Winning is contagious, and addictive, and once you've tasted it's sweet nectar, you want more, and more.....and more. Last year the Kelowna Rockets set a franchise record for wins at 52, and the team wanted that again this year, and more. They delivered in spades this weekend, not only making it the first time in franchise history that they put together back to back 50 wins seasons, but hit last years mark of 52, in 7 less games played.
Not only are they re-writing the franchise record books this year, but also those of the league as well. currently, the Rockets have 27 road victories, good for a share in the 4th most by one team in one single season. If the team wins out the remainder of it's road season, they will finish with 30 road victories out of 36, and be the sole owners of the record of most road victories in a single season by a single team, and looking back in the years of successful teams, that's one hell of a feat.
Is this the best Rockets team to ever hit the ice? Hard to say if this edition stacks up with the likes of the 2003/04 team that starred, no less than 6 future NHL players including Josh Gorges, Blake Comeau and Shea Weber, but with a current record of 52-9-0-4, they sure are making a case for themselves.
However, the success of this team will be measured in the playoffs, as is the story for any and all sports organizations. Take the Vancouver Canucks for example. The year is 2010, the Canucks are the class of the NHL going into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, yet they struggle through the first few rounds, just to lose to Boston in the Final Game of the year. Regular Season doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things.
Be proud of your regular season, and heck, even use it to intimidate your first round opponent, but once the puck drops in the first round of the playoffs, every single team is back to 0-0-0-0 and those 40-50 point gaps are reduced to nothing. An even keel, and a determined 8th seed can spell disaster for even the mightiest of teams.
Will that winning addiction keep this Rockets team steaming forward to a birth in the Memorial Cup in London in May? My gut says "Yes", my Brain says "Wait and see"
Stay Tuned!
No comments:
Post a Comment