couldn鈥檛 have asked for a much better conclusion to 2017.

Five straight wins鈥攁nd 12 consecutive victories on home ice鈥攈ave Jason Smith鈥檚 club heading into the new year atop the Western Hockey League鈥檚 B.C. Division.

On Wednesday night, in their first action of 2018, the Rockets (23-11-2-1) will look to extend both streaks when the Tri-City Americans pay a visit to Prospera Place. Face off is 7:05 p.m.

While 91大黄鸭 is among the league鈥檚 hottest teams, the Americans aren鈥檛 far behind with five victories and a pair of overtime losses in their last seven games.

鈥淲e try not to think about the streak too much, we just need to go out there and play our game,鈥� said Rockets assistant captain Gordie Ballhorn. 鈥淭ri-City is a good team, we鈥檝e had a couple of good battles with them this season, so we鈥檒l need to be ready to play and bring our best game against them.鈥�

What鈥檚 most encouraging for the Rockets is the success they鈥檝e had without the services of Dillon Dube and captain Cal Foote, both of whom are playing with Team Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship in Buffalo.

鈥淲e wanted to get as many wins as we could with Dillon and Cal away, and the guys have really stepped up,鈥� Ballhorn said. 鈥淪ome guys have had their roles expanded and have really excelled and contributed. It鈥檚 made us better as a team.鈥�

In addition to some timely scoring in recent games, the Rockets have been getting exceptional goaltending from their two rookie netminders.

In three games since Christmas, and have combined for three wins, a shutout, a 0.95 goals against average and a save percentage of .982.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been huge for us,鈥� Ballhorn said of the goaltending of Porter and Basran. 鈥淭hey give us a chance to win pretty much every night. They鈥檙e young guys, they鈥檙e learning, and they鈥檙e doing a great job for us.鈥�

Porter, the WHL鈥檚 goaltender of the week, earned his second shutout of the season and his career in a 3-0 win Dec. 29 in Kamloops.

Rockets forward Kole Lind has been red hot since being returned from Canada鈥檚 junior team evaluation camp last month.

In his last seven games, the 19-year-old Vancouver Canucks鈥� draft choice has eight goals鈥攊ncluding two hat tricks鈥攁nd 14 points.

The Rockets will be home again Friday to host the Seattle Thunderbirds, then will travel to Calgary to face the Hitmen on Sunday afternoon.

Porter goaltender of the week

With a pair of victories and just one goal allowed, James Porter has been named the WHL鈥檚 goaltender of the week.

In two starts, the 5-foot-11, 157-pound product of Bonners Ferry, Idaho posted a 0.48 goals against average, a .987 save ratio and one shutout

Last Wednesday, Porter stopped 46 of 47 shots in a 2-1 shootout win over the visiting Kamloops Blazers. Two nights later, he stopped all 28 shots in Kamloops for his second career shutout in a 3-0 win.

Porter, 17, is 15-5-2-0 this season with a 3.22 goals against average and .904 save percentage.

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