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At first glance, the Okanagan Rockets’ 8-4 loss to the visiting Greater Vancouver Canadians on Sunday was a surprising turn of events.
After all, the Kelowna-based B.C. Major Midget Hockey League Rockets had breezed to a 7-0 victory the day before at the CNC and were the dominating team in the season opener.
But in the view of Rockets’ head coach, Simon Ferguson, his squad can expect no guarantees of success in the provincial midget AAA league this season.
“This league is competitive — and maybe the most balanced league from top to bottom in recent years — so, just because you win the first game (on a weekend) doesn’t guarantee a win in the second,” said Ferguson, returning as head coach after a three-year hiatus. “I think a lot of our players coming from other leagues might have expected to be able to walk through the second game without having to put in the work.
“Hopefully we learned a good lesson early in the season.”
Ferguson attributed a good part of the reverse in fortunes on Sunday to a slow start that saw the Rockets fall behind by a pair of goals in the first period and then give up four goals in the second to trail 6-2 going into the third.
“We were very sharp attacking and pushing the tempo on Saturday, but in the second game, it looked as though we felt we didn’t need to do that. Big mistake.”
Colby Elmer, a member of last season’s Tier 1 Kelowna Rockets, winners of the BC Hockey provincial championship, scored twice for the Okanagan in a losing cause on Sunday. Fifteen-year-old Dylan Wightman, a product of the Pursuit of Excellence and the Okanagan Hockey Academy, and Nicholas Bolin of Vernon, who played for the Thompson Blazers last season, each scored once for the Rockets.
Saturday’s game featured a balanced Rockets attack that saw seven different players — Elmer, Bolin, Wightman, Will Reimer, Corey McCann, Noah Lindsay and Ben Krivoshen — sharing the scoring. McCann, a 17-year-old defenceman with the OHA in Penticton last season, and Paul Hauk, a Kelowna minor hockey product who played with Cariboo Cougars 2017-18, added three assists each.
Liam Tereposky, turning 16 on Wednesday, earned the shutout in his BCMMHL debut on Saturday while the Yellowknife native played all but six minutes of Sunday’s encounter.
“It was a solid weekend for Liam,” said coach Ferguson. “He was especially good in a penalty-filled third period in the first game. In the second game, we gave away way to many 2-on-1s and backdoor plays. We thought Liam was composed and strong in both games. The loss on Sunday was more about the team than the goalie.”
The Rockets return to action on Saturday in Kamloops where they’ll take on the Thompson Blazers at the Sandman Centre (noon). The two teams will meet there again on Sunday beginning at 10:45 a.m.
The next home games for the Rockets are set for Oct. 13 and 14 at the CNC against the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds.
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