Rockets’ first Memorial Cup appearance helped build a powerhouse

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The Rockets were especially dominant on home ice. They posted an incredible 31-4 record during the regular season at what was then known as Skyreach Place. In the playoffs, they were unbeatable in their own building, going a perfect 10-0 in front of packed crowds that quickly turned the arena into one of the toughest places to play in junior hockey.

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Kelowna entered the playoffs as one of the favourites to win the WHL title and quickly showed why. In the opening round, the Rockets swept the Vancouver Giants in four straight games. They followed that up with another sweep, this time over the Spokane Chiefs.

The Western Conference Final against the Seattle Thunderbirds proved to be a bigger challenge, but the Rockets still managed to win the series in five games and punch their ticket to the league final against Red Deer.

The Ed Chynoweth Cup Final featured the two best teams in the WHL that season. Kelowna and Red Deer battled through six hard-fought games before the Rockets finally captured the championship on May 10, 2003, with a series-clinching win on the road in Red Deer. It was a historic moment for the organization and its fans, as the Rockets earned the first WHL title since relocating to Kelowna from Tacoma in 1995.

There was little time to celebrate. Just one week later, the team travelled to Quebec City for the 85th Memorial Cup tournament.

The competition at the national championship was extremely difficult, and victories did not come easily for Kelowna. The Rockets’ lone win of the tournament came in a 3-2 victory over the host Quebec Remparts. That win helped the Rockets advance to the semifinal, where they were eliminated with a narrow 2-1 loss to the Hull Olympiques.

Even though the tournament ended in disappointment, several players still made strong contributions. Schultz led the Rockets in scoring with five points in four games. Meanwhile, 20-year-old Kiel McLeod returned to the lineup after missing the entire WHL playoffs because of injury and scored two of the team’s seven goals during the tournament.

The semifinal loss also marked the end of the junior careers for Schultz, McLeod and team captain Ryan Cuthbert. At the time, the defeat was difficult for the organization to accept. The Rockets had come so close to winning a national championship but fell just short against the best junior teams in the country.

What nobody realized then, however, was that the 2003 Memorial Cup appearance was only the beginning of an incredible run for the franchise. The Rockets would go on to qualify for the tournament three straight years, becoming one of the dominant teams in Canadian major junior hockey.

Even more remarkable, just 367 days after being eliminated in Quebec City, the Rockets would return to the Memorial Cup and finish the job – capturing the first national championship in franchise history in 2004.