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Former Giants goalie Jackson Whistle is Kelowna’s starter, but hasn’t played since Feb. 6 due to an appendectomy. (Getty Images File.)
It looks like Ty Ronning will get power-play time against the Kelowna Rockets Friday night at the Pacific Coliseum (7:30 p.m., TSN 1410).
The Vancouver Giants sophomore winger, who missed the first three months of the WHL season after breaking his collar bone in a preseason contest, was skating with the Vancouver’s No. 2 man-advantage unit at practice on Thursday. He was teaming up front with Jackson Houck and Zane Jones. Clayton Kirichenko and Arvin Atwal were on the points.
The first unit featured Carter Popoff, Thomas Foster and Tyler Benson, along with Mason Geertsen and Brennan Menell.
At 5-on-5, Ronning was with Popoff and Benson, while Houck, Foster and Jakob Stukel were together. You would think those would be the Giants’ top two lines.
The Giants’ line-up could be changing, though. The team has been hit by the flu bug. Defenceman Josh Thrower and winger Alec Baer both skipped practice on Thursday. Baer also missed on Wednesday.
With 12 games to go, the Giants (26-31-1-2) are fighting for a playoff spot. The Rockets (47-10-3-1) have the league’s top record.
The smart yet diminutive Ronning, the 15th overall pick in the 2012 WHL bantam draft, has struggled numbers wise since his return. He has one assist in 15 games and sports a minus-16 rating. He was getting top-six ice time down the stretch last season under former coach Don Hay. He finished his rookie campaign with nine goals and 20 points in 56 games.
Ronning was a healthy scratch for three straight games under coach Claude Noel before playing the past two. He was one of the better Giants in the 1-0 win on Saturday over Hay and the Kamloops Blazers.
Overage winger Matt Bellerive (ill) skated in a regular jersey on Thursday, rather than a yellow non-contact one, but he didn’t take part in the power-play drills. They may give him another weekend off. He’s missed the past 11 games.
Vancouver will miss another of their three 20 year olds for the remainder of the regular season at the very least. Centre Dalton Sward, the team captain, had surgery to repair a broken bone in his left hand on Thursday. He’s expected to be sidelined at least six weeks.
Jones is the other 20 year old.
Defenceman Shaun Dosanjh (upper body injury) also skated in a regular jersey. He’s been sidelined since Dec. 30.
The Rockets are battling injuries as well. Kelowna had just 10 healthy forwards and 17 skaters overall in a 4-2 win over Victoria on Wednesday. They were missing sniper Rourke Chartier and Tomas Soustal to undisclosed injuries.
Goaltender Jackson Whistle, the former Giant, has been recovering from an appendectomy on Feb. 7.
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