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WHL Kelowna Rockets

Rockets Head South To Open First Round Series

April 21, 2022 - 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 be back in action this weekend when they hit the ice for games one and two of the first round of the 2022 WHL Playoffs.

The opening round matchup between the fourth-seeded Seattle Thunderbirds and the fifth-ranked Rockets will commence with Game 1 on Friday, April 22 at the accesso ShoWare Center. Game two will take place on Saturday, April 23 at 6:05 at the accesso ShoWare Center.

The series will then shift back to Kelowna for games three and four on home ice at Prospera Place on Tuesday, April 26 and Wednesday, April 27 - puck drop is at 7:05 pm both nights.

SERIES SCHEDULE

Game 1 - Friday, April 22 @ Seattle, 7:05

Game 2 - Saturday, April 23 @ Seattle, 6:05

Game 3 - Tuesday, April 26 @ Kelowna, 7:05

Game 4 - Wednesday, April 27 @ Kelowna, 7:05

Game 5 (if necessary) - Friday, April 29 @ Seattle, 7:05

Game 6 (if necessary) - Sunday, May 1 @ Kelowna, 2:05

Game 7 (if necessary) - Tuesday, May 3 @ Seattle, 7:05

Fans can purchase their tickets online at selectyourtickets.com, at the Prospera Place box office or by phone at 250-762-5050. The box office is open 11:00 a.m. to 4:00p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and opens at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday home game days.

Seattle Thunderbirds (44-18-4-2 - 94 points)

3rd U.S. Division/4th Western Conference

Power Play: 50/211 - 23.7%

Penalty Kill: 242/290 - 83.4%

Last Ten: 8-2-0-0 Streak: 4-0-0-0

GF: 271 GA: 179

PIM: 906

Kelowna Rockets (42-20-1-5 - 90 points)

2nd B.C. Division/5th Western Conference

Power Play: 35/152 - 23.0%

Penalty Kill: 207/266 - 77.8%

Last Ten: 9-2-0-0 Streak: 2-0-0-0

GF: 250 GA: 207

PIM: 866

2021-2022 Regular Season Stats

It's the eighth time in the past 25 years that the Thunderbirds and Rockets will face-off during the WHL Playoffs.

"By no means are we looking past game one," said head coach Kris Mallette. "It's going to be a battle, they've got home ice so our mentality is to go in there and play our style of game and see where it goes - hopefully we come out on top."

"Our group is very good when we play our style of game, the thing is Seattle plays a very similar style of game - so it's going to be a series."

Twenty-year-old defenceman Jake Lee is the final remaining player from the trades made with Seattle in 2019 when the Rockets were gearing up for the 2020 Memorial Cup. He's also the only player on the Rockets roster with playoff experience.

Named the team's top defenceman on Wednesday in the Rockets awards, Lee says that he's excited for his last chance at a WHL Playoff run to go through his former team.

"We're very excited in the room, this is what we've been working for all year and now the time has finally come," said Lee.

"I couldn't be more excited to play my former team, I like to think of it as payback. They're a good organization and treated me really well, but I'm more than excited to get to it in the playoffs. We're both the meat and potatoes teams, we get in deep and bang bodies, that's how both of us play. It's going to come down to who wants it more, who wants to sacrifice more and who's ready to go."

THE SEASON SERIES AT A GLANCE

vs SEATTLE (1-2-0-1)

Dec. 7 @ Seattle 2-1 SOL

Dec. 11 vs Seattle 5-4 L

Feb. 27 @ Seattle 4-3 W

Mar. 1 @ Seattle 4-3 L

The T-Birds edged the seasonal series, but it was a lot closer than what the record looks like on paper. All four games were one-goal games, with one of those three losses coming in a shootout.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Kelowna

The Rockets roster three NHL prospects: Pavel Novak (MIN), Colton Dach (CHI) and Talyn Boyko (NYR). Max Graham (168) and Nolan Flamand (187) are ranked on the NHL Central Scouting's Midterm Rankings for North American skaters ahead of the 2022 NHL Draft.

Heading into the playoffs, Colton Dach has 24 points in his last nine games. The Rockets top scorer from the 2021-22 regular season was the only player to post at least a point in all four games against the T-Birds during the seasonal series, registering five assists.

Gabriel Szturc, Colton Dach and Mark Liwiski led the team in points against Seattle this season, posting five points each.

New York Rangers prospect Talyn Boyko was named the Rockets MVP. The goaltender appeared in 46 games for Kelowna this season, posting a 28-12-1-3 record with two shutouts, a 2.79 goals-against average and .913 save percentage.

Seattle

The Thunderbirds roster features seven NHL prospects: Henrik Rybinski (FLA), Lukas Svejkovsky (PIT), Matthew Rempe (NYR), Conner Roulette (DAL), Lucas Ciona (CGY), Tyrel Bauer (WPG) and Samuel Knazko (CBJ). Kevin Korchinski (20), Jordan Gustafson (43) and Reid Schaefer (85) are ranked on the NHL Central Scouting's Midterm Rankings for North American skaters ahead of the 2022 NHL Draft.

Forward Jared Davidson led the Thunderbirds in points against the Rockets this season with six (1G, 5A), posting at least a point in all four meetings this season.

Goaltender Thomas Milic appeared in 47 games this season, registering a record of 27-16-2-2 with three shutouts, a 2.44 goals-against average and .912 save percentage.

WHL LIVE PACKAGES

The Western Hockey League announced the launch of All-Access Passes for WHL Live on CHL TV for the 2022 WHL Playoffs that include passes for the entire playoffs, round-by-round, or 24 hour passes.

Through WHL Live on CHL TV, fans can enjoy every single scheduled game throughout the 2022 WHL Playoffs with the purchase of a WHL All-Access Pass at the low price of $59.99 plus applicable taxes and fees.

WHL Live - 2022 WHL Playoffs Packages All-Access: $59.99

Round-by-Round: $19.99 per round

24-Hour Access: $8.99

* all prices in Canadian dollars

+ does not include applicable taxes and fees

Adding a subscription is simple, just visit the watch.chl.ca and follow these steps:

1. Click Sign in/Register in top right

2. Once you've created an account and are signed in click the person icon in top right > then click "Account"

3. Click "Subscription Now"

4. Click Add Subscription

5. Select which WHL Playoff subscription you would like to add

6. Click "Confirm and Pay"

7. Accept terms and conditions, click submit

10. Complete payment details

JDS PROJECTED LINEUP

The Rockets will post the JDS Mining Projected Lineup complete with line combos at least half an hour prior to puck drop for all games this season. You will be able to find the graphic on our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram stories.

WHL Playoff hockey is back in Kelowna for the first time since 2018! Cheer on the Kelowna Rockets in round one as they take on the Seattle Thunderbirds, tickets for home games one (Tuesday, April 26) and two (Wednesday, April 27) are now on sale at Select Your Tickets.

Fans can purchase their tickets online at selectyourtickets.com, at the Prospera Place box office or by phone at 250-762-5050. The box office is open 11:00 a.m. to 4:00p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and opens at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday home game days.

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 April 21, 2022


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.

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