GAME DAY: Rockets Finish Weekend in Vancouver
Rockets @ Giants
Sunday September 27, 2015
Game Time ‑ 6:05 pm
Tonight’s Preview: The Kelowna Rockets opened a six game road trip last night with a 7-3 win in Kamloops. Tyson Baillie and Tomas Soustal each scored twice in the victory. Rourke Chartier, Dillon Dube and Cal Foote, with his first career WHL goal, scored in the team’s first road win of the season. The Rockets exploded for three-third period goals in the second straight win over the Blazers after a 4-3 victory a night earlier at Prospera Place in Kelowna. This is the Rockets third game in three nights. The team continues that theme next weekend with three games in three nights on an Alberta road trip, which has the team playing in Edmonton, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and Red Deer. The defending WHL champions play eight of their first 11 games on the road.
Giant Undertaking: The Rockets and Giants met eight times last season. The Rockets were 8-0-0-0, out-scoring their BC Division rivals 39-17. The Rockets put up five or more goals in five of the eight games and shutout the G-Men on two occasions.
This and That: Tyson Baillie has 6 points in two games. The19 year-old (doesn’t turn 20 until November 16) has back-to-back 2+1=3 point games…Baillie had 3+2=5 after two games last season…Baillie opened last season with goals in six straight games….Baillie has 99 career goals….If Baillie stays healthy and plays in every game this season, the 20 year-old will end his career with 331 games under his belt… The Rockets had two players taken in the NHL draft. Nick Merkley was taken in the first round by Arizona. Devante Stephens was chosen in the 5th round by Buffalo…Cole Linaker (Oilers), Tomas Soustal (Flames) and Tyson Baillie (Flames) all received free agent tryouts…Dillon Dube (3+3=6) and Kole Lind (1+5=6) led the team in pre-season scoring…The Rockets were 3-2-0-0 in five games during the pre-season…The CHL Top 10 rankings have the Rockets as the fourth best team in the nation heading into the season. Last year before the puck was dropped the Rockets were ranked fifth…. The team plays three games in three nights four times this season but twice in the first two weekends…In the last three seasons, the Rockets have a combined regular season record of 162-40-8-6 in 216 games. Portland is next with a mark of 154-48-5-9 over that same period.
Banner Raiser: The Kelowna Rockets raised three new banners last night after winning the BC Division with 112 points, the Western Conference playoff banner and the WHL title with a series sweep over the regular season champion Brandon Wheat Kings. It is the Rockets fourth WHL championship banner after winning the league crown in 2003 (vs. Red Deer), 2005 (vs. Brandon), 2009 (vs. Calgary) and 2015 (vs. Brandon). The BC Division title is the teams sixth, after earning 30 more points than the Victoria Royals, the BC Divisions second place team last season. The Rockets also won the BC Division in 2013-2014, 2012-2013, 2010-2011, 2003-2004 and 2002-2003.
New Kids on the Block: The Kelowna Rockets named 34 year-old Brad Ralph as the head coach on August fourth. Ralph took over from Dan Lambert, who resigned at seasons end to take an assistant coaching position with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. Ralph is the ninth head coach in Rockets franchise history after leaving the Idaho Steelheads after three seasons in the ECHL. On defense, the team welcomes 16 year-old Cal Foote, the son of former NHL’er Adam Foote. Foote was the team’s second round bantam pick in 2013 and his younger brother Nolan was the Rockets second round pick in this past May’s draft. The Rockets selected 18 year-old Swiss forward Calvin Thurkauf in this summer’s CHL Import draft. Other new faces include rookies Danny Gatenby (Joe’s younger brother) and 18 year-old Gordie Ballhorn, who played last season with the AJHL’s Whitecourt Wolverines.
Significant off-season losses: Winning a WHL title with an older team means the hockey club lost seven players and a coach following an appearance in the Memorial Cup final in Quebec City. Moving on to pro hockey are Leon Draisaitl, Josh Morrissey, Cole Martin, Chance Braid, Tyrell Goulbourne and Captain Madison Bowey. Defenceman Mitch Wheaton was traded to the Saskatoon Blades in the off season and head coach Dan Lambert resigned July 6th to take a job in the NHL.
My memory is good, just short: For a third straight season the Rockets won 50+ games. With a record of 53-13-5-1, the team accumulated 112 points, two fewer than the regular season champion Brandon Wheat Kings. The Rockets won 26 times on home ice and a league high 27 times on the road. The Rockets were one of only two teams to score 300 or more goals (305) with Brandon leading the way with 340. Lost in the team’s successes last season was allowing a league low 183 goals against.
Is a repeat in the cards? The Rockets return their top three point producers from last season. Nick Merkley (90 pts), Rourke Chartier (82 pts), and Tyson Baillie (76 pts) are all back with the team. Merkley was taken in the first round of this summer’s NHL draft by the Arizona Coyotes while he and fellow teammate Chartier both attended Team Canada’s summer camp for the upcoming World Junior Hockey Championships. Baillie received a free agent tryout with the NHL’s Calgary Flames. Jackson Whistle, who played in 50 regular season games and posted a goals against average of 2.55, is back for his 20 year-old season. Whistle suited up for the Vancouver Canucks for a second consecutive season in the Young Stars Classic in Penticton. The hockey club returns 15 players from last season’s championship squad.
