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WHL Kelowna Rockets

Preview: Rockets To Face T-Birds Twice

December 29, 2022 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Kelowna Rockets News Release


Kelowna Rockets battle the Seattle Thunderbirds
Kelowna Rockets battle the Seattle Thunderbirds
(Kelowna Rockets, Credit: Steve Dunsmoor)

The Kelowna Rockets will close out the 2022 calendar year with their final two games of the regular season against the Seattle Thunderbirds on Friday and Saturday night.

Puck drop is set for 7:05 pm on Friday at Prospera and 6:05 pm on Saturday on the road in Kent.

Seattle held the top spot on the last two Kia CHL Top-10 Rankings for weeks eleven and twelve. They currently sit atop the western conference standings and are tied with the Winnipeg ICE for top spot in the league with 52 points, the T-Birds have a record of 25-4-1-1.

Thunderbirds Reid Schafer, Nolan Allan, Kevin Korchinski and Thomas Milic are also all representing Canada at the World Juniors.

The Kelowna Rockets dropped their third consecutive game, falling 6-2 to the Kamloops Blazers on Wednesday night at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops, BC. Tied at one after twenty minutes of play, the Blazers blew out of the gates with four goals straight in a span of 5:30 early in the second period. Carson Golder and Logan Peskett were the goal scorers for the Rockets. Jari Kykkanen made the start for the Rockets but was replaced by Talyn Boyko in the second after allowing four goals on 16 shots. Boyko turned aside 21 of the 23 shots fired at him.

Just like the Rockets, Seattle has a busy week back from the holiday break with four games in five nights. The Thunderbirds picked up a pair of wins with a 7-5 win over Spokane on Tuesday and a 6-5 win on Wednesday.

Tickets

Single-game tickets for Saturday's game and all other Rockets games are available 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.

Mini Packs are now on sale for the 2022-23 season, pick from between a six or twelve-game pack. Click here to learn more about Mini Packs.

The last time these two met

The Thunderbirds took a 2-0 lead in the season series against the Rockets with a 4-2 win back on November 23rd in Kent, WA.

Jared Davidson scored the opening two Seattle goals, with the Rockets catching up both times. Kyle Crnkovic scored the game-winner just past the midway point of the second period. Scott Ratzlaff made 22 saves on 24 shots.

Gabriel Szturc posted his ninth multipoint game of the season, recording two assists en route to earning third-star honours. Talyn Boyko stopped 20 of the 23 shots fired at him.

Roster Updates

The Rockets will be without forwards Colton Dach, Adam Kydd and Gabriel Szturc

Both Dach (Canada) and Szturc (Czechia) are competing at the World Junior Championship.

Kydd remains sidelined with a lower-body injury.

Players to watch

Kelowna

Sixteen-year-old rookie forward Logan Peskettis now tied for the team lead in rookie scoring with five points after scoring against the Blazers on Wednesday.

Overage forward Carson Golder has nine points, including five goals, in his last six games.

Dylan Wightman has recorded five points (2G, 3A) in his last five games.

Seattle

Montreal Canadiens prospect Jared Davidsonleads Seattle in scoring with 46 points (19G, 27A) through 27 games. The 20-year-old has recorded 16 career points (6G, 13A) against the Rockets.

Lake Country, BC product Tij Iginla will probably have a few friends in the building on Friday. The 16-year-old was selected ninth overall in the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft, he's recorded 12 points (2G, 10A) through 24 games this season.

The T-Birds bolstered their blueline by acquiring the rights to Nashville Predators prospect Luke Prokop from the Edmonton Oil Kings on October 25. On November 8th the 20-year-old was returned to the WHL after starting the season with the Predators ECHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals. He's been limited to seven games this season but has recorded six points (2G, 4A) and 17 shots on goal.

Series at a glance

2022-23 Season Series vs Kamloops

2022-23 Season Series vs SEA (0-2-0-0)

Oct. 7 vs Seattle 5-4 L

Nov. 23 @ Seattle 4-2 L

Dec. 30 vs Seattle 7:05 pm

Dec. 31 @ Seattle 7:05 pm

Division Standings

BC Division standings as of Thursday morning

TEAM GP W L OTL SOL PTS

1 Kamloops Blazers 31 20 6 3 2 45

2 Vancouver Giants 35 13 16 4 2 32

3 Prince George Cougars 32 14 15 3 0 31

4 Kelowna Rockets 31 12 16 3 0 27

5 Victoria Royals 35 8 24 3 0 19

US Division standings as of Thursday morning

TEAM GP W L OTL SOL PTS

1 Seattle Thunderbirds 31 25 4 1 1 52

2 Portland Winterhawks 31 24 4 2 1 51

3 Everett Silvertips 32 16 15 1 0 33

4 Tri-City Americans 32 15 15 1 1 32

5 Spokane Chiefs 32 6 24 0 2 14

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. WHL Live on 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.

Online 50/50

The Kelowna Rockets online 50/50 is back for the 2022-23 season!

The online 50/50 will give fans in Rockets fans located in British Columbia and those who are attending the game the chance to win during every Rockets home game this season. The 50/50 will also raise important dollars for the Kelowna Minor Hockey Association.

Tickets will be available for purchase on all game days starting at 9 a.m. PT and end at the start of the third period on the same day.

Check out the Kelowna Rockets Statistics




Images from this story

Kelowna Rockets battle the Seattle Thunderbirds
Kelowna Rockets battle the Seattle Thunderbirds
(Steve Dunsmoor)		   



Western Hockey League Stories from December 29, 2022


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