Struggling to find consistency

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“I felt we were chasing the scoreboard tonight instead of playing to our opponent,” Martin continued. “We didn’t play to our standard, and when you do that, not a lot goes right. I thought in the hard moments of the game, we were just too perimeter tonight. We got lots of shots, but not a lot of traffic, and a lot of shots from the outside.”

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Rookie Giants goaltender Burke Hood, who was playing midget hockey in Brandon last season, was a wall in net, stopping 44 shots to record his second WHL shutout.

“I think we hoped for an emotional boost with Caden Price back in our lineup,” Martin admitted about the return of the Team Canada defender, who had missed time at the World Junior Hockey Championships. “It was a long travel day for him, and an emotional three weeks for him, so maybe our hopes were set a little high, expecting him to be the savior for our hockey team.”

The Rockets were looking to carry over the momentum from a 6-4 win over Kamloops on Friday night that snapped a season-high six-game losing streak.

“I thought the first couple of shifts we established ourselves in the offensive zone, we were getting pucks to the net, bodies to the net, and you don’t find one, and then they get one [goal], and it derailed our hockey team,” Martin reflected. “We didn’t have a lot of puck luck, but we didn’t earn a lot of puck luck either.”

The Giants earned most of their goals through solid play, but one goal stood out: Cameron Schmidt’s shot from deep in the right corner deflected off Rockets rookie defenseman Jacob Henderson in the second period to make it 3-0. It was clear then that it was going to be a long night for the home team.

“I don’t think we’re a fragile group, but we were fragile tonight,” Martin said. “Our strength is playing sound, competitive, prideful 200-feet hockey, and we didn’t see enough of that from our group. A lot of guys, if they looked intrinsically into themselves, would ask for more. You never want to have a performance like that, especially in front of our hometown crowd. It stung, because they deserved better when they came to watch us.”

The Rockets have now dropped four straight games at home and seven of their last eight overall. RocketFAN asked Martin if the upcoming trade deadline, with the possibility of top players being moved, was affecting his group.

“I think it weighs on the minds of players, those who could be potentially moved, and others who are looking at a teammate and assuming they’re getting moved,” Martin said honestly. “It’s not unique to the Kelowna Rockets. There are 21 other teams across the league dealing with the same thing and asking the same questions: Are we bringing guys in or sending guys out?”

The WHL trade deadline ends January 9th.

“You can only live for today,” Martin added. “You can only control what is directly in front of you. We talk about being where your feet are, so it exists, but it’s no different in the Vancouver Giants’ dressing room wondering what their roster will look like on January 10th.”

“I’m not making excuses,” Martin concluded. “We weren’t good enough. We weren’t hungry enough. We let an early lead get into our minds, and we played that way.”