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WHL Kelowna Rockets

Prevew: Cougars At Rockets

November 17, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Kelowna Rockets News Release


Kelowna Rockets face off with the Prince George Cougars
Kelowna Rockets face off with the Prince George Cougars
(Kelowna Rockets, Credit: Steve Dunsmoor)

The Kelowna Rockets will be looking to break an eight-game winless streak this weekend when they host the Prince George Cougars at Prospera Place on Saturday for the Rockets lone game of the weekend.

Bush Party will be playing live music throughout the game from a stage up behind second 112.

On The Island

Kelowna has played their last four games on the road, most recently they visited Victoria for games on Monday and Tuesday. The Rockets fell 3-2 in overtime in the first game and 5-3 in the second game.

Cougars And Giants Well Acquainted

The Cougars hosted the Vancouver Giants for back-to-back games on Tuesday and Wednesday where they split the two. The Cougars blanked the G-Men 5-0 in the opening game, but the Giants responded with a 6-1 win the next night. Prince George will play their third consecutive game against Vancouver on Friday at the Langley Events Centre before heading to Kelowna.

Top Ranked Cougs

Prince George remained the second-ranked team in the nation on the 2023-24 CHL Top-10 Rankings for Week 7 released on Tuesday. They enter Friday tied atop the WHL standings with 28 points and a record of 14-6-0-0. They lead all WHL teams in scoring with 95 goals for this season and a lethal power play of 30.5%.

TICKETS

Single-game tickets for all Rockets games are on sale at Select Your Tickets.

Tickets for Rockets games are only available at Select Your Tickets, they are the official provider of Rockets tickets. To view pricing and a seating map please click here.

Tickets can be purchased:

- Online at selectyourtickets.com

- By calling Select Your Tickets at 250-762-5050

- Or by visiting the Select Your Tickets box office at the Prospera Place box office. The box office is open 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and opens at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday home game days.

In addition, six and twelve-game Mini Packs for the Kelowna Rockets season are now on sale through Select Your Tickets. To learn how to save on walk-up tickets and use the flexibility of a Mini Pack click here.

THE LAST TIME THESE TWO MET

The Rockets won their first game of the eight-game season series, downing the Cougars 5-4 on October 13 at Prospera Place.

Kelowna jumped out to a two-goal lead in the first period thanks to power play goals from Gabriel Szturc and Caden Price. The Cougars struck with a short-handed tally, but the Rockets power play responded with a goal from Dylan Wightman. Andrew Cristall then pushed Kelowna out to a three-goal lead before the end of the second frame. Zac Funk's power play goal and Koehn Ziemmer's even-strength goal a minute and a half into the third pulled Prince George back within one. Wightman's second goal of the game while shorthanded ended up being the game-winner. Funk would pull the Cougars back within one in the final minute of the game while on the power play.

Jari Kykkanen made 35 saves on 39 shots.

ROCKETS ROSTER UPDATES

- Andrew Cristall was listed out day-to-day on this week's injury report with an upper-body injury. The Rockets leading scorer missed Tuesday's game against the Royals

The Rockets injury report is updated weekly and can be viewed here.

ROCKETS TO WATCH

- Ben Thornton, who was acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings, could potentially make his Rockets debut this weekend. The 19-year-old has yet to play a game this season.

- After being held pointless in six consecutive games, Tij Iginla has found the back of the net in the Rockets last two games.

COUGARS TO WATCH

- Zac Funk leads the Cougars in scoring with 35 points

- Rookie goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen is sporting a 2.11 goals-against average and .925 save percentage with a 5-1-0-0 record and three shutouts.

SEASON RECORDS

vs COUGARS

- Oct. 3 at PG - 3-2 L

- Oct. 4 at PG - 8-1 L

- Oct. 13 vs PG - 5-4 W

- Nov. 18 vs PG - 7:05 pm

- Jan. 12 at PG - 7:00 pm

- Jan. 13 at PG - 6:00 pm

- Feb. 24 vs PG - 7:05 pm

- Mar. 13 vs PG - 7:05 pm

Check out the Kelowna Rockets Statistics




Images from this story

Kelowna Rockets face off with the Prince George Cougars
Kelowna Rockets face off with the Prince George Cougars
(Steve Dunsmoor)		   



Western Hockey League Stories from November 17, 2023


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