Preview: Rockets gear up for two game weekend

The Kelowna Rockets will play in a pair of teddy bear toss games this weekend. They’ll be hoping to make it rain bears against the Victoria Royals on Friday night, but will try to stop the bears from coming down on Saturday night on the road against the Vancouver Giants.

Interior Health protocols require stuffed animals to be new with tags and placed in bags before being tossed onto the ice. Bags will be available at the game for fans if they need one. To learn more about the teddy bear toss click here.

Kelowna is coming off a 5-2 win over the Everett  Silvertips on Sunday that snapped a four-game losing streak. Gabriel Szturc was named the game’s first star after netting a pair of goals, while Rockets goaltender Jari Kykkanen made 44 saves to earn second-star honours.

Victoria hosted the Kamloops Blazers for back-to-back games on  Tuesday and Wednesday. The Royals fell 3-0 in the first game, but came back to down the Blazers 5-2 on Wednesday ending their 12-game losing streak.

It’s a busy weekend for the Giants, they’ll travel to Kamloops for their matchup on Friday night before returning home on Saturday to host the Rockets. They’ll then head down to Seattle on Sunday evening.

Tickets

Single-game tickets for all Rockets games are available at Select Your Tickets. Tickets can be purchased online through www.selectyourtickets.com, at the Prospera Place box office, or by phone at 250-762-5050.

Mini Packs are now on sale for the 2022-23 season, pick from between a six or twelve-game pack. Click here to learn more about Mini Packs.

The last time these two met 

It’s been nearly two months since the Rockets last saw the Royals, they last met on October 11th and 12th on the island. Colton Dach lifted Kelowna to a 2-1 victory in overtime on the 11th, but Victoria charged back to take the second game 5-2.

Saturday will be the first time Vancouver and Kelowna face off this season.

Roster Updates

The Rockets will be without captain Colton Dach, forward Adam Kydd and defenceman Jackson Romeril.

Dach has departed for Hockey Canada’s World Junior Championship camp.

Kydd remains sidelined with a lower-body injury. Forward Turner McMillen is also listed on the injury report as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Romeril underwent a tonsillectomy earlier this week, he will miss the next two weeks.

Click here to view the Rockets Injury Report.

Players to watch

Kelowna

• Rockets leading scorer Andrew Cristall will be looking to go back-to-back on Teddy Bear goals.

• Twenty-year-old forward Carson Golder started his WHL career with the Victoria Royals, this will be his first chance to face his former team as a member of the Rockets.

• Gabriel Szturc posted a three-point night on Sunday, the Czechia product has recorded 36 points through 24 games this season.

Victoria

• Former Rocket Jake Poole leads the Royals in scoring with 26 points (15A, 11A) through 26 games this season. After being held pointless in his previous four games, the twenty-year-old posted a three-point (2G, 1A) night, including the game-winner on Wednesday against the Blazers.

• Goaltender Nicholas Cristiano‘s name will ring a bell with Rockets fans, his WHL playing rights were traded from the Rockets to the Royals late last month. He’s 1-4-0-0 with a 3.83 goals-against average, .889 save percentage in five starts for Victoria.

• Kelowna product Teague Patton was teammates with Rockets Jackson DeSouza and Dylan Wightman in 2019-20 on the U18 Okanagan Rockets. He’s currently second in Royals scoring with 17 points in 28 games.

Vancouver

• Rookie import Samuel Honzek leads the Giants in scoring with 39 points (15G, 24A) through 27 games. A late 2004 birthdate, the Slovak product will be eligible for the NHL Draft for the first time this June. He was given an ‘A’ ranking by the NHL’s Central Scouting on their Preliminary Players to Watch List.

•  Mazden Leslie leads all Giants defencemen in scoring with 25 points through 27 games. He was a ‘C’ ranking by the NHL’s Central Scouting on their Preliminary Players to Watch List.

• Vegas Golden Knights prospect Jesper Vikman has once again carried most of the workload in the crease for the Giants this season. He’s 8-8-0-1 with a 3.42 goals-against average, .903 save percentage in 18 games for Vancouver this season.

The series at a glance

2022-23 Season Series vs VIC

2022-23 Season Series vs VAN

BC Division standings

as of Thursday afternoon

Online 50/50

The Kelowna Rockets online 50/50 is back for the 2022-23 season!

The online 50/50 will give fans in Rockets fans located in British Columbia and those who are attending the game the chance to win during every Rockets home game this season. The 50/50 will also raise important dollars for the Kelowna Minor Hockey Association.

Tickets will be available for purchase on all game days starting at 9 a.m. PT and end at the start of the third period on the same day.

CLICK HERE to learn more about the online 50/50 and purchase tickets.

Lineup Sheet + Game Day Program

Printed lineup sheets will not be available at games this season, they can be accessed online by visiting the game day program.

The Game Day Program will be available in the same spot, it comes complete with game notes, stats, team rosters and entry forms for the Rockets intermission contests.

The sheet and program will be uploaded by 3:00 p.m. on game days.

Mini Packs are now on sale for the 2022-23 season, pick from between a six or twelve-game pack. Click here to learn more about Mini Packs.