Bloodoff awaits his fate

• Rockets 20 year-old forward Evan Bloodoff will learn his fate when WHL disciplinarian Richard Doerksen hands down his verdict Tuesday on the charging penalty and game misconduct he was give in the first period of Saturday night's game against Vancouver. Giants defenceman Joel Rogers received a shoulder to the head and left the ice on a stretcher. If this was the regular season my belief is Bloodoff would get five games, but the fact that it is the post season when the suspension is served, does that factor into the decision? Would three games or less make more sense considering the impact that a suspension holds at this time of the year? Guess we will find out.
  
• Close to 8 and a half hours. That's how long the bus ride is from Kelowna to Prince George. It could be worse! The Medicine Hat Tigers will play the Brandon Wheat Kings in an opening round playoff series where the Wheat Kings will play a few home games in Winnipeg because Brandon is hosting the Manitoba Fair. The driving time from Medicine Hat to Winnipeg is 12 hours or just over a thousand kilometers. The drive from Kelowna to PG is just over 700 k.
• While I was cheering against a Kelowna-Prince George match-up in round one, Cougars head coach Dean Clark had his prayers answered. Clark makes his off season summer home in Kelowna. The situation for Clark couldn't have worked out any better.
• These two teams are meeting in the playoffs for the first time since 2000. That season the Rockets were guided by Chilliwack Bruins head coach Marc Habscheid.
• Don't forget, Cougars GM Dallas Thompson is a former Rockets alumnus. Thompson played three seasons with the Rockets while the team was in Tacoma. If my memory serves me correctly, Thompson was also a team captain. You can find his picture in the Rockets dressing room of all the captains that have worn the 'C'.
• Brett Bulmer and Brett Connolly will get to know each other well in this series. The two have a good relationship considering the two were teammates playing midget hockey with the Cariboo Cougars.
• The two head coaches in this series played junior hockey with the Kamloops Blazers. Dean Clark played with the Kamloops Junior Oilers from 1982-85 while Rockets head skipper Ryan Huska played from 1991-95. Both Clark and Huska played in one NHL game. Clark played with the Edmonton Oilers while Huska played one game with the Chicago Black Hawks.
  
• The two assistant coaches in this series are former Swift Current Broncos defenceman. Dan Lambert played four seasons with the Broncos from 1986-90 while Cougars assistant coach Jason Becker played two seasons from 1993-95.