Rockets take on top team tonight
The road is about to get tougher for the Kelowna Rockets, starting tonight in Moose Jaw — the third of six stops on their tour of the East Division prior to the WHL’s holiday break.
Kelowna’s six-game winning streak was halted Saturday in Brandon, Man., falling 7-4 to the Wheat Kings after starting this trip with an impressive come-frombehind 7-5 victory over the 2018 Memorial Cup host Regina Pats.
However, now the Rockets will be forced to finish their pre-Christmas schedule without three of their top players in forwards Dillon Dube and Kole Lind and defenceman Cal Foote, who are attending Canada’s selection camp this week in hopes of cracking the world-junior team.
That camp starts today and runs through Friday in St. Catharines, Ont., with two games against the U Sports All-Stars — backstopped by former Rockets goaltender Jordon Cooke of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies — slated for Wednesday at 4 p.m. PT and Thursday at 1 p.m. PT.
“We knew coming into this stretch of games that there would be no easy battles and this conference is very competitive. During our first two games and moving forward, our game plan isn’t going to change,” said Rockets assistant coach Kris Mallette, whose club also faces the Swift Current Broncos on Wednesday, Prince Albert Raiders on Friday and, lastly, the Saskatoon Blades on Saturday.
“Now with Dube, Foote and Lind gone, we must really concentrate on the simplicity of our game and our compete for 60 minutes,” Mallette added. “So far we’ve played some very good stretches in our games but, in turn, have also had some mental lapses. So if we can limit those, we feel confident in our room and the players we have in it.”
Tonight will certainly be a challenge for the Rockets (18-9-2-1) against the WHL-leading Warriors (25-5-1-1), who are ranked No. 2 in the entire Canadian Hockey League and only lost one player to Canada’s camp in forward Brett Howden, along with head coach Tim Hunter, who will serve as an assistant on Dominique Ducharme’s staff.
Swift Current’s Tyler Steenbergen, the WHL’s leading goal-scorer, is also auditioning for Canada and won’t be in the lineup against Kelowna on Wednesday.
Prince Albert and Saskatoon didn’t lose any players to the national junior team.
On Monday, Moose Jaw swung a blockbuster trade with the B.C. Divisionleading Victoria Royals, swapping forward Noah Gregor for Ryan Peckford.
In a separate deal on the same day, the Warriors went back to the well in Kootenay and acquired forward Vince Loschiavo for prospect Jakin Smallwood and a future third-round bantam draft pick.
Moose Jaw previously landed forward Barrett Sheen from Kootenay on Nov. 13 for a fifthround selection, as the Warriors continue to load up on offensive firepower.
No word on whether Peckford and/or Loschiavo will debut for Moose Jaw tonight versus Kelowna.
This is first and only meeting of the season between these two clubs. They met once last year in Kelowna, with the Warriors prevailing 3-2 in overtime on Jan. 18, 2017.
The Rockets enter tonight with 39 points, four back of Victoria and five ahead of the third-place Vancouver Giants in the B.C. Division standings.
The Warriors have a league-high 52 points, six more than secondplace Swift Current in the East Division.
The remaining four games in Saskatchewan, including tonight, feature puck-drops at 5 p.m. PT.
Following a 10-day break, the Rockets resume play by hosting the rival Kamloops Blazers on Wednesday, Dec. 27.