The Kelowna Rockets will be back on home ice on Wednesday for the first time since Nov. 3.
After a six game road trip, the Rockets return to defend their home ice against the Regina Pats on Hat Trick Wednesday.
The Rockets won two and lost four in their road trip, and are coming off a win against the Edmonton Oil Kings this past Saturday where they won 3-1.
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Rockets forward Erik Gardiner says it will be good to be back on home ice.
“We’re really excited, it was a long road trip for us,” said Gardiner. “It will be fun for us to play at home in front of the fans. The trip was good for team bonding, we had some tough games and got through those together. We also had a few days off in Prince George and Edmonton, so we got to do some fun things and got closer as a team. I think that the road trip has really helped us, and will pay off in the long run.”
Wednesday’s match up against Regina will be the only time the two teams face each other this season. Last season, the Rockets beat the Pats 7-5 in their only match up last December.
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Gardiner is a former Regina Pat. He was acquired in a trade in 2016, but missed the teams’ first game against each other due to injury. Gardiner says there’ll be a few familiar faces, but that won’t change his play.
“I have a lot of close friends on the team, but I’ll put that away once the puck drops,” Gardiner. “I’m excited to play against them, hopefully, I can play well.”
The Rockets hold a 9-13-1-0 record going into Wednesday’s game, and sit fourth in the B.C. division. They trail division leaders Vancouver Giants by 11 points.
Kelowna will have six home games in the next eight games, and look to fight back up the division’s standings.
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