Cardinal Sport Weekend Preview: Rockets face Blazers in home-and-home set

The Kelowna Rockets and Kamloops Blazers will meet twice this weekend as one of the Western Hockey League’s longest-standing rivalries returns for the 2026-27 season. The home-and-home series opens Friday night at Prospera Place with puck drop at 7:05 pm, before the clubs travel to the Sandman Centre for a 6:00 pm meeting on Saturday.

Kelowna arrives with momentum after earning its first win of the season in last Saturday’s Home Opener, while Kamloops returns to B.C. Division play after splitting a two-game swing through the U.S. Division.

KELOWNA ROCKETS

Kelowna enters the weekend with a 1-1-1-0 record and points in two of its first three games. After a 4-2 loss in Penticton last Friday, the Rockets responded less than 24 hours later with a 3-1 win over the Vees in front of the home crowd. Kelowna limited Penticton to a single goal, scored once on three power-play chances and killed off both of the Vees’ opportunities.

Madden Daneault leads the Rockets offensively with one goal and two assists, all three points coming during the Battle of the Okanagan weekend. Owen Folstrom added two more assists against Penticton and has three helpers on the season. Jaxon Kehrig chipped in two assists over the weekend. Ryan Oothoudt added an assist to go with his goal from the season opener. Cole Braunshausen scored his first WHL goal against the Vees and has a goal and an assist through his first three games in the league.

The Rockets have scored seven goals and allowed eight through three games. Special teams have been sharp at Prospera Place, where the power play and penalty kill have combined to go 3-for-5, but both units have been tested on the road. Kelowna’s power play enters the weekend at 15.38 percent (2-for-13), and its penalty kill sits at 71.43 percent.

KAMLOOPS BLAZERS

Kamloops enters the weekend with a 1-2-0-0 record. The Blazers opened their season with a 4-2 home loss to the Victoria Royals on September 19 and then headed south for two games. They earned their first win of the season with a 2-1 decision in Tri-City last Friday before falling 5-3 to the Portland Winterhawks the following night.

Rookie Mateo Ferreira has made an immediate impact, leading Kamloops with one goal and three assists through three games. Ty Bonkowski follows with three points, Vit Zahejsky and Collin Kim have two points apiece, and Isa Guram has contributed two assists.

The Blazers have scored seven goals and allowed 10, but their special teams have been a strength early. Kamloops’ power play is converting at 33.33 percent (3-for-9), including 2-for-3 on home ice. Their penalty kill has allowed just one goal on 10 opportunities and has been perfect on the road, going 7-for-7 away from the Sandman Centre.

ROSTER UPDATE

The blue line gets a boost with the return of Nate Corbet. The 20-year-old defenceman was recently released from his amateur tryout with the Los Angeles Kings and Ontario Reign after spending training camp with the organization, recording a goal and a fight in his lone preseason appearance with Ontario. The Calgary product served as an alternate captain in Kelowna last season, posting three goals and 11 assists in 49 regular-season games before adding four points in nine playoff contests. Forward Vojtech Cihar remains with the Ontario Reign of the American Hockey League.

The Rockets have also reassigned 2008-born defenceman Dallin Antos to the Drumheller Dragons of the AJHL.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Friday marks the first regular-season meeting between the Rockets and Blazers in 2026-27.

Kelowna won last season’s series with a 4-1-0-1 record and earned points in five of six meetings. Kamloops finished the 2025-26 series at 2-3-1-0.

The longer history has favoured the Blazers, who hold a 20-11-1-0 record against Kelowna over the past five seasons. At Prospera Place, the matchup has been nearly even, with the Rockets going 7-6-2-1 and earning points in 10 of 16 home meetings over that span. The Sandman Centre has been a far tougher test: Kamloops is 11-4-1-0 on home ice against Kelowna over the same five-year stretch.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Season Record
KEL: 1-1-1-0 | KAM: 1-2-0-0

Goals For
KEL: 7 | KAM: 7

Goals Against
KEL: 8 | KAM: 10

Powerplay
KEL: 2/13 — 15.38% | KAM: 3/9 — 33.33%

Penalty Kill
KEL: 4/14 — 71.43% | KAM: 1/10 — 90.0%

ROCKETS SCORING LEADERS

• Madden Daneault — 1G, 2A, 3P
• Owen Folstrom — 0G, 3A, 3P
• Jaxon Kehrig — 0G, 2A, 2P
• Ryan Oothoudt — 1G, 1A, 2P
• Cole Braunshausen — 1G, 1A, 2P

BLAZERS SCORING LEADERS

• Mateo Ferreira — 1G, 3A, 4P
• Ty Bonkowski — 1G, 2A, 3P
• Vit Zahejsky — 1G, 1A, 2P
• Collin Kim — 1G, 1A, 2P
• Isa Guram — 0G, 2A, 2P

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

After this weekend’s home-and-home series against the Blazers, the Rockets return to Prospera Place to host the Swift Current Broncos on Wednesday, October 7 at 7:05 pm. Kelowna then welcomes the Brandon Wheat Kings for Pink in the Rink Night on Saturday, October 10 at 6:05 pm.