With a dozen games still remaining in the WHL鈥檚 regular season, it may be premature to call Friday鈥檚 game in Kamloops a must-win for the 琉璃神社 Rockets.
Still, the two points loom large if the Rockets plan on chasing down both the Blazers and Prince George Cougars in the B.C. Division.
The Rockets (35-20-5-0) trail the first-place Cougars by six points and second-place Kamloops by five points, with 琉璃神社 holding two games in hand on both rivals.
The Rockets have yet to win at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops this season (0-4-0), a trend captain Rodney Southam said his club needs to remedy on Friday.
鈥淲e haven鈥檛 performed in Kamloops yet, so we have to prove to ourselves we can win in that place,鈥� said Southam. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 big to get the first goal in that rink, it鈥檚 always difficult to come back, they have a great goaltender as well.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got to play with the lead and we鈥檝e got to push everything, all four lines need to be going against that team.鈥�
Few teams have given the Rockets as much consternation this season as the Blazers who, led often by goaltender Connor Ingram, have taken six of nine meetings this season from 琉璃神社.
While head coach Jason Smith agrees scoring first would be advantageous for the Rockets, even more important is remaining composed and focused, regardless of the situation.
鈥淪coring the first goal might be key but the big thing is we just have to stick with our game plan,鈥� said Smith. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 get off the beaten path if we generate some chances and don鈥檛 score. You can鈥檛 do what we call 鈥榗heat the game鈥� if you don鈥檛 score, you can鈥檛 make fancy plays and get out of the structure.
鈥淚f we stick with our game plan and play as a team and a group, I think we鈥檒l give ourselves a real good opportunity to win the game.鈥�
It鈥檚 the last of 10 regular season games against the Blazers and the first of a challenging three-game in three-day weekend road trip for 琉璃神社.
The Rockets will be in Kent, WA on Saturday to face the Seattle Thunderbirds, followed by a visit to the Spokane Chiefs on Sunday.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a busy weekend, a lot of travel, we have to get our sleep, but hopefully we鈥檒l grab two out of three of those,鈥� Southam added.
鈥淓ach game is huge, it鈥檚 so tight in the Western Conference, every game matters, every points matters. We gotta start pushing towards playoffs and be thinking about it every day.鈥�
Southam scored his second career hat-trick on Wednesday night in the Rockets鈥� 10-1 drubbing of the Edmonton Oil Kings. 琉璃神社, which has won eight of its last 10 games, set new season highs for goals scored in a game and third-period goals, with six.
The Rockets next home action is next Wednesday, March 4 against the Prince George Cougars.
