Rockets and Royals wanting to erase late season struggles

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The clear loss of European forward Robin Sapousek is massive, considering the 19-year-old has missed the last 22 games after winning a bronze medal and being hurt at the most recent World Junior Hockey Championships for Czechia. The other big hole in head coach James Patrick’s lineup is the loss of dependable d-man Austin Zemlak, who has missed seven games with an injury, and since his absence, the team has won only once.

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The Rockets are trying to find consistency in their game with just two wins in their last six games, one of those coming in a 2-0 victory against the Royals just nine days ago.

“As of late, when we play the top teams in the Western Conference, we are having closer games than let’s say when we are playing bottom teams,” veteran forward Max Graham admitted to RocketFAN. “I don’t know if it is a mental thing, or the pace of the game rises and we do the same.”

Road wins against high-powered Portland and Prince George give the fanbase so much hope, but then comes truckloads of discontent with three losses to Kamloops and two against Spokane, who are both below them in the standings.

“When we play teams in our division, those are the really important games and we have to be ready for them and make sure we come out on top of them,” Graham added.

In the team’s last visit to Victoria for back-to-back games in mid-November, the Rockets lost twice when they should have won. In a 3-2 overtime loss, the visitors enjoyed a 2-0 lead before the Royals roared back, tying the score with just over five minutes left in the third period, and then d-man Justin Kipkie scored in overtime, with Max Graham in the penalty box for tripping. A night later, the Rockets fell asleep twice, allowing two goals in 1:04 and two more just 47 seconds apart and were upended 5-3.

In both games, Jake Pilon saw action, starting in a one goal loss before relieving Jari Kykkanen after the veteran allowed five goals on 17 shots.

Separated by seven points, with the Royals in fifth and the Rockets in seventh, this is a big set of games for both teams. While the organizations are better served in focusing on cleaning up their own backyards, it is hard to not look over the fence at the Vancouver Giants, who are sandwiched between them in sixth, with just one overtime loss in their last nine games.

“As we get closer to the playoffs, there is pressure on the line,” Graham said. “I would say the real fun games are when you get into the playoffs. That is the goal. We have to get into the playoffs and then that is when the real fun starts.”

With just seven road games left in the regular season, and the eighth place Spokane Chiefs breathing down there neck with likely two winnable games this weekend against Tri-City, the Rockets need to take advantage of an opponent who is battered and bruised.