Rockets still searching for first victory

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Despite giving up the opening goal for the third time in four games, the Rockets rallied from a 1-0 deficit with goals from Iginla and Michael Cicek for a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes.

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The Cougars turned the tables in the third. 

“We probably shied away from it in the third”, Martin admitted. “You could tell we were a little fragile, with probably not enough of a short memory from Sunday. We let the ‘what ifs’ be a factor, and we gave them an inch and they took a mile on us.” 

The Cougars would score four unanswered goals, handing the Rockets their fourth straight loss to start the season. The last time the team struggled in the opening four games was in 2018-2019 when they went 0-4-0-0 before eventually beating the Cougars in the fifth game. 

“I really liked the effort,” Martin said when looking at positives. “We were finishing checks. We were getting first to pucks and getting first touches. As frustrating as it is in game four without a win, certainly we can take some positives and build upon in this young season.” 

In a game that took only two hours and 14 minutes to play, the Cougars didn’t take a penalty, yet scored on one of two chances with the best power play unit in the WHL. 

“It makes you wonder if they played a perfect game or they did take one [penalty],” Martin chuckled. “There were enough scrums and enough battles and two teams going hard at each other, you would like to see yourself get an opportunity especially as they get one [power play] in the first period and you would like to see that evened up and give yourself a chance.” 

Out-shooting the Cougars 29-26 in the game, including 15-5 in the second period, the Rockets now head back on the road for two games this weekend in Spokane and Tri-City. 

“You have to get these guys not focusing on the result and focus more on the process,” Martin said when asked how a coach approaches getting the team back on track. “I read an interesting article that the top five players in tennis always focus on the next shot and never focus on the result of the shot that happens before. It is resetting the group. Tonight, we played 40 minutes of hockey that we are really proud of and then 20 minutes we wish we could have a do-over, but there are no mulligans in this sport.  

“It is about building on those 40 minutes and finding a way to get this group bought in to playing 60 minutes of fearless hockey. When we do, we are going to be a scary hockey team. It isn’t just a matter of if, but when, and we would like that to be sooner rather than later.”