Rockets on fire heading into weekend games
Emad Agahi – kelownarockets.com
It has been a remarkable start to the season for the Kelowna Rockets, who sit alone atop the Western Hockey League standings with 31 points heading into tonight’s game against the Spokane Chiefs (7 p.m. Prospera Place Tickets here).
Electrifying offensive play, tidy defensive work, and stellar goaltending have left Kelowna fans accustomed to seeing their team in the win column after just about every game this season. In fact the team hasn’t lost at home and has just one regulation loss and another in overtime with its 15-1-1-0 record.
While Rourke Chartier, Madison Bowey, Nick Merkley and Jackson Whistle have become household names in this city and around the league, a closer look at their numbers helps put in perspective just how impressive the four have been.
Jackson Whistle:
The Rockets netminder and West Kelowna kid jumped out of the gate winning his first nine starts of the year and through 15 starts he leads the entire CHL with 13 wins. Whistle also boasts a 2.07 GAA which is leading the WHL and only second to Ken Appleby of the Oshawa Generals for tops in the country.
The WHL has given Whistle the Septemer/October goalie of the month honours, and if you ask his teammates they would be the first to tell you how important he has been to the success of the team so far.
“Jackson Whistle has been huge, we wouldn’t have won some the games if he wasn’t playing and standing on his head” said Rockets centre Tyson Baillie.
Meanwhile, when asked about his team’s performance after a 5-1 rout of Victoria Wednesday night Rockets captain Madison Bowey gave praise to his backstop by saying, “they pushed us for a good part of that game, and we had good saves from Whitsle again. He has been doing that a lot lately.”
Madison Bowey:
The Washington Capitals prospect has once again been a rock playing on the back-end for the Rockets. Bowey has been in on more goals than any defenceman in the country, leading all CHL D-men with 25 points. It’s not all about the offence either with the Winnipeg native, who also leads the WHL with a +18 rating.
Bowey broke the franchise record for most goals by a defenceman a year ago when he tallied 21 goals by season’s end. This year he could set a new bar, having already scored seven goals with 52 games left on the schedule.
Merkley, Chartier:
The Kelowna offence has been lights out this year and it helps when you can send out this duo to face opposing defences.
Nick Merkley became the first player in the WHL to reach 30 points on Wednesday night, good for first among all WHL skaters. Meanwhile, Merkley’s linemate Rourke Chartier is not far behind with 27 points, but has his own feat to brag about.
Chartier has scored 15 goals this season, three more than any other player in the league. The accolade is something he hopes can continue into the future.
“We just have to keep working because our momentum can shift on a dime at any time. As good as it has been, you could have the worst slump starting tomorrow,” he said.
