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WHL Kelowna Rockets

Preview: Seattle At Kelowna

January 9, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Kelowna Rockets News Release


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

The Kelowna Rockets will host the Seattle Thunderbirds for the final meeting between the two this regular season on Wednesday at Propsera Place.

Wednesday's game is a Fan First Menu night, with hot dogs on for $2 and Lucky Lager beers for $5.

Looking to bounce back

The Rockets had their three-game win streak snapped on Saturday after the Wenatchee Wild doubled up Kelowna 6-3 in Washington. After trading goals in the opening half of the first period, the Wild scored five answered goals to take the lead. Jake Pilon stopped 20/25 shots fired on him through the first 47:38 of action, while Kykkanen turned aside nine of the ten shots fired on him through 12:22 minutes of action after replacing Pilon on in net.

Hot on home ice

The Rockets have not lost on home ice since November 21, they extended their win streak on home ice to six games after a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over Edmonton on Friday night.

Struggling T-Birds

The Thunderbirds have dropped their last eight games, most recently falling 4-2 to Everett on Saturday.

Captain Gabby Record Watch

Entering Friday, Gabriel Szturc sits at 167 career points. He's seven shy of passing Vaclav Varada's Tacoma/Kelowna franchise record of 173 points scored by a European player set back in 1996, set seven years before Szturc was born.

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.

ROCKETS ROSTER UPDATES

Ben Thornton remains out indefinitely with an upper-body injury

John Babcock left last Saturday's game with a lower-body injury, he remains listed day-to-day on this week's report

ROCKET TO WATCH

Rockets leading scorer Andrew Cristall will enter the game riding a career-high eighteen-game point streak that has seen him record 36 points (12G, 24A) over that span. He has been on the scoresheet for every game since November 11. Previously, his career-best point streak was 12 games set between Oct. 29, 2022 - Nov. 29, 2022, where he posted 30 points (11G, 19A).

THUNDERBIRD TO WATCH

Overage defenceman Jeremy Hanzel leads the Thunderbirds in scoring with 32 points (8G, 24A) through 32 games.

SEASON RECORD

vs THUNDERBIRDS

Nov. 22 at SEA - 2-0 L

Nov. 25 vs SEA - 4-2 W

Dec. 2 at SEA - 3-2 L

Jan. 10 vs SEA - 7:05 pm

THE LAST TIME THESE TWO MET

vs SEATTLE

The Seattle Thunderbirds came back on in the third period to down the Kelowna Rockets 3-2 on December 3 in Kent, WA.

Gracyn Sawchyn and Tij Iginla traded goals in the opening frame before former Thunderbird Ethan Mittelsteadt pushed the Rockets to a 2-1 lead in the second period. The Thunderbirds tied the game 6:16 into the third period with a goal from Luca Hauf. Sam Popowich skated into the Rockets zone 2:48 later, letting a shot fly that would hold up as the eventual game-winner.

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 2023-24 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.

LINEUP SHEET + GAME DAY PROGRAM

Printed lineup sheets will not be available at games this season, they can be accessed online by visiting the game day program.

The Game Day Program will be available in the same spot, it comes complete with game notes, stats, team rosters and entry forms for the Rockets intermission contests.

The sheet and program will be uploaded by 3:00 p.m. on game days

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




Images from this story

Kelowna Rockets take on the Seattle Thunderbirds
Kelowna Rockets take on the Seattle Thunderbirds
(Steve Dunsmoor)		   



Western Hockey League Stories from January 9, 2024


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