The Kelowna Rockets concluded their first trying weekend of the season Sunday.
After three back-to-back games, the Rockets came away with three points and most importantly some team chemistry as plenty of new and young Kelowna players are starting to make contributions on the scoreboard.
Kelowna’s weekend started against the Kamloops Blazers Friday night where they lost in overtime 3-2.
The Rockets returned home Saturday and coasted to a 5-1 victory over the Everett Silvertips.
The club then traveled to Vancouver for a Sunday match-up with the Giants, losing 4-0.
This weekend marked forward Nolan Foote’s return to the Rockets after attending his first pro training camp as a top pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2019 Entry Draft.
He made his presence known with his aggresive play while notching an assist and recording five shots on goal.
After the win on Saturday, coach Adam Foote said the team bounced back well from their loss to Kamloops.
“Our players are probably going to gain some confidence,” said Foote.
“That when we play the right way, good things are going to happen.”
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Four Kelowna players got their first goals of the season against Everett.
Jake Lee opened the scoring for the Rockets in the first period, then Liam Kindree and Trevor Wong scored in the second with Sean Comrie adding Kelowna’s fifth.
Import player Pavel Novak notched his first points of the season with two assists.
The Rockets also had critical points from the usual suspects: Kyle Topping had a goal, Leif Mattson had two assists, Foote had one assist and Kaedan Korczak notched two assists.
“I think people are really going to start to notice how deep our team is,” said Mattson, who has five points so far in the season.
“We got four lines that can contribute. Bringing in those (new) guys really adds to our roster and everybody is firing on all cylinders and went that happens, good things happen.”
The next game for the Rockets is Tri-City Americans Wednesday night at Prospera Place followed by an upcoming back-to-back game road trip this weekend to face the Prince George Cougars.
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