Rockets Action Summary – January 14th Weekend

     Halfway through the month of January and the Rockets find themselves very, very busy over the new little while.  With a little over two weeks left in the month, the club has no less than nine regular season games before finishing off the regular season schedule in February.  The Rockets will be heading to Kimberley next Tuesday for their final game of the year against the high-flying Dynamiters (barring meeting them in the first round of the playoffs).  The club then will be having a crucial four-game home-stand, which begins next Thursday and Friday nights against Creston. 

Rockets have been struggling of late, winning only a single contest in their last ten games.  They will be looking to rectify that situation and get solidly back into the win column as the season unfolds.

     A quick glance at games over the weekend……….. 

Friday, January 14th, 2022   Fernie 4  Rockets 1

     Rockets started out a bit shaky in this game and, as it turned out, that was all Fernie needed to take the win.  A pair of Ghostrider goals within :26 seconds early in the first period proved to be the difference.

     The gap increased to 4-0 in the second period, and later Rocket’s Will Vernon hit for his eighth goal of the season in the third period to break the shutout.  Jordan Lario had a penalty-shot opportunity late in the game, but couldn’t get the puck past Casey Thomson in the Ghostrider cage.

     Rockets were outshot 54-38.

     It was the first time this season that Fernie have beaten the Rockets.

Saturday, January 15th, 2022  Columbia Valley 8  Rockets 4

     A battle between the first-place and fifth-place clubs in the Eddie Mountain Division proved to be a very close-checking affair for much of the opening period.

     At the midway mark of the frame, the clubs had split a mere eight shots on goal evenly, many from long range.  By the end of the period, the shots were deadlocked at 8-8, with Columbia Valley opening up a 2-0 lead with a pair of powerplay goals.  

     Five minutes into the middle stanza, the lead had increased to 3-0 before the Rockets caught fire.

     The Goldenites began to apply increased pressure into the visitors end of the ice, and it paid off in dividends.  At around the 9:00 minute mark, the team struck for three goals in the next three minutes, with Will Vernon, Jeff Mamuad (his 1st of the year) and captain Jordan Lario each hitting the back of the net.

     Columbia Valley briefly took the lead at 19:00, but the Rockets countered just 8 seconds later as Derek Teare tied things up at 4-4 at the end of forty minutes.

     The third period, however, belonged to the visitors.

     Hitting for an even-strength goal just two minutes into the period, the southern neighbours quickly increased the lead with two quick goals in :29 seconds.  And they weren’t finished yet, managing a shorthanded tally at 11:25.

     Final score was 8-4. Columbia Valley outshot Golden 37-28.