Rockets hope to clinch divisional title tonight at Prospera Place
Kelowna will be best in B.C. with home win over Prince George
The Kelowna Rockets will be looking to lock up the franchise’s eighth divisional title tonight with a win over the Prince George Cougars at Prospera Place.
The Rockets (40-22-5-2) are sitting first in the B.C. Division with three games remaining in the regular season.
Kelowna, at 87 points, has a three-point lead over the Victoria Royals (39-25-4-2), and the Rockets also have a game in hand.
Last season, the Rockets were only one point behind the Cougars for the B.C. Division banner.
Prince George had to rebuild this season and is bringing up the rear in the division as well as the Western Conference with a record of 23-37-5-4.
Tonight’s puck-drop is set for 7:05 p.m., and it’s Hat-Trick Wednesday, with fans getting a ticket, hot dog and pop for $20 — providing they buy their tickets before 2 p.m. today.
Kelowna claimed its first divisional title back in the 2000-01 WHL season, when the Rockets posted a 37-23-5-0 record for 86 points to capture the West Division title. At the time, the West Division was one of three divisions in the WHL, consisting of the Rockets, Cougars, Kamloops Blazers, Portland Winterhawks, Spokane Chiefs, Tri-City Americans and Seattle Thunderbirds.
The next season, in 2001-02, the WHL switched to the current four-division format, implementing the B.C. Division and the U.S. Division, and removing the West Division.
The first B.C. Division title the Rockets captured was in the 2002-03 season, when Kelowna boasted a 51-14-1-0 record for a whopping 109 points. They went on to win the WHL Championship (then called the President’s Cup), defeating the Red Deer Rebels in six games.
Kelowna took the B.C. Division by storm again the next season in 2003-04, posting a 47-21-0-0 record for an impressive 98 points. Though they were eliminated in Game 7 of the Conference Finals by the Everett Silvertips, the Rockets went on to win the 2004 Memorial Cup as the host team at Prospera Place.
Kelowna didn’t take the divisional title again until the 2010-11 season, when the Rockets had a 43-28-0-1 record for 87 points. The Rockets bowed out in the second round of playoffs that season, falling to Portland.
In 2012-13, Kelowna went 52-16-3-1 for 108 points to claim the B.C. banner again, before losing to Kamloops in the second round.
In 2013-14, the Rockets recorded their best regular season in franchise history, boasting 118 points at 57-11-0-4. Kelowna fell in the Conference Final to Portland.
In 2014-15, the Rockets made it three straight seasons as B.C. Division champs with a 53-13-5-1 record for 112 points. Kelowna went on to win the Ed Chynoweth Cup, sweeping the Brandon Wheat Kings in four games in the league final. Kelowna fell 2-1 in overtime of the Memorial Cup Final to the OHL’s Oshawa Generals.
Following Wednesday, the Rockets close out the regular season with a home-and-home set this weekend against the Vancouver Giants, starting Friday in Langley.
Kelowna hosts the return game on Saturday — St. Patrick’s Day — when the first 1,000 fans into Prospera Place get a Percy Penguin doll to toss during the second intermission as part of CIBC Game Night. The fan that throws a penguin closest to the centre ice face-off target will win $500 courtesy of CIBC, which will match the $500 in a donation to the Kelowna S.P.C.A.
It’s also Jersey Off The Back Night for the Rockets. Fans have been entering all year to win one of these fancy St. Patrick’s Daythemed jerseys, sponsored by Bekins Moving & Storage. Lucky fans will be awarded the jerseys following Saturday’s game.