Skip to content

March Madness: Kelowna Rockets begin last month of regular season in push for playoffs

The Rockets play 12 games in March, six at home and six on the road
32003941_web1_230302-KCN-rockets-preview_1
Andrew Cristall (right) and the Kelowna Rockets welcome Spokane to town on Wednesday night as they push for the playoffs. (@Kelowna_Rockets/Twitter)

It’s crunch time for the Kelowna Rockets as they enter the final month of the WHL season.

With 12 games to go, the Rockets are in a good spot to make the WHL playoffs as they sit in the eighth and final playoff spot and have a 10-point lead on the ninth-place Victoria Royals. In the Western Conference, the first six playoff spots have been clinched, with Vancouver and Kelowna sitting in the last two spots, waiting to clinch. Kelowna is 22-31-3-0 (47 points) while Vancouver is 21-28-5-2 (49 points).

The Rockets start the stretch to the postseason on Wednesday night (March 1) as they welcome the Spokane Chiefs to town for the third out of four matchups between these two teams this season. In the two previous games this season, the Rockets won the first game 10-3 and lost the second 2-1.

The Chiefs sit at the bottom of the West with a record of 13-36-3-4 (33 points) but have been on a roll lately as they are 3-1-1-2 in their last seven games, including wins over Portland and Tri-City.

Kelowna went 2-1 over the weekend in Alberta, and just when they thought they were fully healthy as a team again, they suffered a few injuries over the weekend. It is undetermined yet whether defenceman Caden Price and forwards Gabriel Szturc and Marcus Pacheco will play against Spokane on Wednesday as they are all listed as day-to-day.

Wednesday night’s puck drop is at 7:05 p.m. at Prospera Place.

READ MORE: UBC Okanagan volleyball programs rack up the accolades

READ MORE: B.C.’s first Indigenous Golf Championship tees off in South Okanagan


@cunninghamjordy
jordy.cunningham@kelownacapnews.com

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.



Jordy Cunningham

About the Author: Jordy Cunningham

Hailing from Ladner, B.C., I have been passionate about sports, especially baseball, since I was young. In 2018, I graduated from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops with a Bachelor of Journalism degree
Read more