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WHL Kelowna Rockets

Rockets Host Wenatchee On Wednesday Night

November 20, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Kelowna Rockets News Release


Marek Rocak of the Kelowna Rockets
Marek Rocak of the Kelowna Rockets
(Kelowna Rockets, Credit: Steve Dunsmoor)

The Kelowna Rockets return home after a weekend split with the Prince George Cougars to face the Wenatchee Wild.

Kelowna lost their first of two meetings this past weekend against the Cougars but were able to rally the following night for a 5-4 victory. Caden Price opened the scoring, and Kelowna went up 3-1 thanks to goals from Tij Iginla and Jakub Stancl, but Prince George responded with three goals of their own to regain a 4-3 lead with under four minutes to play. The Rockets wouldn't go down without a fight however, as Michael Cicek tied the game at 18:30 before Andrew Cristall won the game less than 20 seconds later for the 5-4 win.

WILD

The Wild had a solid weekend, hosting Calgary on Saturday night before finishing their weekend on Sunday against Kamloops. Wenatchee secured three out of a possible four points, losing 4-3 to Calgary in overtime before defeating the Blazers 4-2. Wenatchee currently sits two points behind the Rockets but have also played two more games.

SCHEDULE REMINDER

The Rockets next home game against Wenatchee will come in the team's Teddy Bear Toss game presented by Orchard Ford on Saturday, December 14 th. The game was originally scheduled for 6:05 PM but has since been changed to 3:05 PM so fans can attend both the Rockets game as well as the the City of Kelowna's Parade with a Purpose Christmas event that is happening in downtown Kelowna later that evening.

"I think that there'll be a far greater opportunity for families to attend the game and then go on out on the street to watch the parade," said Rockets President and General Manager Bruce Hamilton.

"With it being the Teddy Bear Toss, which is one of our biggest events all year, it gives people the opportunity to do both. It's a bit of a challenge moving the game time because of all the promotion that's gone into it, but we felt it was important to be a good partner (with the City of Kelowna) by helping out and making this adjustment."

ROCKETS ROSTER UPDATE

The Kelowna Rockets made a pair of transactions late last week, acquiring defenceman Nate Corbet on Thursday in a trade with the Medicine Hat Tigers that sent forward Ethan Neutens and a pair of draft picks the other way. Corbet played 71 combined games with the Tigers last season and the early part of this season. He was selected by Medicine Hat in the third round of the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft and has amassed four goals and 10 points to go along with 121 penalty minutes. He has one goal and five points in 20 games this season. Rockets fans will get their first look at Corbet on Wednesday against Wenatchee.

The Rockets also traded defenceman Ethan Mittelsteadt on Friday morning to the Vancouver Giants in exchange for a pair of draft picks that will come in 2025 and 2027. Mittelsteadt played parts of three seasons with the Rockets, suiting up in 112 regular season games along with 15 playoff games. So far this season the 19-year-old defenceman has two goals and seven points in 16 games. His best season came in 2023-24 where he recorded three goals, 31 points and 69 penalty minutes in 67 games. Over his WHL career Mittelsteadt has played in 152 games, scoring 11 goals and 47 points.

MOVEMBER WITH THE ROCKETS

The Kelowna Rockets have several players and front office staff members participating in this year's Movember campaign in order to raise money for men's health.

Members of the Rockets will be growing moustaches over the course of November and posting progression pictures to help us reach out goal.

ROCKETS TO WATCH

Nate Corbet made his Rockets debut over the weekend and is set to play in front of the hometown crowd for the first time this season. In 22 games this season Corbet has six points and 49 penalty minutes.

Tij Iginla had a strong outing the last time these two teams met as Iginla scored a beauty shorthanded marker as well as the game's closing goal. Iginla is on nearly a goal-per-game pace with 12 in 15 games to go along with 12 assists.

WILD TO WATCH

Goaltender Daniel Hauser recorded his 100 th career Western Hockey League win in Sunday's win over the Blazers. The 20-year-old has been solid since returning from injury, playing in 11 games this season with a 5-3-2 record, 2.78 goals-against-average and .913 save percentage.

Kenta Isogai is the Wild's current point leader with 22 points in 17 games. The 20-year-old forward from Japan is on pace to score 31 goals and 85 points, which would be just three points short of his totals set from last season.

THE LAST TIME THESE TWO MET

The Rockets and Wild met once this season back on October 18 th. Kelowna won that game 4-0 thanks to two goals from Tij Iginla and a 26 save shutout from Jari Kykkanen.

SEASON RECORD

Oct. 18 at WEN - 4-0 W

Nov. 20 vs WEN - @ 7:05 pm

Dec. 14 vs WEN - @ 3:05 pm

Dec. 31 at WEN - @ 5:00 pm

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.

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.

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

Marek Rocak of the Kelowna Rockets
Marek Rocak of the Kelowna Rockets
(Steve Dunsmoor)		   

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