Preview: Rockets gear up for final weekend of action
The Kelowna Rockets will be looking to bounce back this weekend following two straight losses.
Kelowna fell 4-3 in overtime to the Kamloops Blazers on Saturday night at the Sandman Centre, then dropped a 2-1 decision to the Prince George Cougars on Tuesday night at Prospera Place.
The Rockets head into the final weekend of the shortened 2020-2021 season. They’ll play both games on the road in Kamloops, taking on the Vancouver Giants Friday night and Prince George on Sunday. Puck drop is set for 7:00 pm on Saturday and 6:00 pm on Sunday.
Following the weekend, Kelowna will have two games left on their schedule. They’ll take on Kamloops at Prospera Place on Monday and close out the season with a matchup against Victoria on Wednesday night.
Prince George and Vancouver were both in action on Wednesday night, facing off against each other at the Sandman Centre. The Cougars leapfrogged the Giants for second in the BC Division with a 3-0 shutout.
Prince George is on a hot streak, going 5-0-1-0 in their last six. They have a Saturday night matchup with the Victoria Royals at Prospera Place before their meeting with the Rockets on Sunday.
Kamloops will play Victoria tonight at Prospera Place before they see the Giants on Saturday. Blazers captain Connor Zary remains listed as out day-to-day with an upper body injury.
The Western Hockey League announced today the procedure for the determination of final standings for the 2020-21 WHL Regular Season.
As a result of Clubs playing an uneven number of games due to cancellations related to COVID-19, specifically in the B.C. Division, Central Division, and U.S. Division, points-per-game percentage will be used to determine the final 2020-21 Division Standings and overall WHL Standings. More information can be found here.
2020-2021 B.C. Division Standings based on points
as of Thursday afternoon
| # | Team | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | PTS | PCT |
| 1 | Kamloops Blazers | 18 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 28 | .778 |
| 2 | Prince George Cougars | 19 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 21 | .553 |
| 3 | Vancouver Giants | 19 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 20 | .526 |
| 4 | Kelowna Rockets | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 17 | .708 |
| 5 | Victoria Royals | 18 | 2 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 6 | .167 |
Season series vs VAN: 2-1-0-0
Mar. 28 – KEL 0 at VAN 6 L
Apr. 24 – VAN 4 at KEL 3 W
Apr. 29 – VAN 3 at KEL 4 W
May 7 – KEL at VAN
Season series vs PG: 2-1-0-0
Apr. 17 – KEL 7 at PG 5 W
Apr. 23 – PG 1 at KEL 5 W
May 4 – PG 2 at KEL 1 L
May 9 – KEL at PG
Season series vs KAM: 1-1-1-0
Apr. 20 – KEL 2 at KAM 6 L
Apr. 30 – KAM 1 at KEL 6 W
May. 1 – KEL 3 at KAM 4 OTL
May 10 – KAM at KEL
Players to watch:
Kelowna:
- Overage forward David Kope leads the Rockets in points with 14. He’s been named to the WH:’s RE/MAX BC Hub Team of the Week for the last two weeks.
- Mark Liwiski has posted 13 points (9G, 4A) over his last ten games, he leads the team with four game-winning goals.
Vancouver Giants:
- Rookie Colton Langkow is the son of former WHLer and NHLer Daymond Langkow. The fifth-round pick in the 2019 WHL Draft has an assist through four games this season.
- Florida Panthers prospect Justin Sourdif leads the team in points with 27 through 19 games. He also leads the team in assists with 20.
Prine Geroge Cougars:
- Goaltender Taylor Gauthier backstopped the Cougars to a 2-1 win over the Rockets this past week. He made 29 saves to pick up his sixth win of the season.
- 2021 Draft eligible Craig Armstrong leads the Cougars in scoring with 13 points (7G, 6A) in 18 games this season.
Kamloops Blazers:
- Caedan Bankier posted a hat trick and the overtime game-winner in Saturday night’s win over the Rockets. The third-round pick in the 2018 WHL Draft has 17 points (8G, 9A) through 18 games this season.
- Will the Rockets get a look at Ethan Ernst’s younger brother in net for the Blazers this season? Dylan has appeared in three games for Kamloops, posting a record of 2-1.
