By Regan Bartel

Playoff ready against Wenatchee

‘We are excited’ – Rockets forward Andrew Cristall

Mar 29, 2024 | 8:00 AM

If you thought the Kelowna Rockets four-game sweep at the hands of the eventually Western Hockey League champion Seattle Thunderbirds last season was a waste of time, think again.

Andrew Cristall was taking notes. The team’s leading scorer for a second consecutive season is hoping his teammates did the same.

“Playing against the best team in the WHL was a learning experience,” he told RocketFAN. “We had some real close games with them even though it was just a four-game series, we played them well. If we can do that this year and give some of the young guys some experience it will help a lot.”

The Rockets led the T-Bird 2-0 in game one, were tied 1-1 after 40 minutes in game two, had a 1-0 lead after two periods in game three, and trailed only 1-0 after heading into the third period in game four. Of the 14 goals the T-Birds would score in the series, 12 came in the third period.

“Against Wenatchee, they are an aggressive team,” Cristall added about facing the Western Conference’s newest team in game one tonight at Town Toyota Center. “They skate really well and get up the ice and play north, so hopefully we can neutralize that in the neutral zone and jump right back on them.”

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When the puck drops tonight (104.7 The Lizard pre-game show starts at 6:35 pm), Cristall says his team needs to take the play to them, not the other way around.

“If we play into our structure and our systems and just focus on ourselves, the rest will sort itself out,” he said. “We can’t get caught up in what they are doing and just focus on our game.”

The two teams met four times this season, with the Rockets winning twice at home but losing 4-0- and 6-3 in Wenatchee.

“Pressure is a privilege,” Cristall added as his team attempts to get out of the opening round of the playoffs for the first time since 2017. “We want to get out there and we want to win. Some of us have been here for three years and haven’t gotten past the first round, so hopefully we can break that this year. Having the pressure of winning more games and playing more on home ice is good to have.”

While the Washington Capitals draft pick had 3+3=6 against the Wild during the regular season, more production will be needed with just one goal in nine career playoff games.

“Game one is as important as game two, and game three and game four,” he added. “They all count as one win. If we can go into their barn and steal the first game, that gives us the advantage, but every game is super important.”

For those keeping score, the last Rockets playoff win was a 3-2 overtime victory against the T-Birds in a five-game opening-round series on April 26, 2022. Adam Kydd scored the game-winning goal on the power play, with Cristall drawing the primary assist.

“They are a good team on home ice,” he said about Wenatchee. “We can go into any building and win a hockey game.

“All that goes out the door [losing twice to the Wild]. We just have to focus on ourselves and play our game.”

If pride isn’t enough of a motivator heading into a series that features the fourth seed (Wenatchee) against the fifth seed (Kelowna), Cristall says playing for older teammates is an extra incentive.

“We are all playing for your twenty-year-old’s and guys that aren’t going to be here next year,” he said.

“We want to perform for them and give them a longer run so we can stay as a team together.”