WHL Kelowna Rockets

Preview: Rockets At Blazers

Published on December 26, 2023 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Kelowna Rockets News Release


Kelowna Rockets centre Dylan Wightman (left) vs. the Kamloops Blazers
Kelowna Rockets centre Dylan Wightman (left) vs. the Kamloops Blazers
(Kelowna Rockets)

The Kelowna Rockets will kick off the second half of their season after the holiday break by wrapping up their eight games away from home with their first meeting of the regular season against the Kamloops Blazers on Wednesday at the Sandman Centre.

WRAPPING IT UP ON THE ROAD

Kelowna hit the road for a pair of road games against Vancouver and Seattle that they split on December 1 and December 2. On December 9 they opened their east division road trip with a 5-4 victory over the Regina Pats. The five-game trip saw the team go 4-1, with their lone loss coming on December 14 against the Brandon Wheat Kings. In their final game of the trip on December 16, Kelowna came back to take down the top team at the time in the WHL, the Saskatoon Blades, 5-4 in overtime.

GETTING IGGY WITH IT

TIj Iginla will hit the ice for the first time since being named the Western Hockey League's Tempo WHL Player of the Week for the week ending December 17, 2023. The 2024 NHL Draft-eligible centre contributed to all three game-winning goals as the Rockets went 3-1-0-0 on the week to close out a seven-game road trip.

He currently leads all Rockets skates in goals with 25, as of today, he's on pace for 53. No Rocket has hit 50 goals in a regular season since the 2005-2006 season, where Justin Keller had 51 goals and 88 points over 72 games.

KAMLOOPS RETURNS HOME

The Blazers will play their first game at home since December 3. Just like the Rockets, Kamloops also hit the road for their east division trip before the holiday break. They went 1-4 on the trip, picking up their lone win a 5-3 victory over Moose Jaw in their final game before the break.

A LOOK AT THE SERIES AND THE UPCOMING 50/50

The two won't have to wait long to see each other next as Kelowna will host the Blazers on Friday at Prospera Place.

The game on the 29th will feature a 50/50 jackpot that started online sales last week at $10,000. As of Tuesday morning, the total pot sits at $14,155.00.

Tickets are on sale now online at rockets5050.com and will end at the start of the third period on December 29. Fans can use debit, credit or cash to purchase tickets in person at the game. Tickets can be purchased by individuals 19 years or older, located within British Columbia's provincial borders at the time of purchase. All ticket sales are final and ticket buyers will receive a receipt via email after purchasing that will list all numbers associated with the purchased tickets.

Fans can select from the following three ticket pack options:

Five dollars ($5.00) for three (3) tickets

Ten dollars ($10.00) for ten (10) tickets

Twenty dollars ($20.00) for forty (40) tickets

To read more about the 50/50 click here.

THE LAST TIME THESE TWO MET

This will be the first regular-season meeting between the two.

They faced off in a pair of games to open the pre-season back in September, where they split them with Kamloops taking the opening game 4-2 on September 8 and Kelowna claiming a 4-2 victory the next night.

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, the 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.

ROCKETS ROSTER UPDATES

Fifteen-year-old Owen Folstrom, who was called up as an affiliate player and joined the team for their east division trip, has been returned to the Calgary Flames U18AAA of the AEHL.

Ben Thornton remains out indefinitely with an upper-body injury

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

PLAYERS TO WATCH

KELOWNA

Rockets leading scorer Andrew Cristall will enter the game riding a career-high thirteen-game point streak that has seen him record 24 points (8G, 16A) over that span. Previously, his career-best point streak was 12 games set between Oct. 29, 2022 - Nov. 29, 2022, where he posted 30 points (11G, 19A).

KAMLOOPS

On November 24, the Blazers acquired 2005-born Jordan Keller along with two first-round draft picks and a fourth-round pick in exchange for captain Fraser Minten. Keller, who was raised in Kamloops, has posted 10 points (4G, 6A) and two penalty minutes since being acquired from Saskatoon.

SEASON RECORDS

vs BLAZERS

Dec. 27 at KAM - 7:00 pm

Dec. 29 vs KAM - 7:05 pm

Jan. 26 vs KAM - 7:05 pm

Jan 27 at KAM - 6:00 pm

Feb. 9 at KAM - 7:00 pm

Feb. 10 vs KAM - 7:05 pm

Mar. 8 vs KAM 7:05 pm

Mar. 9 at KAM 6:00 pm

Six and twelve game Mini Packs for the Kelowna Rockets season are now on sale through Select Your Tickets.

Check out the Kelowna Rockets Statistics

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Images from this story

Kelowna Rockets centre Dylan Wightman (left) vs. the Kamloops Blazers
Kelowna Rockets centre Dylan Wightman (left) vs. the Kamloops Blazers
   



Western Hockey League Stories from December 26, 2023


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