Surfing the web
r A selection of Rockets news and notes found in cyberspace:
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r From oursportscentral.com
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r The Charlotte Checkers announced today that defenseman Tysen Dowzak has been assigned to the team by the New York Rangers.
r Dowzak, 21, returns to the Checkers after spending the majority of last year with the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League. In 54 games with the Rockets, he collected 14 assists and 77 penalty minutes and helped the team capture a WHL Championship and earn a Memorial Cup Finals appearance.
r In 220 career WHL games, the 6-foot-5, 210-pound defenseman has tallied four goals, 34 assists and 304 penalty minutes. He skated in four games with the Checkers and one game with the American Hockey League's Hartford Wolfpack to begin 2008-09.
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r From gothunderbirds.ca (UBC athletics)
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r The UBC Thunderbirds and AHL’s Abbotsford Heat are set to tangle Wednesday with part proceeds from their exhibition game being donated by UBC towards the ongoing fundraising effort to help local hockey coach Rick Sidoni’s battle against cancer.
r The Heat’s roster, although not necessarily finalized, already features a number of big names in the Flames organization with many players having a strong BC connection.
r Mikael Backlund, the Flames’ 2008 1st round pick who spent most of the pre-season with NHL club, headlines the Heat and was a member of the Kelowna Rockets WHL Championship team last season. Other former Rockets on the Heat’s roster include Ryley Grantham, Carsen Germyn, and Brett Palin.
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r From gdrinnan.blogspot.com
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r The Kelowna Rockets are starting to put things back together after one devastating period in a weekend in which they split two games with the Kamloops Blazers. In the first period of Friday’s 4-1 loss in Kamloops, the Rockets lost three players. The team now expects that D Tyson Barrie (knee) will miss up to three weeks, D Mitchell Chapman (shoulder) will be out a week or two, and F Max Adolph (ankle) will sit for a month. The Rockets also are without F Evan Bloodoff (knee) for up to six months and G Mark Guggenberger (pelvis) indefinitely. As well, D Tyler Myers remains with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. . . . Which is why the Rockets traded for Tyler Matheson on Monday, giving up a conditional seventh-round bantam pick in order to get him from the Saskatoon Blades.
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