Kelowna Rockets, first team in Canadian Hockey League to win 40 games

Some teams consider a 40 win season a huge success, and is actually a stat in the record books, (Most consecutive 40 win seasons), so to say that with the victory against the Lethbridge Hurricanes, the Kelowna Rockets becoming the first CHL Club to reach the 40 win benchmark in a mere 48 games is unfathomable.

There have been teams in the past that have gotten to the 40 win mark quickly, very quickly, in fact, with the 2012/13 Portland Winterhawks reaching the mark 50 games in, and prior to that, the 2008/09 Calgary Hitmen (who finished that season with a 59-9-3-1 record) reaching 40 wins in 49 games.  Prior the Rockets 40 wins in 48 games, you would have to go back almost to the 1980's before you find a club who has reached this mark any quicker (educated guess, not statistically substantiated).

What I find is making this season especially impressive, is the fact that no other team in the WHL is even challenging the Rockets for the top spot in the league.  The Rockets currently have a 13 point lead on the next closest team being the Portland Winterhawks, and they still have 1 game in hand on the Hawks.

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The Victoria Royals continue their winning ways tonight against the Vancouver Giants, winning 3-1, trying to keep their hopes alive for catching the Kelowna Rockets for the BC Division crown.  The Royals have had the Rockets number this year, handing the Rockets 3 of their 8 losses on the season.  2 in regulation and 1 in the Shootout, including 2 of the Rockets 4 losses at home this year, and the Royals have yet to lose to the Rockets at Prospera Place this year.

That being said, I'm not sure the 14 point gap between the Rockets and the Royals is fully indicative of how a 7 game series would play out against these two rivals.  All I can say is that it would be a great series to watch.

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Since Matthew Dumba has joined the Portland Winterhawks, the Hawks have not lost a game, winning all 4 with Dumba in the lineup.  I'm not 100% sold on the fact that Dumba is the solution to the problem on the back end of the Hawks, but it definitely adds more fire power.  As witnessed at the World Junior Championships, Dumba can, and will take a bad penalty when the going gets tough, and that might spell disaster for the Hawks in the playoffs if them and the Kelowna Rockets meet at any point.  

It's been proven that the hawks are weak on the back end when Kelowna was in Portland back on December 31 and January 2nd.  Most Hawk fans will have you believe that the team was shorthanded with their top players, but the fact is that only 1 of those players gone was a D-Man, that being Derek Pouliot.  The Winterhawks needed to do more at the deadline to bolster their D-Core, and they did, but will adding Dumba and a couple players who have never played at this level be enough to handle Kelowna's relentless onslaught of 4 line hockey?  I don't have the answer, nor will I speculate on that, all I can say is if Kelowna and Portland meet in the playoffs, it is going to be special.

Stay Tuned!