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WHL Kelowna Rockets

Preveiw: Rockets Double Header At Royals

October 11, 2022 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Kelowna Rockets News Release


Kelowna Rockets left wing Grady Lenton
Kelowna Rockets left wing Grady Lenton
(Kelowna Rockets, Credit: Steve Dunsmoor)

The Kelowna Rockets will be looking to get back into the win column when they visit the Victoria Royals on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre-puck drop is set for 7:05 pm.

Tuesday will be the first time they face off in Victoria this season.

In last year's season series the Rockets went 10-3-0-0 against the Royals, with all three losses coming on Royals ice in Victoria.

"When we go over to Victoria, I don't know if it's the fresh sea air but it takes us a little bit to get our feet under us," said head coach Kris Mallette in his postgame media availability on Friday.

"Knowing what they're about as a team and the fact that they're really strong at jumping on the loose puck and turnovers, stuff like that. We've gotta make sure that we're ready and prepared for the drop of the puck on Tuesday night."

The Rockets are coming off of a 5-4 loss to the Seattle Thunderbirds on Friday night. Down 3-1 heading into the third period, the Rockets pushed back to tie the game early in the final frame, but the Thunderbirds responded with a pair of goals two quick goals just over a minute apart after the tying goal. The Rockets added a power play marker in the final minutes of the game.

Victoria is searching for their first win of the season after dropping back-to-back games to Kamloops, 5-2 on Friday and 3-1 on Saturday. They're now 0-7-0-0 to start the season.

Victoria Royals (0-7-0-0 - 0 points)

5th B.C. Division

Power Play: 5/26- 19.2%

Penalty Kill: 19/27 - 70.4%

Last Ten: 0-7-0-0 Streak: 0-7-0-0

GF: 13 GA: 31

PIM: 86 Kelowna Rockets (2-2-1-0 - 5 points)

T-2nd B.C. Division

Power Play: 9/26 - 34.6%

Penalty Kill: 14/18 - 77.8%

Last Ten: 2-2-1-0 Streak: 0-1-0-0

GF: 20 GA: 18

PIM: 64

The last time these two met

Victoria and Kelowna didn't have to wait long to see each other again, they played last Wednesday with the Rockets picking up a 3-0 win at Prospera Place.

Kelowna broke out with a pair of goals in the first. After a scoreless second period, the Rockets added another in the third.

Adam Kydd recorded a goal and an assist, while seven other Rockets found the scoresheet. Netminder Jari Kykkanen made twenty saves to earn his second win of the season and second career shutout.

Roster Updates

Twenty-year-old goaltender Talyn Boyko, who is still unsigned, was released from his training tryout with the New York Rangers AHL affiliate the Hartford Wolfpack on Monday. The Rangers prospect is now listed as a tryout with their ECHL affiliate, the Jacksonville Icemen.

Colton Dach will make his 2022-23 debut, the Chicago Blackhawks 2021 second-round pick was returned to the Rockets on Friday. He was named the Rockets 27th captain on Monday.

Players to watch

Kelowna

Both Andrew Cristall (5G, 6A) and Gabriel Szturc (4G, 7A) are riding five-game point streaks, they're both tied for the team lead and are third in league scoring with 11 points.

Caden Pricehas strung together a three-game point streak, he leads the Rockets defencemen in scoring with six points (1G, 5A).

Colton Dach will make his season debut. Last year 19 (3G, 16A) of his team-leading 79 points (29G, 50A) came against the Royals, he also tallied 42 shots against Victoria in 12 games last season.

Victoria

The Rockets dealt 20-year-old Jake Poole to the Royals last Tuesday. He's appeared in three games for them since the trade, firing five shots on net.

Goaltener Tyler Palmer has carried the workload in net for the Royals this season, appearing in five games. He made a pair of stellar saves on Andrew Cristall and Adam Kydd in last week's game.

Carter Dereniwsky, Teague Pattonand Riley Gannon are all tied for the lead in Royals scoring with four points each through seven games.

Series at a glance

2022-23 Season Series vs VIC

Oct. 5 vs Victoria 3-0 W

Oct. 11 @ Victoria 7:05 pm

Oct. 12 @ Victoria 7:05 pm

Dec. 9 vs Victoria 7:05 pm

Jan. 3 vs Victoria 7:05 pm

Jan. 13 @ Victoria 7:05 pm

Jan. 14 @ Victoria 6:05 pm

Jan. 22 vs Victoria 4:05 pm

Watch and listen

Radio broadcast

Rockets games will be broadcast on 104.7 FM the Lizard this season with Regan Bartel calling all of the action.

Don't forget to download the RocketFAN app and visit rocketfan.ca for more exclusive Rockets content from Pattison. Fans can stream the radio broadcast of all Rockets games on the app.

Online video stream

All Rockets games will be available on WHL Live on CHL TV. WHL Live on CHL TV is available to fans anywhere in the world, providing high-quality streaming of WHL games on Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV platforms, via mobile with iOS and Android, and on web using Safari or Google Chrome web browsers. Visit watch.chl.ca for complete details and subscription options.

Rockets fans first chance to see Colton Dach at Prospera Place this season will be on Friday, October 14th when the Everett Silvertips visit. It's also the Rockets Pink at the Rink game, with the team wearing speciality pink jerseys that will be auctioned off at the game with the proceeds going to the Canadian Cancer Society.

Single-game tickets for all Rockets home games are on sale 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.

Check out the Kelowna Rockets Statistics




Images from this story

Kelowna Rockets left wing Grady Lenton
Kelowna Rockets left wing Grady Lenton
(Steve Dunsmoor)		   



Western Hockey League Stories from October 11, 2022


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