‘Do-or-die’: Kelowna has another shot to keep Memorial Cup dream alive

The Kelowna Rockets are 0-2 at the Memorial Cup so far, but the team has one more chance to advance beyond the round robin portion of the tournament.

The Rockets return to the ice tomorrow, May 27, against the Everett Silvertips, facing the same team that knocked them out of the second round in the WHL playoffs.

Though the Rockets are last in the standings so far, a win could thrust them into a tie-breaking game on Friday.

“I mean, we’ve beaten Everett before in the playoffs, in our home arena. So, yeah, they feel good. They know that it’s kind of a do-or-die situation, and it’s kind of about who wants it more,” team spokesperson Kohen Dengler said.

It was a hard-fought comeback for Kelowna when they beat Everett in April, scoring three goals in the third period before winning in overtime.

The game four victory was their only one in the five-game series.

The Rockets started the Memorial Cup tournament with a 5-0 loss against the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers, followed by a 3-2 loss against Chicoutimi Sagueneens of the QMJHL, making them the only team without a win so far.

To get the chance at a tie-breaking game on Friday, a Kelowna victory will likely come down to calculating goals for and against, excluding whichever team gets a bye to the final.

Tonight, Kitchener and Chicoutimi will face off in their final round robin game. If Kitchener wins, they’ll head straight to the Sunday final.