Kelowna Rockets host Brandon Wheat Kings tonight
The Kelowna Rockets will be looking for their third straight home win under new coach Adam Foote and their sixth victory in eight games overall tonight when they host the Brandon Wheat Kings in a 7:05 p.m. puck-drop for Paint The Rink Night at Prospera Place. The Rockets have had a week off since defeating the Prince George Cougars 4-3 on Nolan Foote’s overtime winner last Saturday.
Coach Foote says the break has benefited them.
“We’re getting to know each other as a group, and we’re starting to get the hang of how we want to play. There’s a lot of different moving parts right now; we’ve been practising a lot of pace this past week.” Tonight is the only meeting between the two clubs this season, and Brandon’s first visit to Kelowna since the 2016-17 campaign. They played once last season in Brandon, Man., on Dec. 9, 2017, with the Rockets falling 7-4.
Coach Foote says that only seeing a team one time a season isn’t an issue when it comes to energy.
“Our guys will be pumped up. We’ve watched a lot of their games; they’re a well-coached team and play as a unit, we’re going to have to respect that. We will have to play hard and play under control.”
For Paint The Rink, the Rockets will be wearing special jerseys that will be auctioned off during the game. The players will also be sporting pink skate laces and stick tape. In addition, there will be a special pink puck toss.
All of the proceeds raised from the jersey auction and puck toss will be donated to the Canadian Cancer Society.
Kelowna will enter tonight with a 6-10-0-0 record, placing them fifth in the B.C. Division with 12 points — just one point back of the Prince George Cougars and Kamloops Blazers, who were tied for third heading into Friday’s action. The Victoria Royals were in second with 18 points, while the Vancouver Giants are leading the division with 24.
Brandon took a 7-3-3-2 record into last night’s game at Kamloops, with the Wheat Kings sitting third in the East Division standings with 19 points — one point behind the Saskatoon Blades and 11 points behind the division-leading Prince Albert Raiders, who have a WHL-best 15-1-0-0 record.