Injuries have hit the Rockets hard in the past two weeks and the team will be in tough for a three-game U.S. road-trip starting this weekend.
Kelowna will look to turn their fortunes around after dropping the last three games with a Friday night match-up against the Everett Silvertips and then back-to-back games against the Portland Winterhawks.
The Rockets will have to turn things around without as many as five starting forwards, two D-men and goalie Roman Basran after injuries and suspensions as a result from fight-filled, 7-2 loss to the Blazers on Jan. 11.
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The Rockets have called up five affiliated players to fill the holes left behind from injuries, as well as the suspension to defenceman Kaedan Korczak. Kelowna will be without Nolan Foote, Kyle Topping, Liam Kindree and defenceman Sean Comrie.
Basran, as well as Mark Liwiski and Trevor Wong, are listed as day-to-day with their injuries and could potentially play in the three-game trip. Young prospects Rilen Kovacevic, Dylan Wightman, Jarod Newell, Noah Dorey and Cole Tisdale have been called up for the Rockets for the tilts against Everett and Portland which have both been listed in the recent Canadian Hockey League’s top 10 rankings.
Kelowna has fallen to third in the B.C. division after back-to-back losses to Kamloops and a loss to the second-place Victoria Royals. The Rockets are still seven points up on the Vancouver Giants.
The Rockets return to home ice Jan. 24 when they host the Seattle Thunderbirds.
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