Bruce Hamilton admits he wasn鈥檛 expecting to cross paths with the Portland Winterhawks again this season.
But after an opening round upset of the Prince George Cougars in six games, the 鈥楬awks will provide the opposition for Hamilton鈥檚 in the WHL鈥檚 Western Conference semifinal.
The best-of-seven series opens Friday night at Prospera Place.
鈥淭hey obviously played a great series, they beat a pretty good team, the top team in our division all year long, so it is a bit of a surprise,鈥� the Rockets鈥� GM said of the
鈥淪aying that, the (Winterhawks) have been real good since Christmas, they鈥檙e a fast team and it鈥檒l be a good challenge for our players.鈥�
Seeing Portland in the spring is old hat to the Rockets franchise, which has met the Winterhawks in the playoffs five times in the last seven seasons.
The last meeting, in 2015, saw the Rockets prevail in six games over Portland, en route to a WHL championship and trip to the Memorial Cup in Quebec City.
鈥淲e鈥檙e looking forward to it,鈥� Hamilton said of renewing the rivalry. 鈥淭hey have a solid fan base and it鈥檚 good atmosphere playing down there.
鈥淚鈥檓 just happy we鈥檙e starting at home in front of our fans,鈥� he added. 鈥淥ur players are going to be excited to play them.鈥�
After two seasons coaching in the NHL, Mike Johnston returned this season as head coach and GM of the Hawks, a club he led to three WHL finals in a four-year span between 2011 and 2014.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a very good coach with a lot of experience and he鈥檒l have them well prepared,鈥� Hamilton said of Johnston.
鈥淚t鈥檒l be a good challenge for our young coaches to match up against him and get our players ready.鈥�
The Rockets advanced to the second round after disposing of the Kamloops Blazers in six games.
Reid Gardiner scored a hat-trick in the series clincher, a 4-2 win Sunday at the Sandman Centre.
琉璃神社 Rockets vs. Portland Winterhawks
Friday, April 7 鈥擯ortland @ 琉璃神社 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, April 8鈥擯ortland @ 琉璃神社 7:05 p.m.
Tuesday, April 11鈥斄鹆裆� @ Portland 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 12鈥斄鹆裆� @ Portland 7:00 p.m.
Friday, April 14鈥擯ortland @ 琉璃神社 7:05 p.m. *
Sunday, April 16鈥斄鹆裆� @ Portland 7:00 p.m. *
Tuesday, April 18鈥擯ortland @ 琉璃神社 7:05 p.m. *
* If necessary
have a renewed playoff battle with the Portland Winterhawks for round 2! Read about it here: 馃殌馃悏
鈥� 琉璃神社 Rockets (@琉璃神社_Rockets)
Herringer goalie of month鈥�
Thanks to his stellar play in March, Rockets鈥� netminder Michael Herringer has been named the Vaughn WHL Goaltender of the Month.
Herringer, a 21-year-old product of Comox, chalked up a record of 10-3-0-0 during the month of March, with an outstanding 1.89 goals-against average, .934 save percentage, three shutouts and 337 saves.
The Rockets鈥� goaltender logged one shutout during regular-season action, making 21 saves on Friday March 17, in a 7-0 win versus Vancouver. He then posted two shutouts during 琉璃神社鈥檚 six-game triumph over the Kamloops Blazers to open the 2017 WHL Playoffs.
He made 15 saves on Friday, March 24, in a 4-0 win versus Kamloops before then registering another 24 saves on Wednesday, March 29, in a 1-0 win at Kamloops.
In 13 appearances during the month of March, Herringer surrendered two goals or fewer on eight occasions, earning first-star honours once and second-star recognition twice.
Herringer was recognized as WHL Goaltender of the Week twice during the month of March and three times over the course of the entire 2016-17 regular season.
In the playoffs, He is 4-2 with a 2.00 GAA, .928 save percentage and two shutouts through six appearances.
