‘We just have to get that moxie and swagger back’ – Rockets HC Kris Mallette

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“When you let games like that slip, they hurt,” Rockets head coach Kris Mallette told RocketFAN before suffering a 4-3 home ice overtime loss to the Blazers before coming away empty-handed in a 3-2 setback at Sandman Centre one night later.

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“We can compete with every team for sure when we are playing, and we’ve shown it this year,” Mallette added. “We’ve been on the wrong side of it [against elite competition]. Whether that has to do with the other team taking us lightly, and us rising to the occasion, but if you are .500 against a team that is contending for first place, you will be happy with that.”

What the Rockets can’t be happy with is losing to a Blazers team, that entered the weekend with the worst record in the entire WHL with 11 victories. Plus, the opposition was void of any 19-year-old skaters, and traded away their top three forwards to recoup draft picks. The Blazers are in total rebuild mode.

“I hope not,” Mallette said without hesitation when asked if his team took the Blazers lightly. “I don’t build that up. They have had their way with us the last little bit, and they are two organizations that have a fierce rivalry, and I try to instill that in our group – that fire. When we have spurts of it, we are great, but when we sit back and think it is just going to happen, we are a very average team.”

The ugly stat has the Rockets suffering 11 consecutive defeats in Kamloops. The last win was on December 28, 2021, when Andrew Cristall scored in overtime in a 2-1 victory.

“We need to simplify our game and work together,” Mallette lamented. “Our group has to have the collective agreement to do it the right way. It is so cliché, but it starts with our top group, if they aren’t doing it right, others think they have to do more than they should and then it’s a snowball effect from there.”

Entering the weekend, the Rockets were 10 points back of Victoria for 5^th and 6 points in the rearview mirror of 7^th place Vancouver. Earning one of a possible four points on the weekend has the team in a tough spot with 22 games left in the regular season.

Update: The Royals enjoy a 12 point lead on the Rockets while the Giants are now just two points behind. 

“We need to take care of what we can,” Mallette answered when asked about the Vancouver Giants nipping at their heels with four more head-to-head meetings between the two teams. “We just have to keep climbing in the standings and not focus on what they are doing.”

After playing three of the last four games against those below them in the standings, the Rockets head south for two tilts against high-powered Portland (Wednesday and Friday at Veterans Memorial Coliseum), who are in a three-way tie for first place with Prince George and Everett.

“We control our own destiny,” Mallette added. “We have to make sure we are playing our style. We have to make sure our guys are confident because we are a good team.

“We just have to get that moxie and swagger back.”