Home or away.
It鈥檚 not that the Rockets are only good at Prospera Place, where they have won a Western Hockey League all-time fourth-best 21 consecutive home games, but that they are good everywhere.
The Rockets, 37-10-4 and ranked No. 4 in sa国际传媒 among major-junior teams, are undefeated in regulation time in their last 16 games overall at 14-0-2.
Maybe the Victoria Royals could petition the WHL for a neutral site tonight but that probably wouldn鈥檛 make any difference, either.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not only in their building . . . the Rockets are a well-balanced team wherever they play,鈥� said Royals head coach Dave Lowry.
The Rockets have built their impressive season on largely a no-star approach. It鈥檚 hard to tell their first line from their fourth. It鈥檚 one size fits all and it works.
鈥淸The Rockets] are interchangeable,鈥� noted Lowry.
鈥淭hey all play the same way 鈥� which is solid.鈥�
Some of the marquee sheen has been taken off tonight鈥檚 game. The Prince Albert Raiders took care of that with their last-gasp shootout win Tuesday night in Victoria, which means instead of riding a franchise record eight-game winning streak into Kelowna, the Royals go in at 7-0-1 over the past eight.
Still, it鈥檚 a good matchup and will be revealing.
鈥淲e absolutely have to play a solid road game and our special teams have to be ready,鈥� said Lowry.
鈥淒iscipline will be key for us.鈥�
The Royals are 27-17-4, with a minimum of at least sixth place solidified in the Western Conference. Up the table, the fifth-place Tri-City Americans and fourth-place Spokane Chiefs are now in view. Going into Wednesday鈥檚 action, the Royals trailed the Americans by one point and the Chiefs by four with two games in hand on both.
The Royals play seven games in the next 11 days. Overall, it鈥檚 the next 18 days that will be pivotal in the race against the Americans and Chiefs. In that span, the Royals will play 11 times, with nine of those games on the road, including in Tri-City and Spokane.
The stretch begins with three straight starting tonight in Kelowna and Friday and Saturday in Prince George against the Cougars.
Lowry breaks it down into more manageable segments.
鈥淭he guys know there鈥檚 a lot of hockey coming very quickly,鈥� he said.
鈥淏ut we have to make sure our primary focus is on Kelowna [tonight] and then worry after that about heading up to Prince George, where we know how tough the back-to-back games can be there.鈥�
ICE CHIPS: Of the injured Royals forwards, Trent Lofthouse is day-to-day, while Logan Nelson and Luke Harrison remain out longer term . . . Blueliner and Royals captain Tyler Stahl will sit out the third game today of an eight-game suspension for a hit-to-the-head penalty incurred Friday against Vancouver . . . The WHL-leading Portland Winterhawks (40-7-3) displaced the Quebec Major Junior League-leading Halifax Mooseheads (39-5-3) atop the BMO CHL top-10 rankings, climbing to No. 1 this week and shunting the Mooseheads to No. 2.
