Itâs been a month since they were humbled on home ice by the Victoria Royals, but the wound remains raw for the
Withto the B.C. Division leaders serving as ample motivation, the WHL rivals will square off this weekend for two games at Save on Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria.
âThey got us in our own rink and it was a real eye-opener for our group,â Rockets assistant coach Kris Mallette said of the Oct. 4 defeat at Prospera Place. âA lot of different things didnât go our way due to us cheating the game. Weâre reminding the guys, they canât take what happened lightly and that was a wake-up call we have to respond to.
âThis rivalry goes back as long as Iâve been here and itâs always very intense,â Mallette added. âIâd expect the same this weekend.â
The Rockets (7-5-2-1) rebounded from the Victoria loss with a pair of overtime victories in Prince George, before sliding into a five-game winless funk in mid-October.
Âé¶čAV has since righted the ship with a 3-0-1-0 record over the last four games, the result of a better team game in all respects, according to Mallette.
âOver the last couple of weeks, weâre doing things better, playing better team hockey as a whole,â said Mallette. âFor the most part weâre playing more disciplined, weâre making sure weâre not cheating and weâve been getting results because of that.â
Âé¶čAV saw a three-game winning streak end Wednesday in Kennewick, Wash., but not before pushing the Americans to overtime and picking up a point in the 4-3 loss. Âé¶čAVâs rookie netminder, James Porter, continued his stellar play of late, making 37 saves on 41 shots.
Buoyed by the exploits of Porter, Mallette said the Rockets are continuing to make progress.
âI think weâre playing faster in all the zones, weâre trying not to sit around as much and wait, our break outs are cleaner and thatâs allowing us to attack better,â Mallette said. âWeâre also getting really good goaltending from James Porter. Heâs stepped in as a 17-year-old and is really giving our guys confidence.â
Âé¶čAV will be without defenceman Kaeden Korczak for this weekendâs games. The rookie blueliner is playing with Team Canada Black at the World Under 17 Challenge in Dawson Creek and Fort St. John. The tournament begins Sunday and will run until Saturday, Nov. 11.
The Rockets return to home ice Friday, Nov. 10 to open a four-game homestand against the Vancouver Giants.
