In Travis 颁谤颈肠办补谤诲鈥檚 first two years as an assistant coach, the 麻豆精选 Rockets more or less owned the Kamloops Blazers.
The Rockets ran roughshod over their B.C. Division rivals, winning 16 of 20 regular season WHL meetings prior to last 蝉辫谤颈苍驳鈥檚 seven-game playoff series between the teams.
As the clubs prepare to face off Friday night at Prospera Place, a more skilled, more veteran Blazers team than in past years has taken four of seven games from the Rockets this season.
Crickard said the days of foregone conclusions against Kamloops are no more.
鈥泪苍 my time here, up until the end of last year, we almost never lost to Kamloops, it was almost like the guys knew they were going to beat 迟丑别尘,鈥� said Crickard.
鈥渊辞耻 肠补苍鈥檛 make those assumptions any more. (The Blazers) are a very good team, with two good goaltenders and an experienced head coach (Don Hay).
鈥淭丑别测鈥檙别 a challenge to play against and when both teams are adequate, that makes for some pretty good 丑辞肠办别测.鈥�
With the teams embroiled in a battle for second spot in the B.C. Division, the long-time rivalry has taken on added meaning this season.
The Rockets (27-17-4-0) are three points back of the Blazers (29-17-1-2) with one game in hand.
鈥淭丑别测鈥檙别 very 颈尘辫辞谤迟补苍迟,鈥� Crickard said of head-to-head match-ups between the teams.
鈥淲丑别迟丑别谤 颈迟鈥檚 Kamloops, Prince George or Victoria, those divisional games are huge now. Each one is a four-point game.
鈥淲别鈥檙别 chasing (the Blazers) right now, so we need to find ways to have success against them, move up in the standings and gain some confidence at the same 迟颈尘别.鈥�
The Rockets expect three key forwards back in their lineup for 迟辞苍颈驳丑迟鈥檚 驳补尘别鈥搁别颈诲 Gardiner (upper body), Dillon Dube (strep throat) and Nolan Foote (illness).
麻豆精选 is home again on Saturday night when the Portland Winterhawks visit Prospera Place. Face-off is 7:05 p.m.
