The Nanaimo Buccaneers moved 4 points ahead of the Campbell River Storm in the race for first place after their 5-1 win over the Comox Valley Glacier Kings last night. Mathieu Jallabert scored twice while Billy Walters and Noah Kelly each added a goal and an assist. Brandon Roberge had the fifth Bucs goal before Jacob Kruse finally broke the shutout in the third period. Noah Giesbrecht was outstanding in net for the Glacier Kings stopping 60 of 65 shots. His teammates only managed 16 on Blake Wood. It was a one-sided game from the puck drop as Nanaimo showed their superior talent and depth to a short-handed and tired Comox Valley squad. With Jory Swanson out of the line up serving the first of his 2-game suspension, the GKings dressed just 13 skaters. They were down to 12 after Benjamin Bretell took two 10 minute misconducts and a game misconduct on the same stoppage with his encounter with a referee. It was my first look at Austin Dixon on home ice (his first game was the previous night in Saanich) and he didn’t look out of place but obviously is still working on his hockey conditioning as he hasn’t played in quite some time. After the game, he seemed gracious for the opportunity to play and motivated to get in better hockey shape. Luc Wilson didn’t dress for Nanaimo as he was up playing for the Cowichan Valley Capitals. The Capitals lost in double OT to Penticton and Wilson did not make it onto the score sheet. Trent Bell and Seamus O’Toole were also out of the line up. It was the 4th consecutive game that Mack Reid was behind the bench as the interim head coach with Jordan Butcher and Jordan Kamprath still away.
Nanaimo’s win improved their record to 33-7-0-2 for 68 points and first overall in the VIJHL. Comox Valley is now 4-36-0-1 for 9 points. Their home record sits at 2-18-0-0. Up next for both clubs:
Thursday Nov. 1: Oceanside @ Nanaimo 7:15 PM
Friday Nov. 2: Comox Valley @ Campbell River 7:30 PM
The game most of us are looking forward to is February 8th when the Storm and Bucs hook up for their final head to head meeting of the regular season. There should be a good crowd at the Nanaimo Ice Centre that night.
Other observations:
This was the last meeting of the season between these 2 clubs. Nanaimo won all 8 games. The Glacier Kings have 7 games left and three of them are against Campbell River.
Defenceman Conner Bavaro showed his toughness after taking a point shot directly to his face. He ended up staying in the game and playing well.
Cam Nickerson delivered a high hit on Praveen Dhaliwal. Dhaliwal was shaken up on the play but did return to the game a short time later.
Defenceman Cole Johnson played a lot. I was estimating around 35 minutes. Obviously the Glacier Kings like him in all situations and they only had 5 defencemen dressed (Scott Arbuckle only played defence during the PP that I noticed). Tycen Kingma is out for an extended time period which hurts the d-core.
For the entire first period, the score clock showed the game in period “0”. I told the online scoring person during the intermission and it was fixed for the second.
It was quite confusing during a delayed penalty. Nanaimo just picked up an infraction while the Glacier Kings were breaking out of their own end. For some reason the play got blown dead and there was confusion in the booth to who got the penalty since Comox Valley had possession when play was stopped.
The TimBits players that played a mini game during the first intermission got something that the Glacier Kings didn’t get. Their starting line up was announced.
The saying of a back up goalie always needing to be ready came true yesterday. Noah Giesbrecht only found out he was playing 30 minutes before the game as Braedyn Funke was still sick at game time. Funke was a trooper though as he joined in the TimBits game to play net as there was only one goaltender. He even gave the kids a thrill after it was over giving them high-fives.
3 out of the 5 people in the broadcast booth were filling in. John De Roo did the public address, Barb Byrne (League president) did the online scoring while Bob Galloway did color with me. I should mention Ben Alexander’s dad Dan helped out doing the timekeeping. He was kept busy putting up all the shots on net.
Hopefully my usual color commentator Randall Heidt is reading this. I don’t think I’m going to be able to make next Saturday’s game because of work. Randall and his wife missed last night’s game because of the Chamber of Commerce awards banquet. Hopefully Randall can do the play by play next Saturday. I haven’t actually asked him yet.
That’s it for now. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
The Saanich Braves moved into a tie for first place in the South Division with Victoria after their 7-0 win over the Comox Valley Glacier Kings last night. Gavin Grewal led the way with 3 goals and 1 assist while Chris Combiadakis stopped 16 shots for his first VIJHL shutout. Devin Fraser, Dayton Clarke and Evan Abgrall each had 2 point nights. Braedyn Funke had another busy game facing 53 shots including 26 in the second period alone. Saanich is now 20-15-2-2 which gives them (and Victoria) 44 points with 9 games to go. Meanwhile Comox Valley drops to 4-34-0-1 for 9 points. They were officially eliminated from the playoffs last weekend. The 3 alternate captains played hard all game but once again, the Glacier Kings were out of gas. They were able to dress 14 skaters and 2 goaltenders which is an improvement over some of the past games. Newly acquired defenceman Tycen Kingma did not dress because of an upper body injury. The Braves were without Jarrod Lucoe because of a suspension and Joey McGuire because of an injury. The game got rough (and dirty) in both the second and third periods with multiple penalties being handed out. I’m not sure if the league is looking into any possible suspensions or not. At one point, the Glacier Kings had 6 players in the penalty box while the Braves had 5.
11 players in the penalty box
I had mentioned Comox Valley has been short-handed a lot this season. They were down to 3 extra skaters on the players bench at one point.
I’m hoping the boys get back to playing hockey for the rest of the season and not try taking their frustrations out and doing silly things. All three Glacier Kings coaches have told me that there will be a lot more changes to start next season and the current players are playing for a spot on the roster still. Here’s a look at some of the penalties on the score clock.
Up next for Comox Valley is a rematch with Saanich on Friday night starting at 6:30 at the George Pearkes Arena. The Braves next game however is Thursday night when they travel to Nanaimo in what should be a pretty good game.
Other observations:
Give A/P forward Tanner Roberts a lot of credit. This kid just finished playing with his midget team about a half hour before he suited up for the Glacier Kings. And because they were short-handed, he had a lot of ice time. Comox Valley played Tri-Port in that Midget game. Roberts played against Jakob Gajda. Interestingly enough, Gajda was asked if he wanted to suit up for the GKings as well last night but he declined. That would have been interesting playing against each other one game and than with each other 30 minutes later. Tanner even went out to collect all the pucks after the pre-game warm up.
It was nice to see Tony Wishart behind the bench helping out again. With Jordan Butcher and Jordan Kamprath both away still, Mac Reid was the interim head coach and Tony was the assistant. Wishart told me before the game that he wasn’t sure how long he would be behind the bench for.
There were a couple big body checks in the game. Jake Wilhelm hipchecked Jacob Kruse. Jacob looked like he was suspended in the air for a few seconds before hitting the ice. The other one had Zach Guerra running over Ben Alexander.
During one of the long stoppages when the officials were trying to figure out all the penalties, goaltenders Braedyn Funke and Chris Combiadakis were passing the puck back and forth all the way down the ice to each other. It was nice to see good sportsmanship amongst some of the ugly hockey.
Caitlin Card was the anthem singer. Of course her brother played for the Glacier Kings a couple years ago. Dawson Spain got to ride on the zamboni.
There were problems with the score clock in the second period and the fans seemed to get a kick out of it. While it was 4-0, suddenly the clocked switched to 7-0, then went to 7-4, then it had the Glacier Kings leading 8-7. It was straightened out eventually. We had fun with it.
The Saanich Braves didn’t have name bars on the backs of their jerseys last night. Not only does it make life a little more difficult for the play by play guy, I do believe it is against league rules. I believe the rules state that name bars have to be put on the back of jerseys by the end of October but don’t quote me on that. During the pre-game warm up when I saw the jerseys, I just assumed that they must just be wearing their warm up jerseys. The Braves played the whole game with them however.
You’ll hear a different voice inside the Recreation Centre on Saturday night during the Glacier Kings game. Long-time public address announcer Dave Dueck will not be there. My color guy Randall Heidt will also not be at the game so there will be a new voice on HockeyTV as well.
The Oceanside Generals scored 3 times in the first period and added 3 more in the second as they cruised to an 8-2 victory over the Comox Valley Glacier Kings last night at the Recreation Centre. Brodie Smith and Logan Archer led the way with 2 goals and an assist each while Jacob Sweet stopped 22 of 24 shots to get the win. Finn Withey and Benjamin Bretell replied for the GKings. It was Bretell’s first game back since leaving the team a couple month’s ago. In the second period alone, Bretell had a10 minute misconduct, then a goal, then a 2 minute penalty for checking from behind and a game misconduct. Braedyn Funke started the game in net for Comox Valley but was pulled in the second period after allowing 5 goals on 14 shots. Noah Giesbrecht came in relief and made 12 saves on the 15 shots he faced.
The win clinched a playoff spot for the Generals who improved to 15-17-1-3 while the Glacier Kings fell to 4-31-0-1. Goaltender Spencer Deakin will get the nod tonight for the Generals when he faces his former team as they travel to Campbell River. Comox Valley will start Noah Giesbrecht as they travel to Kerry Park. The Glacier Kings have beaten the Islanders in 2 of their 3 meetings this season.
Other notes:
It was the first time this season we saw the 2 referee system at the Recreation Centre. This system will be in place for the rest of the year.
It is Mother’s Weekend for Oceanside this weekend. Many of the players mom’s were sitting in the same row and wearing their son’s jersey’s. They were quite vocal and seemed to enjoy the game. They were dropped off at “Fluid Bar and Grill” before the game and the bus picked them up before the beginning of the first period. From all accounts, the bus was quieter than usual on the way up to Courtenay and the players were very respectful with their mom’s onboard.
A rare event took place in the game. Jory Swanson was awarded a penalty shot. It looked he tried going 5-hole but Jacob Sweet made the save. The score clock actually showed 5-3 for a few minutes during that time even though it was 5-2. The Oceanside coaching staff pointed out the mistake to the timekeeper.
It was nice to see the Timbits players having a mini 5-minute game during the first intermission. That game ended 2-1. All the Glacier Kings players and goaltenders stayed to help out. Payge Doty was selected to “Ride the Zamboni” during the same intermission.
Another rarity that took place was a goalie assist. Braedyn Funke was given an assist at the game but I see in today’s gamesheet it was taken away.
Comox Valley had 2 A/P’s in the game. Jakob Gajda and Tanner Roberts were in the line up. Gajda was part of the squad earlier in the season. Benjamin Bretell is back on the roster as well after a long absence.
It was the first game for defenceman Tycen Kingma since being acquired at the trade deadline. Their other acquisition was forward Logan Webber who is expected to be in the line up either tonight or for their next game in Campbell River on Friday. Webber has spent time with the Surrey Eagles of the BCHL while Kingma played 11 games with the Kamloops Storm of the KIJHL.
The Glacier Kings have brought Mike Stevens onboard as an Advisor. Mike is a very interesting man as I spoke with him for about 20 minutes before the game. He played professionally in the old WHA for the Phoenix Roadrunners and Houston Aeros. Stevens actually played with the great Gordie Howe for a short time one season. He now makes his home here in the Valley.
With all the rough stuff during the game, Comox Valley ended the game with just 5 players left on their bench.
That’s it for now. See you next Saturday when the GKings host the Saanich Braves.
The Campbell River Storm jumped out to a 3-0 first period lead and cruised to a 4-1 victory over the Comox Valley Glacier Kings. The Storm’s first goal was scored when ex-Glacier Kings captain Jake McKenzie stole the puck along the boards and fed a perfect pass to Ethan Schmunk who buried it past Braedyn Funke. The assist was given to Reid Wheeldon however. Then 15 year old Davis Frank made it 2-0 with older brother Dawson Frank getting the assist. Reid Wheeldon would make it 3-0 before the period would end. Mitch Stapley would scored in the second period before Jordan Neufeld replied in the 3rd off a nice set up from Finn Withey on a 2 on 1.
It was a big win for Campbell River (26-6-2-0) as they moved within 1 point of first place Nanaimo in the North Division. The Storm still have a game in hand. Both teams play at home on Thursday night. The Glacier Kings (4-30-0-1) remain in last place in the VIJHL. Despite being idle, the Oceanside Generals magic number to clinch 3rd place over the Glacier Kings fell to 2. The GKings next game will be on Friday night when they host Oceanside. A Generals win would clinch 3rd place in the North. It’s a tough task for Comox Valley considering they have not beaten a North Division team this year.
The game everyone is looking forward to is January 18th when the Storm and Buccaneers hook up again. This series has turned into such an intense rivalry which culminated into a chippy (dirty) and spirited affair on Friday night which saw multiple suspensions handed out. The Storm won it 4-2. This battle for first place looks like it will go right down to the wire.
The January 10th trade deadline is looming and the Glacier Kings will be looking to get busy. They still have 4 cards available and are looking for help with both forwards and defence. Also, don’t be surprised to see one of their two 1999 goaltenders be shopped around. Usually teams like to have one young goalie and one older experienced goaltender in junior hockey. It’s also important to remember that a player is allowed to turn down a trade at this level. Campbell River doesn’t seem to need too much in the way of trades as they are pretty solid. And it’s not like they have a bunch of older players as they had 11 named to the prospects game. That most likely means a good future if they can hang on to most of them. The Glacier Kings had 2 players named and one that will participate.
Other observations:
The final shots were Campbell River 43 Comox Valley 24. Randall Heidt and myself had noticed we had some hometown bias in that category tonight. It was probably closer to 50-21.
I thought Aidan Bate-Smith was terrific. He broke up a ton of plays, had at least a half dozen good rushes and played well in the offensive zone. He even blocked a shot that hurt him but didn’t miss a shift. Both goaltenders were good tonight as well.
I would find it hard to believe if Davis and Dawson Frank both remain junior ‘B’ players for too much longer. Both are young with a ton of talent and a huge upside.
The North Division is certainly tough. The Glacier Kings are a combined 0-19-0-1 against Northern teams this season. They are 4-11-0-0 against the South.
Comox Valley is down to 12 core players and 2 goaltenders so expect “Affiliated Players” in the line up every game unless they can add to their roster.
It looks like Finn Withey, Aidan Bate-Smith and Austin Heidt are the last 3 remaining players from last year’s squad. (Scott Arbuckle played a few games for them as well last year).
The 2 Glacier Kings named to the Prospects game were Finn Withey and Mauro D’Alessandro. Withey will play, D’Alessandro will not as he is no longer playing with the Glacier Kings.
Speaking of Withey, he is 14th in league scoring with 33 points. Jacob Kruse is second in team scoring with 15 points.
The Glacier Kings have scored just 10 goals in their last 10 games. This is to be expected as I believe Comox Valley did the right thing taking the high road over the selfish road. They now have the players that want to be here and will build from this. It was not an easy decision but it was the right one.
For anyone interested, the Prospects game is Sunday in Campbell River starting at 2:30 PM.
Oh ya. Happy New Years everyone!!!
We’ll see you at the arena on Friday night. Game time is 7:30.
Darryl Skender
Darryl Skender – Play by Play Broadcaster for the Comox Valley Glacier Kings
Above The Pond 