The Westshore Wolves scored three unanswered goals in the 3rd period on route to a 5-2 victory over the Comox Valley Glacier Kings. The first 40 minutes were very close as the score indicated as the teams were tied 1-1 after the first and 2-2 after the second before the Wolves pulled away in the 3rd, the final goal coming on a powerplay into an empty net. The Glacier Kings actually outshot the Wolves 22-21 after two periods but Westshore played a strong 3rd period in which they outshot Comox Valley 22-10. The loss drops the Glacier Kings record to 1-6-0-1 while the Wolves improve to 4-2-0-1 and extend their first place lead over Saanich by 3 points in the South Division. The Westshore win ties the season series between the two clubs at one game apiece as Comox won 4-1 on September 15th.
The GKings got their first goal when Joe Gage picked up a loose puck on an aggressive Glacier Kings forecheck and set up Alex Wilford for his first goal of the season. Not sure why Gage didn’t get an assist on the play. Comox Valley’s second goal came on a nice rush up the ice by Cody Shepheard who somehow got the puck to Joe Gage while being checked. Gage then gave a backhand pass to a trailing Finn Withey who buried it on his second attempt for his 3rd of the season. Shepheard also did not receive an assist despite deserving one.
It was the first game behind the bench for the co-coaches Jordan Butcher and Jordan Kamprath who have stepped up and are running the team now. Both men are former Glacier Kings players with Butcher also being the bench boss here before. I met Kamprath (also known as Kamper) a few days ago. He is very eager to get the team going in a positive direction. The Jordan’s got a good effort out of their club Wednesday and will look to build on that. They will have some more practice time with the team as Comox has the weekend off and don’t play again until a week from Friday when they are in Campbell River. The next home game is Saturday October 7th when the Nanaimo Buccaneers visit.
The Saanich Braves proved that they are a team to be contended with this season. After beating the Victoria Cougars 5-1 Friday night, they came back to down Comox 10-3 Saturday night. The Braves led by scores of 3-1 and 8-1 before both teams netted a couple goals each in the 3rd. The line of Grewal, McCabe and Hahn was dominate almost every shift. Dale McCabe had a 4 point night while four other Saanich players had 3 point games. One of the few bright spots for the Glacier Kings was Willie Daigneault who potted 2 goals in the loss. The 2nd period is what did Comox in as they were outshot 17-5 and outscored 5-0. There were far too many defensive lapses in their own end and a couple weak goals allowed. The game actually got off to a terrific start for the Glacier Kings as they scored a goal just 6 seconds in when Mauro D’Alessandro tried shooting puck in, Riley Mathieson went behind the net to stop the puck but it took a funny hop off the boards and angled right into the open net. The win pulled the Braves into a 3-way tie for 2nd place in the South while the GKings dropped to 1-5-0-1. It was the first game for Paul Mugford behind the bench but it wouldn’t be fair to guage him on Saturday’s performance. Mugford hasn’t even had a practice with his team or been able to implement any changes yet. Also, the players were still in a little bit of shock. The situation will get a little easier everyday and the Glacier Kings will get back on track. The best thing for the new coach is to have the next 2 games on the road, away from the pressures of the home fans so he can make tweaks, learn about his players, get some practices and games together and improve both on and off the ice. Their next test will be on Wednesday in Westshore, which is the only team the Glacier Kings have beaten this year. Saanich is off until Thursday when they travel to Nanaimo.
Other observations:
The Glacier Kings have allowed more goals in the last 2 games (22) then 6 other teams have allowed all season.
Cody Shepheard showed flashes of brilliance undressing Saanich players a number of times
Willie Daigneault is now tied for 4th place in the VIJHL in goals with 5.
For the pre-game warm up, both teams had to slide their own nets in the crease and lift them onto their pegs.
The Braves didn’t show up to the arena until 6:10 PM because their bus broke down about 30 miles out of Saanich and they had to get another one.
Sam Waterfield has done a great job with his team in regards to etiquette. After the game was well out of reach, his players didn’t have an exuberant celebration or do the usual high 5 along bench after a goal. They simply skated back to the bench to go off for a change. That was classy.
Head coach Paul Mugford is staying on to help his former Midget ‘A’ team for morning practices until they find a replacement coach. He watched his former team lose 5-3 to Cowichan just before the start of the Glacier Kings game.
The video screens above the timekeepers bench may be operational for the next home game. Dave Webb has been working on it. They will feature sponsors as well as possible game action and replays. The fans watching the game will be able to see it as they sit across the ice looking towards the video screens. Dave is doing more work on it on Monday.
I have updated the “Interviews” section of this site with Jake Mckenzie and Paul Mugford.
The Comox Valley Glacier Kings have made a coaching move. They parted ways with Joey Ewing and replaced him with Paul Mugford. Ewing was a tremendous coach with a lot of passion and a great motivator. His background gave him the tools to help individual players hone their skills. Joey co-runs the High Calibre Hockey Academy all year round where they prep players for the next level. He also owns his own commercial fishing vessel, works at another place in Nanaimo and coaches the Glacier Kings. You can see his passion for hard work might of also been a downfall as he wore a lot of hats and is out of town a lot. Coaching a hockey team takes a lot of time and commitment. Ewing had commitment but time was always at a premium. Ownership also wears a lot of hats and wanted a coach that could spend more time with the team. Joey is a player’s coach and the player’s were were in shock when they heard, some wondering about their future with the team. A couple veteran players have stepped up and calmed the situation. This obviously is a situation best dealt with during the off-season but one can not always pick and choose when these situations arise and escalate.
The best thing ownership could do is hire a competent and well-respected person to replace Ewing and it looks like they have done that in a short amount of time. Paul Mugford takes over the team for the rest of the season. Mugford has been the head coach for the midget ‘A’ rep team here and has been very successful. He’s been coaching for 32 years, been in many international tournaments, won 2 Coach of the Year awards and spends hours a day dedicating himself to his team and the sport. Mugford knows he was brought into the fold because of an unfortunate situation but said, “I’m excited to be given the opportunity to coach the Glacier Kings.” I asked about what he plans to do right away. Paul said, “We need to get back to the basics, support each other and buy in. Smart hockey starts in your own end and players have to make the right decisions.” He did say he may try different line combinations but there won’t be anything drastic right away. Paul has watched some Glacier Kings games from the stands but said he’ll probably need to take 3 weeks to a month of evaluation behind the bench before having a full appreciation of changes that are needed. One thing he has going for him is he is local and can dedicate as much time as is needed to get things turned around. A lot of the Glacier Kings already know Mugford through their minor hockey days in Bantam and Midget. Paul says the culture of the team has to change on and off the ice with everyone being “all in” and the individuals who are here for themselves may not be here. He is going to set up a meeting with the team tomorrow which should help in the transition.
A lot of time, money and commitment has been spent on having players here and they are expected to put in a full effort in return. It will be interesting to see how they react as they host the Saanich Braves tomorrow night at the Rec Centre. I will get a full audio interview with Paul for the pre-game show and post it in the interviews section. Comox is coming off a 12-5 loss to Nanaimo while the Braves played Friday night and beat Victoria 5-1. Let’s welcome the new coach and hope this is the spark the team needed to pull together.
The Comox Valley Glacier Kings have made a coaching move. Joey Ewing is no longer with the team and Paul Mugford is the club’s new bench boss. I just spoke with Glacier Kings management and they are saddened by the events but are excited about moving forward in a new direction. I briefly spoke to the new coach and will have a chat with him around 8:30 PST tonight and can inform you on more of what is going on. The Glacier Kings didn’t have anything negative to say about Joey Ewing but I do know that Joey has a very busy schedule outside of the Glacier Kings as he has many different ventures he is involved in. The organization needed a bigger commitment at this time. I personally will miss Joey and some of the personal chats we had that will just stay between him and I. I am also looking forward to building a new relationship with Paul as he guides the Glacier Kings for the rest of the season. I will post more later tonight after speaking with Mugsy.
The Comox Valley Glacier Kings and the Nanaimo Buccaneers hook up for the first time this season at the Nanaimo Ice Centre. The Bucs come into the contest in second place in the North Division with a 3-1 record. Some key pieces of the puzzle for Nanaimo are gone but they have plenty left to contend with the top teams in the North Division. Forward sensation and 2000 born player Dawson Heathcote was the leading scorer last season. He is a Medicine Hat Tigers prospect and isn’t listed on the Bucs roster anymore. Both Bell’s are also gone to the delight of the Glacier Kings. Chad Bell graduated from his 5 year VIJHL career and now plays NCAA Division III hockey with Chatham University. Trent is in his final year of junior eligibility and is playing and doing well for the Powell River Kings. He has a goal and 2 assists in 4 games. One key returning player for the team is defenceman Clayton Peace. The 20 year old is in his 4th season (3rd full season) with Nanaimo. The defence core looks great with 20 year old Coleman Doney back on the blue line for a 4th year. Doney is the team’s captain. They are led in scoring by Mathieu Jallabert who has 2 goals and 3 assists in just 4 games. Jallabert starred for the Melville Millionaires of the SJHL last season after coming over from the Oceanside Generals the few previous years. He had his rights acquired by Campbell River in the off-season, before being dealt to the Bucs who gave up goaltender John Hawthorne and defenceman Julius Zhang in the deal. As if Nanaimo wasn’t strong enough, they just acquired forward Brandon Roberge from the Oceanside Generals. Roberge was a point per game player last season for the Generals. Derek Krall and Blake Wood have each split the first 4 games in net so far. One bad note for Nanaimo is they are still without Cam Nickerson who is out with a suspension. He is serving 5 games for a major penalty for a hit to the head and a gross misconduct for abuse of officials. By season’s end, Nickerson will be well over a point per game player. He can’t come back until the October 5th game against Oceanside.
The Comox Valley Glacier Kings come into the game with a 1-3-0-1 record after losing in overtime on Saturday in Oceanside. They are one point behind the Generals in the battle for 3rd place in the North. Despite having a couple players come back off the injury list last week (Dayton Keith and Damian Rennie), they are still waiting for 2 more. Ty Madden and Jordan Neufeld are still about a week and a half away from playing their first games of the season. Goaltender Matt Henwood has turned into the goalie that Joey Ewing has been expecting out of his starter. There have been some line juggling in practice. Ewing is trying to get 2 scoring lines and thinks he might have found it. Cody Shepheard, Jake Mckenzie and Damian Rennie are on one line with Finn Withey, Willie Daigneault and Matteo Giomo teamed up on the other. The Glacier Kings will be looking for their first road victory of the season tonight while Nanaimo is a perfect 2-0 at home. Nanaimo took 7 of the 10 games the 2 teams played last season and 4 of the 5 games in the playoffs. Game time is 7:15 and if you’re not going the Nanaimo Ice Centre, you can catch all the action on HockeyTV with Kyle Ireland and Lorenzo Jensen. Game time is 7:15 PM.
Darryl Skender
Darryl Skender – Play by Play Broadcaster for the Comox Valley Glacier Kings
Above The Pond 