Bruce Hamilton admits he wasn乌鸦传媒檛 expecting to cross paths with the Portland Winterhawks again this season.
But after an opening round upset of the Prince George Cougars in six games, the 乌鸦传媒楬awks will provide the opposition for Hamilton乌鸦传媒檚 in the WHL乌鸦传媒檚 Western Conference semifinal.
The best-of-seven series opens Friday night at Prospera Place.
乌鸦传媒淭hey obviously played a great series, they beat a pretty good team, the top team in our division all year long, so it is a bit of a surprise,乌鸦传媒� the Rockets乌鸦传媒� GM said of the
乌鸦传媒淪aying that, the (Winterhawks) have been real good since Christmas, they乌鸦传媒檙e a fast team and it乌鸦传媒檒l be a good challenge for our players.乌鸦传媒�
Seeing Portland in the spring is old hat to the Rockets franchise, which has met the Winterhawks in the playoffs five times in the last seven seasons.
The last meeting, in 2015, saw the Rockets prevail in six games over Portland, en route to a WHL championship and trip to the Memorial Cup in Quebec City.
乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檙e looking forward to it,乌鸦传媒� Hamilton said of renewing the rivalry. 乌鸦传媒淭hey have a solid fan base and it乌鸦传媒檚 good atmosphere playing down there.
乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檓 just happy we乌鸦传媒檙e starting at home in front of our fans,乌鸦传媒� he added. 乌鸦传媒淥ur players are going to be excited to play them.乌鸦传媒�
After two seasons coaching in the NHL, Mike Johnston returned this season as head coach and GM of the Hawks, a club he led to three WHL finals in a four-year span between 2011 and 2014.
乌鸦传媒淗e乌鸦传媒檚 a very good coach with a lot of experience and he乌鸦传媒檒l have them well prepared,乌鸦传媒� Hamilton said of Johnston.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檒l be a good challenge for our young coaches to match up against him and get our players ready.乌鸦传媒�
The Rockets advanced to the second round after disposing of the Kamloops Blazers in six games.
Reid Gardiner scored a hat-trick in the series clincher, a 4-2 win Sunday at the Sandman Centre.
Kelowna Rockets vs. Portland Winterhawks
Friday, April 7 乌鸦传媒擯ortland @ Kelowna 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, April 8乌鸦传媒擯ortland @ Kelowna 7:05 p.m.
Tuesday, April 11乌鸦传媒擪elowna @ Portland 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 12乌鸦传媒擪elowna @ Portland 7:00 p.m.
Friday, April 14乌鸦传媒擯ortland @ Kelowna 7:05 p.m. *
Sunday, April 16乌鸦传媒擪elowna @ Portland 7:00 p.m. *
Tuesday, April 18乌鸦传媒擯ortland @ Kelowna 7:05 p.m. *
* If necessary
have a renewed playoff battle with the Portland Winterhawks for round 2! Read about it here: 馃殌馃悏
乌鸦传媒� Kelowna Rockets (@Kelowna_Rockets)
Herringer goalie of month乌鸦传媒�
Thanks to his stellar play in March, Rockets乌鸦传媒� netminder Michael Herringer has been named the Vaughn WHL Goaltender of the Month.
Herringer, a 21-year-old product of Comox, chalked up a record of 10-3-0-0 during the month of March, with an outstanding 1.89 goals-against average, .934 save percentage, three shutouts and 337 saves.
The Rockets乌鸦传媒� goaltender logged one shutout during regular-season action, making 21 saves on Friday March 17, in a 7-0 win versus Vancouver. He then posted two shutouts during Kelowna乌鸦传媒檚 six-game triumph over the Kamloops Blazers to open the 2017 WHL Playoffs.
He made 15 saves on Friday, March 24, in a 4-0 win versus Kamloops before then registering another 24 saves on Wednesday, March 29, in a 1-0 win at Kamloops.
In 13 appearances during the month of March, Herringer surrendered two goals or fewer on eight occasions, earning first-star honours once and second-star recognition twice.
Herringer was recognized as WHL Goaltender of the Week twice during the month of March and three times over the course of the entire 2016-17 regular season.
In the playoffs, He is 4-2 with a 2.00 GAA, .928 save percentage and two shutouts through six appearances.
