Cardinal Sport Preview: Rockets hit the road to the United States
The Kelowna Rockets will look for their first win of the 2024-25 campaign when they head off to Spokane and Tri-City for a pair of games against the Chiefs and Americans.
Kelowna held a 2-1 advantage through the second period thanks to goals from Tij Iginla and Michael Cicek but fell 5-2 loss Wednesday night to the Prince George Cougars at Prospera Place.
The Rockets however did receive some good news as it was announced earlier today that the New Jersey Devils returned Max Graham to Kelowna for the 2024-25 season. Graham had 20 goals and 42 points in 67 games last season with the Rockets. The lone remaining player away at NHL camp is Andrew Cristall, who remains with the Washington Capitals.
CHIEFS
The Chiefs are off to a quick start this season, winning three of their first four games. They opened up the campaign with a split with Prince George, winning the opener 4-3 before losing 3-1 the following night. Spokane then won back-to-back games the following weekend, defeating Wenatchee 6-3 and Tri-City 4-1. The Chiefs did not have a midweek game ahead of Friday but will host Seattle the night after seeing Kelowna.
AMERICANS
The Americans will enter the weekend with a record of 1-2 after splitting the opening weekend with Victoria before dropping a 4-1 decision to the Chiefs on September 28. The Americans will head off to Seattle after they’ve faced the Rockets to play the Thunderbirds on Tuesday, October 8.
ROCKETS TO WATCH
- Tij Iginla made his 2024-25 season debut on Wednesday against the Cougars after spending the past few weeks with the Utah Hockey Club who drafted him sixth overall in the summer. Iginla scored the team’s first goal of the game. The Rockets leading goal scorer from a year ago will look to continue to provide offence for the Kelowna attack.
- Michael Cicek has had a torrid pace to start the season, amassing three goals in four games with all of those goals coming in the past three consecutive games.
CHIEFS TO WATCH
- Berkly Catton was recently returned to the Chiefs from the Seattle Kraken, after he was selected by the NHL team with the eighth overall selection and was named the Chiefs captain. He has one assist in two games.
- Shea Van Olm leads the Chiefs in scoring so far this season, posting three goals and three assists in six games. The 20-year-old forward had 64 points a season ago with the Chiefs and Kamloops Blazers and is looking to surpass that total in his final season of junior hockey.
AMERICANS TO WATCH
- Brandon Whynott is the club’s leader in goals with three, ahead of Jake Sloan and Cruz Pavao. The 20-year-old forward had 16 goals and 33 points with the Americans last season and will be asked to provide more offence as an older player.
THE LAST TIME THESE TWO MET
vs SPOKANE
The Rockets hosted Spokane on February 13 and fell in a 4-2 decision. Andrew Cristall was named the game’s third star, registering a goal while Kayden Longley scored the other for Kelowna. Jari Kykkanen made 25 saves on 29 shot attempts.
vs TRI-CITY
The last time the Rockets met the Americans was at the end of last season, a game which saw the Rockets come away with a 6-1 victory. Hiroki Gojsic had two goals and an assist while Tij Iginla had a goal and two helpers in the victory. Jari Kykkanen slammed the door in net, making 26 saves on 27 shots.
SEASON RECORDS
vs SPOKANE
- Oct. 4 @ SPO • 7:05 pm
- Nov. 5 @ SPO • 7:05 pm
- Nov. 9 vs SPO • 6:05 pm
- Jan. 15 vs SPO • 7:05 pm
vs TRI-CITY
- Oct. 5 @ TC • 6:05 pm
- Oct. 19 @ TC • 6:05 pm
- Dec. 13 @ TC • 7:05 pm
- Feb. 8 vs TC • 6:05 pm
- Feb. 17 vs TC • 2:05 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
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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.
