On occasion, a 1-0 hockey game can include the thrills and spills that contribute to an epic contest, a memorable low-scoring tilt that can leave an audience entirely entertained.
In Kelowna on Tuesday, where the Edmonton Oil Kings played a perfect road game against the Rockets to earn the victory, it would be a stretch to conclude the affair was much more than a regular-season yawner.
Only one puck crossed the goal line on the night, a tribute to the best players on the ice – the goaltenders. The game’s only goal came in the shootout, courtesy of Oil Kings highly-touted Dylan Guenther.
Sebastian Cossa, the 6-foot-five rookie who celebrated his 17th birthday on Nov. 21, blocked the 21 shots Edmonton faced, then all three Kelowna shootout attempts. Cossa is now 7-2-0-1 on the season with a 2.25 goals against average and a .919 save percentage. He has two shutouts so far.
Roman Basran, 18, made 27 stops in an effort that on many nights would be sufficient to secure two points in the standings. He has carried the bulk of the workload for Kelowna this season, compiling a record of 10-5-1-2 with a goals against average of 2.52 and save percentage of .917. The 6-foot-two Basran has been giving the Rockets a chance to win almost every time out this season.
Basran, who is generally not a young man of too many words, was disappointed at night’s end.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a shutout or I give up five goals,” Basran said post-game. “As long as we get the win, that’s all that matters.
“We didn’t end up getting the win.”
There was some excitement at Prospera Place, as the game marked the debut of Jadon Joseph. The 20-year-old forward was acquired on the weekend from the Moose Jaw Warriors in exchange for Kyle Crosbie, James Porter, Kobe Mohr and a 2022 WHL Bantam Draft pick.
Long time Rockets supporters are familiar with Joseph, who played 32 games as a member of the Vancouver Giants last season. The Sherwood Park, Alberta, native appeared in 22 playoff games last season with the Giants, who lost in the WHL Championship Series to the Prince Albert Raiders in overtime of game seven.
It’s a move that certainly changes the complexion of the Rockets roster, especially with veteran Kyle Topping sidelined with a broken ankle and import forward Pavel Novak serving a lengthy suspension.
“He’s been in the league going on four years,” said Rockets assistant general manager Lorne Frey in an interview on AM1150 during the game. “He’s a bigger body and skates really well.
“He plays both ends of the rink pretty good and he’s great on face offs and we just felt we needed that. He’s a player that can maybe play against the other team’s better guys a little bit and play all situations.”
2020 Memorial Cup looms large
The point has been made by prognosticators for months and it will be belaboured for months to come as the Rockets prepare to host the 2020 Memorial Cup. That is – Kelowna will have to do some roster juggling to ensure a competitive host team.
The Rockets, now 13-8-1-2, are by no means a dominant WHL team so far. But nor is this a team in dire straits. There has been a marked improvement on the offensive side compared to the roster that wasn’t able to secure a playoff spot last season.
Kelowna is currently in second place in the B.C. Division with 29 points, one back of the Kamloops Blazers (15-9). The Giants (12-10-1-1) are three points back of Kelowna. All three teams have played 24 games.
Frey also confirmed what many league-wide have known for weeks.
While there are certainly game-changers in the WHL this season, sprinkled through the league, availability is the real key. About one-third of the way through the regular-season schedule, there does not appear to be a real front-runner, a really dominant team.
There are certainly a handful of teams that would constitute the upper echelon. And therein lies the rub.
With a number of teams in the hunt, with an opportunity to win, what would compel them to part with their top players?
And further, with so many teams looking legit, it stands to reason they will also be shopping as the season wears on.
The acquisition of Joseph would appear to check a couple of boxes.
“Joseph is a 20-year-old, so he definitely brings experience,” Frey said. “He’s a guy that has tremendous playoff experience, and that factors into your decision making.”
Frey admits there is still work to do, and general manager Bruce Hamilton has been busy.
“I can’t believe how much time Bruce has been on the phone here over the last couple weeks,” Frey said. “He’s talked to everybody. He’s contacted everybody in the league. He’s trying to find out, you know, what’s going to happen here down the road.
“The problem is, right now there’s not a lot out there and then secondly, a lot of the teams that have players, they’re in contention so they’re also trying to make their teams better. So if there’s three or four individuals out there and there’s half a dozen teams bidding on the same guys, it’s going to be costly for whoever wants those kind of players.”
Next home game for the Rockets is Saturday night against the Prince George Cougars. It’s the annual Teddy Bear Toss Game. Puck drop is 7:05pm.
