The Kelowna Rockets will face off against the Seattle Thunderbirds tonight at Prospera Place.
After surrendering a goal on Friday to the Victoria Royals in the first two minutes, and then again on Saturday in the opening minute against the T-Birds, Rockets head Coach Jason Smith says his club needs to make sure they’re ready to play as soon as the puck drops. Game time at Prospera Place is 7:05 p.m.
“As we get ready for a team we just played, there should be no surprises. We know they are physical and they compete. On Saturday they took advantage of our mistakes,” said Smith. “We have to make sure we are ready at the start of the game, play a complete game with no shifts off, and we need to pay attention to the little details. Our guys need to be better on the penalty kill clearing the puck and staying within the systems, not be freelancers. We have played better for the most part, but we must continue to pass the puck better and compete for complete shifts and dictate the game, not wait for things to happen.”
The Rockets and T-Birds faced each other for the first time this season on Saturday, October 6th, with the Thunderbirds topping the Rockets 4-1 in Kent, Wash.
After tonight’s game, the two Western Conference franchises will face each other twice more in their four-game season series. They’ll meet again on Friday, November 9th at the ShoWare Center in Kent, then again on January 30th when the Thunderbirds visit Prospera Place.
In B.C. Division standings, the Victoria Royals (6-0-0-0) and Vancouver Giants (6-1-0-0) lead the five-team pack with 12 points each. Prince George (2-4-0-1) is third with five points while the Kamloops Blazers (2-5-0-0) are fourth with four points. Kelowna (1-7-0-0) is fifth and last with two points.
In U.S. Division standings, the Portland Winterhawks (4-2-0-1) are first with nine points while the Spokane Chiefs (3-1-0-2) are second with eight. Seattle (3-1-1-0) is third with seven while Tri-City (3-2-0-0) and Everett (3-3-0-0) are tied for fourth with six points apiece.
Following tonight’s game, the Rockets will play a home-and-home set with Tri-City this weekend. The Rockets will play the Americans at the Toyota Center in Kennewick, Wash., on Friday night, then host Tri-City at Prospera Place on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m.
After those two games, the Rockets will play three games in three nights the following weekend. Kelowna will play back-to-back games in Victoria on Oct. 19 and 20, then visit the Vancouver Giants on Sunday, Oct. 21.
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