Opponents of the Kelowna Rockets have found wins excessively hard to come by this season at Prospera Place.
The Seattle Thunderbirds will be the latest to try their luck against the most proficient home team in the Western Conference whey they face off against Jason Smith乌鸦传媒檚 club on Friday night. Game time is 7:05 p.m.
, who have won 13 consecutive games on home ice, haven乌鸦传媒檛 lost at Prospera Place since Oct. 20, a 3-1 setback to the Portland Winterhawks.
The Rockets (24-11-2-1) have also won six straight games overall to push them three points clear of Everett for top spot in the conference and four ahead of Vancouver in the B.C. Division.
Smith said Kelowna乌鸦传媒檚 play of late, both at home and on the road, is largely due to his players乌鸦传媒� continually improving work habits.
乌鸦传媒淥ur work ethic has been the biggest thing, we乌鸦传媒檙e working and competing for 60 minutes and that all started with our habits in practise,乌鸦传媒� said Smith, in his second season as Kelowna乌鸦传媒檚 head coach. 乌鸦传媒淭he habits you create by the work you put in allow you to have success. That乌鸦传媒檚 what we乌鸦传媒檙e pushing for, to be a team that can play consistent games by doing things the right way, with high energy and high intensity and if we do that, we乌鸦传媒檒l be in a good spot.乌鸦传媒�
Much of the team乌鸦传媒檚 recent prosperity has come without two of its top players, Dillon Dube and Cal Foote, both of whom are with Team Canada at the world junior championship in Buffalo and haven乌鸦传媒檛 played with the Rockets since Dec. 9.
Smith said the success his club is having is a credit to all the players who make up the Rockets乌鸦传媒� supporting cast.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 great,乌鸦传媒� Smith said of the contributions from up and down the lineup. 乌鸦传媒溛谘淮溅it乌鸦传媒檚 an opportunity for your depth players to step up and get more ice time, get more opportunity on the power play and penalty kill and if you can seize that moment and show that you can do it regularly you乌鸦传媒檙e going to give yourself a chance to do it even when those players come back.
乌鸦传媒淚t just adds to the depth of your group and the ability to push through in big games.乌鸦传媒�
One of those depth players, Conner Bruggen-Cate, stepped up with the first two-goal game of his career on Wednesday, leading the Rockets to a 13th straight win at home, 5-4 over the Tri-City Americans.
Following Friday乌鸦传媒檚 game against Seattle, the Rockets will head east for a Sunday matinee against the Hitmen in Calgary.
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