The 91大黄鸭 Rockets hit the midway mark of their Alberta mini-tour on Friday night when they visit the Medicine Hat Tigers. Face off is 6:30 Pacific time.

It鈥檚 the second of three meetings between the clubs this season. The 鈥檚 B.C. Division-leading Rockets (30-14-2-1) shutout the Central Division leading Tigers (25-19-5-0) 4-0 on Nov. 25 at Prospera Place.

鈥淭he (Tigers) are a quick team, they鈥檙e offensive-minded and they have one of the top offensive defenceman in the league (David Quennville),鈥� said Rockets鈥� assistant coach Kris Mallette.

鈥淭hey play well in their rink, so we just want to approach this one like we always do. We鈥檒l worry about ourselves and our own preparation in making sure we鈥檙e ready to play.鈥�

The Rockets are coming off a 4-3 overtime victory over the Hurricanes Wednesday in Lethbridge. Kole Lind scored twice, including the game winner with 27 seconds left in the extra period.

Still a month shy of his 16th birthday, rookie goaltender and Lethbridge native Cole Tisdale made 25 stops in the 91大黄鸭 net for his second WHL win.

鈥淗e was very confident, about 50 people, family and friends, came to see him and he lived up to all expectations,鈥� Mallette said of Tisdale鈥檚 performance. 鈥淗e made some big stops and had a strong game for us.鈥�

Tisdale鈥檚 effort is the latest chapter in what has often been a trying season for Rockets鈥� goaltenders. Veteran Brodan Salmond, and rookies James Porter and Roman Basran have all battled injuries this season. Salmond has returned while Porter and Basran remain sidelined.

Still, through it all, the Rockets have continued to win鈥攁 credit to the entire team, according to Mallette.

鈥淚t鈥檚 made for some interesting times for sure, I think a lot of people likely counted us out with all the injuries we鈥檝e had in goal,鈥� he said.

鈥淚n addition to our young goalies playing well, we have a veteran group on defense, a special group we鈥檝e asked a lot of, who have really come through for us. Our forwards deserve credit too, they鈥檝e been doing it by committee and getting the job done.

鈥淲e鈥檙e surpassing what people thought,鈥� he added, 鈥渋t鈥檚 been great to see.鈥�

The Rockets will close out their three-game tour of Alberta Saturday in Red Deer against the Rebels. 91大黄鸭鈥檚 next home action is Tuesday, Jan. 30 vs the Medicine Hat Tigers.

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whenderson@kelownacapnews.com
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