The Kelowna Rockets are down to their final 10 games of the 2018-19 regular-season schedule, with two of them taking place this weekend.
This evening, Friday, Feb. 22, Kelowna (24-29-4-1) will visit the Spokane Chiefs (30-19-2-4). On Saturday, the Rockets will host the Kamloops Blazers (22-28-4-1). Both games feature 7:05 p.m. starts.
The two games will be the third and fourth games of the week for Kelowna, having split two in Victoria, winning 5-2 on Monday, then losing 6-2 on Tuesday.
In B.C. Division standings, Kelowna is third with 53 points. Vancouver (39-14-2-1) leads the pack with 81 points with Victoria in second with 63. Kamloops is fourth with 49, while Prince George is fifth and last with 39.
In Western Conference standings, the Rockets (53) are seventh in the 10-team loop, with the top eight making the playoffs. Victoria is sixth (63), Seattle is eighth (52) and Kamloops is ninth (49).
Meanwhile, Spokane will likely finish fourth or fifth in conference standings. Tri-City (67) is fourth with the Chiefs (66) in fifth.
Against Spokane, the Rockets are 0-2 this season, having lost 4-0 in Spokane on Feb. 1, then 5-4 at Prospera Place on Feb. 6. The two teams will meet tonight, then on Wed., March 13 in Kelowna to close out the four-game season series.
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The Rockets are 4-5-1-0 in their past 10 games while the Chiefs are 6-3-1-0, with their last result being a 7-5 loss to Tri-City on Feb. 16. Spokane is 20-6-0-2 at home while the Rockets are 13-15-2-0 on the road.
The Rockets are 13-0-1-0 and 17-1-1-1 when leading after the first and second periods, but are 4-23-1-0 and 2-24-2-0 when trailing after the first second periods.
The Chiefs are 19-5-1-1 and 22-2-1-1 when leading after the first and second periods, but are 3-11-01 and 2-15-0-2 when trailing after the first and second periods.
Against Kamloops, the Rockets trail the series 4-3.
- Friday, Sept. 21, Kelowna 1 at Kamloops 4
- Saturday, Sept. 22, Kamloops 3 at Kelowna 1
- Friday, Dec. 28, Kelowna 2 at Kamloops 3 (OT)
- Saturday, Dec. 29, Kamloops 1 at Kelowna 2
- Saturday, Jan. 5, Kelowna 3 at Kamloops 4
- Saturday, Feb. 2, Kamloops 1, Kelowna 2 (OT)
- Saturday, Feb. 9, Kelowna 4 at Kamloops 1
The two teams will also meet March 8-9 in another home-and-home set starting in Kamloops.
Notably, while Kelowna has a four-point lead over Kamloops, the Blazers have three games in hand. Kamloops has played just 55 games, while Kelowna has played 58.
Former Rockets captain traded to Red Wings
In related news, former Kelowna Rockets captain Madison Bowey was traded on Friday.
The Washington Capitals — who selected Bowey in the second round, 53rd overall of the 2013 NHL draft — traded the defenceman and a second-round pick in the 2020 draft for defenceman Nick Jensen and a fifth-round pick in 2019.
Bowey led Kelowna to the Memorial Cup in 2015. In 84 NHL games, he has one goal and 17 assists for 18 points, along with 62 penalty minutes.
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