Sports stats



WHL Kelowna Rockets

Preview Series Shifts Back to Kelowna

April 3, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Kelowna Rockets News Release


The Kelowna Rockets and Seattle Thunderbirds first-round series will shift back to Prospera Place on Tuesday and Wednesday night for games three and four in their best-of-seven first-round playoff series.

Both games will also be Fan First Menu nights with $2 hot dogs and $5-$6 options from Blue Ribbon.

The Rockets trail 2-0 in the best-of-seven series after two tightly contested games that were both decided in the third period. The eighth-seeded Rockets held their own for the first 40 minutes against the top-ranked T-Birds in both games. Kelowna led 2-1 heading into the third period of game one before Seattle took over in the third to take the opening game 3-2. During the second game, the two were tied at one before Seattle once again took over in the third period to skate away with a 4-1 victory.

Game one recap

The best-of-seven First Round series began on Friday, March 31 in Kent, Wash. with the top-seeded Thunderbirds squeaking past the Rockets 3-2 in a tightly contested game one.

The Rockets were able to hold off the Thunderbirds in the opening frame, grabbing a 1-0 lead just past the midway point on a bomb from Jackson DeSouza. Kelowna's power play pushed them out to a two-goal lead in the second period on another long-distance shot from Caden Price, but Arizona Coyote prospect Dylan Guenther was able to score late in the second and add another early in the third to tie things up. With captain Gabriel Szturc in the penalty box, Nashville Predator prospect Reid Schaefer at the side of the net turned and put a shot past Kykkanen to give the T-Birds their first lead of the game.

The Rockets elected to go with Jari Kykkanen in net, he turned aside 36 of the 39 shots he faced.

Game two recap

Seattle pushed their way past Kelowna in the third period for the second night in a row on Saturday at the accesso ShoWare Center.

Kelowna fell behind in the first period on a power play goal, but the Rockets were able to battle back in the second period and tie the game with a greasy goal from Dylan Wightman. Much like the night before, Seattle was able to pull ahead in the third period with two unanswered goals before adding an empty net goal.

Tickets

Single-game tickets for all 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.

Loaded up T-Birds

The Thunderbirds are looking to defend their Western Conference Championship from last season, they fell in six games to the Edmonton Oil Kings in the WHL Championship last spring.

Their roster boasts ten NHL prospects and six Canadian World Juniors stars on the roster, they made several key trades that saw five first-round picks moved in exchange for Dylan Guenther, Colton Dach, Nolan Allan and Luke Prokop.

Seattle finished the regular season atop the Western Conference standings with a franchise record 54 wins.

Colton Dach will make his first trip to Kelowna since the Rockets dealt him to Seattle on January 7th in exchange for Ty Hurley, Ethan Mittelsteadt, a 2024 first-round pick and two more conditional draft picks.

Drafted Thunderbirds:

Jordan Gustafson - Vegas Golden Knights

Brad Lambert - Winnipeg Jets

Reid Schaefer - Nashville Predators (WJC Canada)

Jared Davidson - Montreal Canadiens

Colton Dach - Chicago Blackhawks (WJC Canada)

Lucas Ciona - Calgary Flames

Dylan Guenther - Arizona Coyotes (WJC Canada)

Nolan Allan - Chicago Blackhawks (WJC Canada)

Luke Prokop - Nashville Predators

Kevin Korchinski - Chicago Blackhawks (WJC Canada)

Thunderbirds Ranked on Central Scouting:

Gracyn Sawchyn - #42 among North American skaters

Nico Myatovic - #47 among North American skaters

Sawyer Mynio - #111 among North American skaters

Scott Ratzlaff - #6 among North American goaltenders

Thomas Milic - #25 among North American goaltenders (WJC Canada)

Roster Updates

Injury updates are not public during the playoffs.

Rockets to watch

Andrew Cristall has been held pointless in the opening two games of the series, a rarity for the Rockets MVP who led the Rockets in goals (39), assists (56) and points (95) while finishing sixth among the leading point-getters in the WHL.

Adam Kydd - The Rockets overage forward has posted an assist in each of the games so far.

Gabriel Szturc packs a one-two punch alongside Cristall, but just like Cristall has been held pointless in the first two games. The Rockets captain finished the regular season second in points with 79 (24G, 55A) over 56 games.

Jari Kykkanen has stood on his head in the first two games despite facing a barrage of shots. The 18-year-old has stopped 80 0f the 86 shots that have been fired his way in the opening two games, with a .930 save percentage and 3,02 goals-against average games.

Series at a glance

2022-23 Season Series vs SEA

Oct. 7 vs Seattle 5-4 L

Nov. 23 @ Seattle 4-2 L

Dec. 30 vs Seattle 4-1 L

Dec. 31 @ Seattle 2-0 L

Playoff schedule vs SEA

Game Date Away Home Time/Result

1 March 31, 2023 Kelowna Seattle 3-2 L

2 April 1, 2023 Kelowna Seattle 4-1 L

3 April 4, 2023 Seattle Kelowna 7:05 p.m. Tickets

4 April 5, 2023 Seattle Kelowna 7:05 p.m. Tickets

5 April 7, 2023 Kelowna Seattle 7:05 p.m. PT *

6 April 9, 2023 Seattle Kelowna 4:05 p.m. PT *

7 April 11, 2023 Kelowna Seattle 7:05 p.m. PT *

* - if necessary

Check out the Kelowna Rockets Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from April 3, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central