By Glen Erickson /
What began as a season with tremendous promise for the Kelowna Fripp Warehousing Midget AAA Rockets may be on the verge of crumbling as the club battles to ice a healthy lineup over the course of the next couple of months.
The injury bug has bitten the club hard in recent weeks, creating some anxious nights for head coach Tom Watters.
“The injuries came in a game that probably wasn’t real important in terms of our league play,” Watters explained. “It was a game against the Okanagan Hockey Academy.”
Veteran Sheldon McDonald is gone for the season with a ruptured spleen while Scott Austin is sidelined four weeks with cracked ribs. James Newby is leaving the club, relocating to Alberta.
“What is making it tough, as far as replacing guys, is that this all happened after the carding point (Jan. 10) of the season,” Watters said. “We can draw from the Midget B team, but they are having an exceptional season. It’s tough to draw a player away from a program that is having such success.”
Through Jan. 28, the Rockets were 12-2-1 in league play, which is good for first place. In tournament play, however, Watters does not feel the club has achieved the results they are capable of.
“We’re finished with tournaments,” Watters said. “Overall, I’m not certain the Okanagan league is as strong as it has been and then, when we played in tournaments against teams from other areas, it just seemed to take us a game or two to get going. That’s just not good enough, especially with playoffs and provincials coming up.”
Brendan Irvine has recently joined the club and has collected a goal and two assists in two games. Among rookies, Watters has been pleased with the play of Brett McKinnon (15) and Graham Drope (15). On the blueline, Adam Smith (15) has also been very good.
“I think we can get it all settled down in time for the playoffs and prior to provincials,” Watters said. “We’d sure like a crack at the Vancouver Thunderbirds. They’re the top ranked AAA team, so that’s who we want to face.”
The provincial championship will be held in Comox, B.C. in mid-March.
NEWS AND NOTES
KMHA volunteers are buckling down for a busy second half of the season as the tournament schedule in Kelowna includes no less than six major tournaments. Most of the events will see the participatory programs fire up the competitive juices with Atom, Peewee and Bantam House events. The female programs will also hit the ice in early March.
Still with the ladies, head coach Don Spring and crew with the Kelowna Keldon Electric Peewee AAA Rockets wound with an undefeated regular season, finishing 8-0 in league play. The team, which also won the annual Prince George tournament earlier this season, has earned a first round bye in the playoffs and will await the winner of the Kamloops versus Penticton series.
Through Jan. 28, the Kelowna Female Bantam AA Rockets have a 25-0-2 record through 27 games.
Proving that persistence will often pay off, the Kelowna Urban Redesign Bantam Junior Rockets scored twice in the final minute to defeat Abbottsford 3-2 in the championship game at the annual Salmon Arm tournament.
Not to be outdone, the Kelowna Western Bus Lines Midgets won the annual tournament in Trail, B.C. It was the fourth tournament win of the season for the team. |