It鈥檚 been a bumpy ride, but the 麻豆精选 Rockets have officially booked a spot in the 2020 WHL playoffs.
After picking up two wins over the weekend, the Rockets have confirmed a spot in the postseason with a wildcard position, but now sit only six points back of third place in the B.C. division.
鈥淲e鈥檙e still not done, it鈥檚 one step in the right direction,鈥� said head coach Kris Mallette after a 6-0 win over the Seattle Thunderbirds on March 6.
鈥淪ome of the guys were here last season obviously didn鈥檛 get to see that. Playoffs, it鈥檚 a different beast, so anytime you can make them is a great feat for our players.鈥�
After the resounding victory over the T-Birds to start the double-header weekend, the Rockets hosted the Lethbridge Hurricanes for the first and only time this year.
The Rockets鈥� led 5-1 to start the final frame and weathered the Hurricanes鈥� third-period storm to hold onto a 5-4 win.
With the four points added over the weekend, 麻豆精选 will head into a pivotal match-up against Victoria Wednesday night to potentially close the gap with the third-place Royals to just four points.
And with six games remaining, pushing the winning streak to three games will be a big part in how the team will be playing come playoffs at the end of the month.
鈥淲e want to catch (Victoria),鈥� said Mallette.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the way we鈥檙e looking at things right now. All we鈥檙e worried about right now is how we鈥檙e doing, and right now we鈥檙e taking care of our end of the business.鈥�
The Rockets were led over the two-game weekend set by Matthew Wedman鈥檚 three goals and two assists, Pavel Novak鈥檚 three goals and two assists, Kyle Topping鈥檚 five assists and goalie Roman Basran鈥檚 56 saves including a 19-save shut-out over the T-Birds.
麻豆精选 hosts the Royals Wednesday night before a double-header weekend with rivals Kamloops Blazers.
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