Skill, speed and goals galore

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Bluesky
• Share on X
• Copy Link

Quickly glancing down at the reaction at the Cougars bench, head coach Mark Lamb stood stoic, not even cracking a smile at what he had witnessed. Lamb knew that more was in store for both teams, with the Rockets regaining the one-goal lead :59 seconds later.

Rockets await start of Memorial Cup

Chances were there. Goals weren't

Apr 20, 2026

Enough talk. Time for action

As they say in Everett, 'Let's play hockey!

Apr 10, 2026

Rockets face road test in games 3 and 4

Goaltending, discipline and depth driving 2-0 series lead over Blazers

Mar 30, 2026

It was a wild night, with Adam Kydd having a game he will never forget. The 20-year-old scored his first career hat-trick, with three goals and two assists in a matchup that featured 14 goals.

The last time fans at Prospera Place were treated to that many was October 10, 2018, when the Seattle Thunderbirds out-scored the Rockets 9-6.

While Kydd was scoring, Andrew Cristall was collecting five assists, reaching and surpassing the 100-point-plateau in just 89 games. Cristall becomes the second quickest Rockets player to reach that milestone, after Jamie Benn (100 points in 73 games) did it over two seasons between 2007 and 2009.

The 17-year-old now has 14 points in his last five games.

Just when you thought the Rockets were about to run away with the game, the Cougars showed no quit.

On three separate occasions, the home team would enjoy a two-goal lead, only to see the visitors storm back to make it a one-goal contest.

The game featured four players, two from each team, who could be chosen in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft this summer.

The quartet delivered.

While Cristall had five assists, a career-high for him, teammate Caden Price had a goal and an assist. Cougars leading scorer Koehn Ziemmer, who has one of the best releases in the game, fired home two goals in perfectly placed shots, while line-mate Riley Heidt, no shrinking violet in his own right, had a four-assist outing.

All four will undoubtedly participate in the CHL Top Prospects game in Langley in late January, much to the delight of NHL scouts.

Sure, the coaches hair turned grey and the official scorekeeper was the busiest person in the building, but the 3,500 fans that witnessed the offensive explosion, went home thoroughly entertained.