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WHL Kelowna Rockets

Kelowna Rockets Training Camp Day 4 Recap

September 1, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Kelowna Rockets News Release


The Kelowna Rockets wrapped up four days of on-ice sessions with two games, the third-place contest between Team Gorges and Team Schenn as well as the championship final where Team McLean and Team Weber competed for the Kelowna Sand & Gravel championship trophy with the right to be named training camp champions.

The third-place game got the day started Sunday morning in a tight checking, defensive matchup. Team Gorges struck first less than a minute in the game on a goal by 2022 Rockets draft pick Rhett Serfas. That was the only goal that goaltenders Jake Pilon and 2009-born William Marshall would allow in their half of game for their respective teams as the next goal of the game would come past the midway mark of the second period where Levi Benson knotted the game at one. Benson was acquired by the Rockets in June in a trade with Swift Current in exchange for Kelowna's second-round pick in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft, Kelowna's third-round pick in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft and a conditional Kelowna sixth-round pick in the 2028 WHL Prospects Draft.

2009-born forward Jayan Sinha gave Team Gorges a 2-1 advantage in the third and they were able to hold that lead until the final minute of the game when Caden Price fired a shot from the point and found Raine Lepin who deposited the puck behind goaltender Reed Russell to tie the game at two and sending the game to overtime. The extra frame was ended by Michael Cicek who scored the overtime winner on a penalty shot.

The championship game between Team McLean and Team Weber was one that saw a combined 12 goals between the two sides. 2009-born Henry Duesing got the party started off a nice feed from Andrew Cristall. Team Weber would go on to score the next thee goals as well from Rockets second-round pick in this past WHL Draft Nathan Cole as well as Lachlan Staniforth and Cristall.

Team McLean would respond with a pair of goals from Colton Lien and Jake DeMone but Cristall potted his second of the afternoon to regain the three goal lead. Team McLean wouldn't go away easily as Ethan Mittelsteadt scored twice and Max Graham chipped in with a goal to bring the final back to even terms. Late in the contest Rowan Guest made it 6-5 and Cristall put the game away with an empty net goal to give the game it's final score of 7-5.

Kelowna will kick off the 2024-25 preseason on the road against the Kamloops Blazers at the Sandman Centre on Friday, September 6. Fans will get their first opportunity to see the Rockets when they host the Blazers the next night on September 7.

The Rockets will then wrap up their preseason schedule with a home-and-home with the Vancouver Giants. The Rockets will host Vancouver on Saturday, September 14 before travelling to Ladner to wrap up the preseason against the Giants on Sunday, September 15.

Kelowna will open the regular season on Saturday, September 21 against the Portland Winterhawks at Prospera Place.

Tickets can be purchased online through www.selectyourtickets.com, at the Prospera Place box office, or by phone at 250-762-5050.

Kelowna Sand & Gravel are the sponsoring partner for this year's Kelowna Rockets training camp. Kelowna Sand & Gravel is the original source for Kettle Valley Granite in Kelowna, BC. They have a range of landscape materials, including natural stone products with a wide variety in size, colour, and shapes, as well as preparation materials like sand and drainage rock. They sell natural stone and hardscape materials to both landscapers and homeowners and look forward to serving all your landscaping needs.

Check out the Kelowna Rockets Statistics

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