Rockets kick off season Saturday: new game times

The new change was used with success for the Rockets first two pre-season games and will kick off Kelowna’s regular season schedule this weekend when the Portland Winterhawks visit Prospera Place on Saturday, September 21.

“The Rockets moved their Saturday puck drop up to 6:05 for a couple of reasons,” said Rockets Vice President of Business Development Gavin Hamilton. “First, we felt it made it easier for families to attend earlier games, as well for team travel. It allows the visiting teams and the Rockets to be able to be on the road an hour earlier for Sunday games which are usually afternoon start times.”

Majority of Rockets weekday games (Monday-Friday) will be starting at 7:05 PM. The Rockets will also hold two home games at 2:05 PM on Monday, October 14 against the Prince Albert Raiders and Monday, February 17 against the Tri-City Americans. The Rockets will play one Sunday game this season on November 24 against the Everett Silvertips with puck drop taking place at 4:05 PM

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ROCKETS SET TO OPEN NEW CAMPAIGN WITH HOME OPENER AGAINST WINTERHAWKS

The Kelowna Rockets will kick off their 2024-25 regular season on Saturday night when they host the Portland Winterhawks at Prospera Place at 6:05 pm. It’s the fifth time that the Rockets have opened their season against the Winterhawks since relocating to Kelowna in 1995 with the most recent encounter coming last season where the Winterhawks won the game 6-5 in overtime.

"We're really excited because we're returning a significant part of our offence from the past and we've got some interesting new players here," said Rockets President and General Manager Bruce Hamilton on what fans can expect from this year's version of the Rockets. "We've got a bit of youth that are exciting young players and we're really looking forward to seeing how they come along."

But most importantly, I think we've got a hockey club that has a chance to win on any given night. Jari (Kykkanen) was great down the stretch and so was Jake (Pilon) in goal so I'm hoping that we have a pretty complete season and I'm going to be disappointed if we aren't one of the top teams in our division."

Saturday’s contest is the lone game of the weekend for the Rockets, they’ll then be off until Friday, September 27 when they host the Victoria Royals.

Meanwhile, the Winterhawks will open their season on the road Tonight (Friday, September 20th) against the Kamloops Blazers.