamloops and Vancouver, scoring five of his 11 goals against the two clubs.
BLAZERS TO WATCH
- Emmitt Finnie posted a goal and two assists on March 14th against Kelowna and then tallied another two points on March 15th in a pair of Blazer victories.
- Matteo Koci had two assists in Kamloops’ most recent meeting with the Blazers.
GIANTS TO WATCH
- Jaden Lipinski scored twice in Vancouver’s last win over Kelowna, while also adding two assists for a four-point effort.
- Tyus Sparks has goals in back-to-back games against the Rockets and has reached double digit goals in his rookie campaign.
THE LAST TIME THESE TWO MET
VS KAM
Emmitt Finnie, Nathan Behm, Beau Courtney and John Szabo all scored in a 4-1 Blazers win over Kelowna on March 15th at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops. Kayden Longley scored the lone goal for Kelowna in defeat.
VS VAN
Kelowna kicked off its longest road trip of the season on February 22nd in Vancouver which saw the Rockets go to Vancouver, Prince George and then through Alberta on an eight-game stretch. The Rockets built a 3-1 lead thanks to goals from Hiroki Gojsic, Dawson Gerwing and Will Sharpe before Sharpe scored his second of the contest in overtime for a 4-3 victory.
SEASON RECORD
VS KAM
- Dec. 28 vs KAM • 3-1 L
- Jan. 3 at KAM • 6-4 W
- Jan. 24 at KAM • 4-3 OTL
- Feb. 14 at KAM • 3-1 L
- Feb. 15 vs KAM • 4-3 L
- Mar. 14 vs KAM • 5-2 L
- Mar. 15 at KAM • 4-1 L
- Mar. 22 vs KAM • @ 6:05 PM
VS VAN
- Nov. 22 vs VAN • 8-3 W
- Dec. 29 at VAN • 3-1 L
- Jan. 4 vs VAN • 7-0 L
- Jan. 11 at VAN • 6-4 L
- Jan. 25 vs VAN • @ 6-4 L
- Feb. 21 vs VAN • 5-1 L
- Feb. 22 at VAN • 4-3 OTW
- Mar. 23 at VAN • @ 4:00 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.
