The Okanagan Rockets will battle the rival Vancouver Northwest Giants for first place this weekend without one of their most dangerous offensive weapons.
Forward Liam Finlay has been sidelined for the foreseeable future with an upper body injury.
It’s been a bittersweet week for Finlay who was named the BCMML’s player of the month for October.
Finlay was knocked out of Saturday’s 4-4 tie at CNC with the South Island Royals with an injury late in the second period.
He could be sidelined for as long as eight weeks.
“Losing a player of Liam’s calibre for any period of time is tough,” said Rockets general manager David Michaud. “It particularly tough on Liam who has never been injured. The important thing for Liam and our hockey club is to take our time with this and make sure he is 100 per cent healthy before returning. This is a young man with an incredibly bright future ahead of him with both Penticton, and the University of Denver. As an organization, we need to do what is right to make sure nothing long term is jeopardized for Liam.”
Finlay, who was named this week as the BCMML’s player of the month, leads the Rockets in scoring this season with seven goals and 25 points in 10 games.
The Rockets and Giants, both 10-1-1 and currently tied for top spot in the BCMML, will meet this weekend at CNC.
Game times are 3 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. on Sunday.
