The Kelowna Rockets have announced that assistant captain Erik Gardiner has retired from hockey.
“Due to health and personal reasons, I thought it was time to step away,” Gardiner said in a press release. “I want to focus on different things and take care of myself. I want to thank the Kelowna Rockets, my family and the Western Hockey League for allowing me the chance to live out my dream of playing major junior hockey.”
The Rockets acquired Gardiner in a trade with the Regina Pats on November 30th, 2016. The Humboldt, Sask., product suited up in 114 WHL games, 112 of those with the Rockets. He had 51 points (16 goals, 35 assists) and 83 penalty minutes.
“We support Erik’s decision 100 per cent,” said Rockets president and general manager, Bruce Hamilton. “The Kelowna Rockets organization and I would like to thank Erik for everything he has done on and off the ice.
“We wish Erik all the best moving forward; we will continue to be involved with him in the future.”
In an interview with Global News, Hamilton added more insight on Gardiner’s decision.
“I think there were two or three young men in that accident that lost their lives who went to school with him. He had played on that team, he’s from Humboldt and he was there when a lot of the stuff was going on.
“Without saying a lot of things, on the personal side, we’ve been involved in a lot of things trying to help him through this and his family.”
Hamilton reiterated his support for Gardiner’s decision to retire, stating “I 100 per cent support him. I encouraged him to do what he did.”
Rockets to host Warriors on Wednesday
Canucks prospect Jett Woo playing for Moose Jaw.
In other news, the Rockets will host the Moose Jaw Warriors tonight. Game time at Prospera Place is 7 p.m.
The game will be Kelowna’s sixth contest of 2019 and, notably, the Rockets are winless in the new year. Kelowna, which is 2-6-1-1 in its past 10 games, hasn’t recorded a win since a 2-1 home-ice victory over Kamloops on Dec. 29.
Since then, the Rockets have lost 2-1 to Prince George, 4-3 to Kamloops, 4-2 to Everett and, last weekend, 7-2 and 4-0 to Prince George.
“We just need to take it one shift at a time,” said Rockets forward Leif Mattson. “We need to stick to our game plan and capitalize on our opportunities when we get them. We need to play a full 60 minutes and not take any shifts off in order to be successful.”
This will be the only meeting of the season between Kelowna (17-21-3-1, 38 points) and Moose Jaw (22-11-5-2, 51 pts.). The two clubs also met only once last season, a 6-3 Warriors win in Moose Jaw on Dec. 12, 2017.
On Tuesday, Moose Jaw beat the Blazers 5-2 in Kamloops. The Blazers outshot the Warriors 36-32, but couldn’t overcome a 3-1 deficit after the first period. Justin Almeida paced the Warriors with two goals and two assists.
Moose Jaw defenceman and Vancouver Canucks prospect Jett Woo off Winnipeg had an assist in the game. The six-foot and 203-pound rearguard was selected in the second round, 27th overall, by Vancouver in the 2018 draft. This season, Woo has 7 goals and 28 assists for 35 points in 36 games.
Later in the week, Kelowna will travel to Everett for a Friday night tilt against the Silvertips (33-9-1-1, 68 pts.), then will host the league-leading Prince Albert Raiders (37-5-0-1, 75 pts.) on Saturday night.
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