How good is this season’s crop of Kelowna Rockets?
We’ll find out shortly when the team starts their second-round playoff series against the nation’s top-seeded team.
For 24 of 25 weeks this season, the Prince George Cougars made the CHL’s top-10 list, including the last three at No. 1.
“It’s an exciting matchup. I like coming in as the underdogs and I think the team does, too,” Rockets goaltender Jari Kykkanen said of the upcoming series that will start in Prince George with Games 1 and 2.
“We definitely have something to prove against these guys.”
Prince George finished atop the Western Conference this season with 49 wins and 102 points, just ahead of second-ranked Portland (48 wins, 101 points).
Those two plus the Saskatoon Blades (50 wins, 105 points, tops in Eastern Conference) were the only three clubs to break the triple-digit barrier this season.
“We’re playing the No. 1 team in the country. I think it’s going to be an interesting series, for sure,” said Rockets president and GM Bruce Hamilton.
Meanwhile, Kelowna finished fifth in the West with 33 wins and 71 points.
Yet in the playoffs, the Rockets dispatched fourth-place Wenatchee (34 wins, 72 points) in six games.
The Cougars had an easier time in their first-round series, sweeping eighth-seeded Spokane 4-0.
This week, Rockets head coach Kris Mallette pushed Kykkanen to the forefront, saying he’s been outstanding for the past six weeks.
Kelowna’s goalie, however, downplayed his efforts, which earned him a trio of first-star honours against the Wild.
“I wouldn’t say I was the sole reason we got here. It’s a team game at the end of the day and the guys have been playing phenomenally in front of me,” Kykkanen said. “Blocking shots, a lot of sacrifice coming from them. It’s really easy to play behind them.”
While this series may seem like a mismatch of 1 versus 5, it could be quite close. In eight regular-season meetings, which the Cougars won 6-2, six of those games were decided by one goal.
Further, one went to overtime with two needing shootouts.
“Our team has played them tough all season long,” said Hamilton. “Our guys have some belief. We came out of a pretty tough series that was good for us.
“We’re injury-free, which is really important and it’s going to be interesting to see how we do when we get on a stage like that.”
The Cougars have seen little success since the franchise moved from Victoria to Prince George in 1994.
Only once has Prince George finished first atop B.C. Division standings, and that was in 2016-17 when they also flamed out in the first round of the playoffs.
In the playoffs, the Cougars have advanced three times to the conference final: 1997, 2000 and 2007.
For what it’s worth, the Rockets have played in nine conference finals, with the last three being 2014, 2016 and 2017.
Yet when it comes to recent history, it’s Prince George, not Kelowna, with the upper hand, as the Cougars advanced to the second round last spring before bowing out to eventual league champion Seattle.
The Rockets? Out in the first round.
The Cougars also have this edge: Three players with more than 100 points to Kelowna’s one.
- Prince George: Zac Funk (67 goals, 56 assists, 123 points)
- Prince George: Riley Heidt (37 goals, 80 assists, 117 points)
- Prince George: Terik Parascak (43 goals, 62 assists, 105 points)
- Kelowna: Andrew Cristall (40 goals, 71 assists, 111 points)
“I’d guess you’d consider us the underdog,” said Mallette, adding the Cougars are a skilled, quick transition team. “They have some very good goaltending and their power play is elite within our league.
“We know we have to manage our decisions at the blue-line; not turn pucks over and be disciplined. It’s the same broken record throughout the whole season for our group.
“I like it when we’re playing on top of things, so we have to make sure we’re paying attention to the small details.”
The series will shift to Kelowna for Games 3 and 4 next Tuesday and Wednesday.
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