(Image Credit: Steve Dunsmoor)

By Regan Bartel

Round-one showdown

Rockets and Blazers renew playoff rivalry

Mar 22, 2026 | 7:36 PM

It’s Rockets and Blazers in round one.

For the first time since 2017, Kelowna and Kamloops meet in the opening round of the WHL playoffs.

Games one and two go Friday and Saturday night at Prospera Place, with the series shifting to Kamloops for games three and four Tuesday and Wednesday.

The last time these two teams met in the playoffs, it didn’t disappoint.

The Rockets took game one. The Blazers answered with two straight. Then Kelowna pushed back, winning games four, five and six to take the best of seven.

Rockets DOA. Dominate. Overcome. Achieve

Things that make me go hmm....

Feb 02, 2026

Too good to ignore, too hated to care

Kelowna Rockets: The team the Internet loves to hate

Jan 13, 2026

Notes, quotes and anecdotes

Things that make me go hmm...

Dec 12, 2025

That series also came with a twist.

With the World Women’s Hockey Championship at the Sandman Centre, the teams were forced into Kamloops’ Memorial Arena, built in 1948. The Rockets won that game 1-0, with Michael Herringer recording the shutout.

And these teams have played with everything on the line before.

In 2019, it came down to a tie-breaking game for a playoff spot. The Blazers won it 5-1 to move on, while the Rockets missed the playoffs for just the second time in franchise history. Mark Liwiski scored the lone goal for Kelowna, beating Dylan Garand, who made his NHL debut this past weekend with the New York Rangers.

So, what do the regular-season numbers tell us?

Not much.

The Rockets went 4-1-0 and 1 in the six-game season series, but this is a different stage.

Harrison Boettiger was sharp against Kamloops, going 2-0-0 and 1 with a 1.92 goals against average and a .939 save percentage.

Tij Iginla led the way with nine points in those six games. Mazden Leslie also had nine, and his first career goal came in Kamloops during the COVID bubble season. Vojtech Cihar added eight.

The Blazers were led by Josh Evaschesen with eight points, while Nathan Behm scored five times.

The two organizations met last weekend, and now they are right back at it as opening-round dance partners in the playoffs.