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Kelowna Rockets

Rockets To Host Cougars Tuesday And Wednesday

April 15, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Kelowna Rockets News Release


Kelowna Rockets look for a score in front of the Prince George Cougars goal
Kelowna Rockets look for a score in front of the Prince George Cougars goal
(Kelowna Rockets, Credit: James Doyle/Prince George Cougars)

The Kelowna Rockets will look to use playing on home ice to their advantage when their second round series with the Prince George Cougars shifts back to Kelowna for games three and four on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Cougars, who were the number one ranked team in the country on the CHL Top-10 Rankings at the end of the regular season, shutdown the Rockets in games one and two over the weekend in Prince George, holding them scoreless in the first two games of the series.

"I think obviously that the environment we were in [in Prince George] was a lot," said Rockets head coach Kris Mallette in an interview with kelownarockets.com following practice on Monday. "We played into their hand, they came out prepared and I think obviously got the results that they wanted, but they haven't seen our best yet.

"Our guys have to play with a lot more urgency and be around the puck a lot more, I think that potentially we're respecting them a lot and they've got a great group of players over there with a lot of speed. I think we're giving them the time and the space to make the plays they need. We're at our best when we're aggressive, that's our top six through our bottom six it doesn't matter."

A look at the series with Prince George

Game One - April 12, 2024 - Kelowna 0 at Prince George 4

Game Two - April 13, 2024 - Kelowna 0 at Prince George 5

Game Three - April 16, 2024 - Prince George at Kelowna

Game Four - April 17, 2024 - Prince George at Kelowna

Game Five - Apr. 19, 2024 - Kelowna at Prince George *if necessary*

Game Six - Apr. 21, 2024 - Prince George at Kelowna *if necessary*

Game Seven - Apr. 23, 2024 - Kelowna at Prince George *if necessary*

This is the third meeting between the Rockets and Cougars in the playoffs, with it being the first time since 2011 where the Rockets swept the Cougars in the 2011 playoffs. Prince George defeated Kelowna 4-1 in their only other playoff meeting in 2000.

The Rockets will welcome back veteran forward Luke Schelter back to the lineup who has missed the last three games serving a suspension for his kneeing major in game five against Wenatchee.

Defenceman Ethan Mittelsteadt, who was a member of the Seattle Thunderbirds squad during their run to the 2022 WHL Championship, is leaning of his experiences from being around that team. Despite not playing in that run, Mittelsteadt witnessed a T-Bird team that was down in rounds two and three come back to force two game sevens and find their way to the final where they eventually fell to the Edmonton Oil Kings.

"I was super fortunate for that experience," said Mittelsteadt in an interview with kelownarockets.com following practice on Monday. "I really look to those guys and learned to be a pro and how to handle yourself through the playoffs and the long season. I'm really just trying to learn on those experiences and take what I've learned from those guys and try to show the young guys here what you've got to do and instil that battle into our group here. I think we're doing the right things and hopefully in game three we turn it around."

Mittelsteadt, who was one of the more physical Rockets players in games one and two, touched on what the Rockets need to do to be successful on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"Everyone just has to play hard and battle them hard, make life difficult on them," said Mittelsteadt. "I think they're obviously a skilled group, but we're up for that physical battle. I think if we bring that in game three, we'll have success."

The Rockets who enjoyed success on home ice throughout the season, going 21-10-3-1 in the regular-season at Prospera Place and are a perfect 3-0 in the playoffs, are looking forward to playing in front of their fans said rookie defenceman Jackson Gillespie.

"I'm so, so excited to play in front of our fans," said Gillespie in an interview with kelownarockets.com following practice on Monday. "They're loud, they're great, they cheer us on and and I can't wait."

GAMES THREE AND FOUR TICKETS

Single game 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 dayss

ROCKETS ROSTER UPDATES

Injury updates are not provided in the playoffs

2023-24 REGULAR SEASON SERIES

Prince George owned a 6-1-0-1 record against Kelowna in the regular season, though six of the games were decided by a single goal and three required overtime or a shootout.

October 3, 2023- Kelowna 2, Prince George 3

October 4, 2023- Kelowna 1, Prince George 8

October 13, 2023- Prince George 4, Kelowna 5

November 18, 2023- Prince George 5- Kelowna 4

January 12, 2024- Kelowna 2, Prince George 5

January 13, 2024- Kelowna 3- Prince George 2 (SO)

February 24, 2024- Prince George 6- Kelowna5 (SO)

March 13, 2024- Prince George 6, Kelowna 5 (OT)

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

Fans can watch the Rockets next at Prospera Place on April 16 and 17 when Kelowna hosts the Cougars for games three and four of their best of seven series.

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.

Check out the Kelowna Rockets Statistics




Images from this story

Kelowna Rockets look for a score in front of the Prince George Cougars goal
Kelowna Rockets look for a score in front of the Prince George Cougars goal
(James Doyle/Prince George Cougars)		   

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