No intensity won't win you games at this time of year

• Mark Guggenberger was ready to play. Unfortunately his teammates didn't follow the veteran goaltenders lead. The 21 year-old was again steady, but his Kelowna Rockets teammates looked lacklustre, in a 2-0 loss Tuesday night to the Tri City Americans. The Americans now have a 2-1 lead in the best of seven series heading into game four tonight.
• You know it's a bad sign for the home team when you can pick several names from the visiting team's roster that played well, yet you struggle to find names on who was a bright spot on the Rockets roster. Lucas and Evan Bloodoff showed some jump while Brandon McMillan was noticeable in the final five minutes of the game, but outside of that, the Rockets had too many passengers on this night. If all hands are not on deck, the Rockets can't compete against a high end team like Tri City. They simply can't. Not even Mark Guggenberger can stand on his head and bail his team out after an effort like that.
• Who had a bad game for Tri City? I can't name one guy. From Justin Feser to Jordan Messier, the visitors were really good. Americans goaltender Drew Owsley gets the win and the shutout, but even he will tell you at the end of the night that he has earned more difficult shutouts than he did against the Rockets. Americans head coach Jim Hiller will have a tough time picking apart his team on video after game three. In fact, a 2-0 loss likely flattered the home team.
• The Rockets had three power plays in the third period alone and were unable to score. One power play saw the Rockets called for offside three separate times. What does that tell? Mentally the Rockets weren't there.
• In game two, all three goals the Rockets scored were essentially on the doorstep of the Americans net. The majority of the 31 shots Owsley faced Tuesday night were from long range or from the outside.
• The smallest crowd of the season watched game three. Just over 52 hundred Kelowna Rockets fans took in the game.
• The shutout loss was the Rockets second of the playoffs. The Rockets also lost 4-0 to Everett in game five of an opening round series.
• It marked the first time on home ice that the Rockets have been shutout in a playoff game since a 1-0 loss to the Everett Silvertips in game five of the Western Conference final April 24/04. Jeff Harvey made 22 saves in the win.
• The loss snapped the Rockets unbeaten streak on home ice at three games. The Rockets won all three home games in a seven game series against Everett in the opening round.
• The good news is the Rockets can redeem themselves in game four Wednesday night.