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WHL Kelowna Rockets

Preview: Rockets Vs. Blazers

December 26, 2022 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Kelowna Rockets News Release


Kelowna Rockets battle the Kamloops Blazers
Kelowna Rockets battle the Kamloops Blazers
(Kelowna Rockets, Credit: Steve Dunsmoor)

The Kelowna Rockets will return to action after the holiday break with a pair of games against the Kamloops Blazers. The two play in Kelowna on Tuesday, before meeting up again the next night in Kamloops.

The Rockets were last in action on December 17, falling 4-1 to the Medicine Hat Tigers on the road where they registered a season-low 14 shots on net. Grady Lenton was the lone goal scorer for Kelowna, while Talyn Boyko stopped 27 of the 31 shots he faced.

Kamloops finished out the first half with a pair of wins over the Prince George Cougars, both coming in overtime.

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 Blazers evened up the season series with a 6-1 win over the Rockets on November 12 at the Sandman Centre.

The 2023 Memorial Cup host Blazers jumped out to a 4-0 lead while holding the Rockets to just three shots in the opening twenty minutes. Kamloops took advantage of their power play chances, netting three of their goals on the man advantage.

Andrew Cristall broke the Blazers shutout bid, while Talyn Boyko stopped 32 of the 38 shots fired on 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. Blazers forwards Caedan Bankier and Logan Stankoven are also representing Canada at the tournament.

Kydd remains sidelined with a lower-body injury.

Players to watch

Kelowna

Andrew Cristall enters the second half of the season in second place for league scoring with 55 points (21G, 24A) through 29 games, he trails Connor Bedard who has 64 points (27G, 37A) in 29 games

With Dach and Szturc away at the World Junior Championship, look for youngsters Ethan Neutens, Logan Peskett, Will Munro and Grady Lenton to get more ice time and opportunity.

Kamloops

The Blazers two leading scorers are away at the World Juniors, Matthew Seminoff sits third in team scoring with 32 points in 28 games and will be expected to step up.

Minnesota Wild prospect Kyle Masters leads all Blazers defencemen in scoring with 28 points (4G, 24A) in 28 games, doubling his career-best 14 points in 65 games last year. The Blazers acquired the defenceman from the Red Deer Rebels prior to the season starting.

Series at a glance

2022-23 Season Series vs Kamloops

Nov 5 vs Kamloops 3-1 W

Nov. 12 @ Kamloops 6-1 L

Dec. 27 vs Kamloops 7:05 pm

Dec. 28 @ Kamloops 7:00 pm

Jan. 6 vs Kamloops 7:05 pm

Jan. 7 @ Kamloops 7:00 pm

Mar. 3 @ Kamloops 7:00 pm

Mar. 4 vs Kamloops 7:05 pm

Mar. 17 @ Kamloops 7:00 pm

Mar. 18 vs Kamloops 7:05 pm

Division Standings

BC Division standings

as of Tuesday morning

TEAM GP W L OTL SOL PTS

1 Kamloops Blazers 29 18 6 3 2 41

2 Prince George Cougars 32 14 15 3 0 31

3 Vancouver Giants 33 12 15 4 2 30

4 Kelowna Rockets 29 12 14 3 0 27

5 Victoria Royals 33 7 23 3 0 17

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 Kamloops Blazers
Kelowna Rockets battle the Kamloops Blazers
(Steve Dunsmoor)		   



Western Hockey League Stories from December 26, 2022


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