Glacier Kings Take Home Ice Advantage With Win In Oceanside

There was a lot of hype for Game 3 and it did not disappoint. It was a back and forth game that saw 5 lead changes and no team led by more than one goal until past the midway point of the third period. In the end, Comox came from behind twice to beat the Oceanside Generals 7-4. As was the case in the first couple games, it was a very physical game as both sides have been beating each other up since Game 1 and I expect it to be no different in Game 4.

Carter Johnson continued his hot play by scoring just over 5 minutes into the first period by opening the scoring. Logan Furlong would come back less than 2 minutes later after taking a pass from Joe Weber, went wide on the defence and beat Ashton Sadauskas up high on the short-side. The Glacier Kings took a 2-1 lead just 10 seconds later when Tynan Klein-Beekman bodychecked his man along the boards to turn the puck over inside the Oceanside blue line. Aodhan Hildebrandt scooped it up and fed Trey Anderson in the slot who quickly buried it. The Gens fought back with a goal from Brendan Carlson late and the second period would end 2-2.

Oceanside would take their second lead of the game when Jacob Thomas potted his first of the playoffs. The GKings tied it up on the power play when Logan Kurki won the faceoff to Caileb Berge who skated to the opposite side of the ice and passed back to Jory Swanson who fired the puck off the post-and-in to make it 3-3. The Generals took another penalty and the visiting team made them pay again. Logan Kurki fed the puck down to Swanson who brought it back to the blue line, took the shot, Jeremy Dewar deflected it, Sadauskas made the save but Dewar got his own rebound and shot it into the empty net to make it 4-3. Brendan Carlson would net his second of the game before the middle frame ended and the game was tied heading into the third.

Comox Valley would open the scoring in the third period with a 5 on 3 PP goal. Logan Kurki won the faceoff to Caileb Berge who skated around with the the puck and shot a wrister past the goaltender for a 5-4 lead. Caileb Berge scored his second of the period taking a pass from from Jory Swanson who was behind Oceanside’s net. Berge one-timed the pass and it was 6-4. Joe Weber would evetually score into the empty net to make the final 7-4.

Joe Weber secures victory with empty net goal

There was an ugly incident in the latter stages of the second period. During a scramble around the goal, Sean Brendeland, who was having a very strong series, saw Berge poking away for the puck while the goalie was covering it. He delivered a vicious cross check that knocked Berge down to the ice. He then cross checked Berge again while he was down. A couple of Glacier Kings jumped on Brendeland. Eventually, Clayton Bono and Brendeland would squared off in a pretty good tilt. Brendeland would receive a 5 minute penalty for a “Major Blow To The Head”, 5 minutes for fighting, 2 game misconducts and there will be an upcoming suspension that has not been announced at the time of this post. This will be a big blow to Oceanside as he has been terrific in the first 2 games of the series.

Both teams have showed that they won’t shy away from the rough stuff and will protect their own players. Clayton Bono took matters in his own hands with Sean Brendeland. Head coach/GM Mike Nesbitt said after the game that he likes the physical play but wants to see it played cleanly (referring to the head shot). I asked him about his team’s effort.

“I thought we were the better team for most of the game. It’s been a rough, tough series so far but I think our skill keeps showing through. We’re an offensive team, we won and turned the series around. Now we have home ice advantage and hopefully we can get it done Tuesday night and take a 3-1 series lead.”

Caileb Berge, for a second game in a row, came back from an injury to score. Nesbitt talked about his captain.

“Caileb is a pure team leader. He comes back from the dressing room after being hurt, big shout out to Bono for for protecting Bergy, he’s a good teammate. Bergy comes back for the third period and rips one top corner and then scores the 6th goal too. He’s been the main guy all year and adding Kuki to that line with Swanson is the best line in junior hockey.”

Game 4 is on Tuesday in Courtenay. This is obviously the biggest game in the series so far. If the Glacier Kings win, it will force Oceanside to win 3 straight. If the Gens win, they regain home ice advantage. Game time is 7:15 which means a 7:00 start for the pre-game show on HockeyTV. Should be another fun game. All three so far have been close and have not been decided until the last couple minutes of each game.

That’s it for today. See you at the rink. Stay safe everyone.

Darryl Skender

Glacier Kings Even Series At One

The Comox Valley Glacier Kings evened their best of 7 series at one-game apiece with a 6-4 win over the Oceanside Generals. The line of Caileb Berge, Logan Kurki and Jory Swanson combined for 14 points and were in on all 6 goals. Berge led the way with 3 goals and 3 assists, Kurki had a goal and 4 assists while Swanson chipped in with a goal and 2 assists. Ryder Lally made 23 saves for his first VIJHL playoff win. Carter Johnson and Greyson Weme both had 2 goals and 2 assists in the loss. Aaron Kaner replaced Ashton Sadauskas after the sixth goal and stopped all 10 shots he faced.

Every time the Berge line was on the ice, they were dominant. Mike Nesbitt said before the game that he believes that Berge and Kurki are the best 2 players in the league. The chemistry between them has really grown as if they have been together all season. The team rallies around them and when opponents try to take liberties on them, the rest of the team gets fired up.

On the other side of the ice, what can you say about Carter Johnson with his finesse and Greyson Weme with his touch around the net as well as his physical play? That is a very formidable duo as well. Johnson was a 40 goal scorer in the regular season, finishing third in league scoring while Weme already has 5 points in 2 playoff games. He was well over a point per game during the regular season.

The game got more physical as it went on and started to boil in the 3rd period. The final frame saw seven 10 minute misconducts in the final few minutes of the contest. Other players that left the game early were Nolan Wyatt who got a game misconduct in the first period for Head Contact and Austin Montgomery-Parsons who left with a lower body injury. There were a total of 115 penalty minutes including 80 minutes in the third period.

The Glacier Kings second line was split up as Joe Weber sat out with a lower body injury and Austin-Montgomery Parsons getting hurt. Logan Furlong was the only regular player off that line from the midway point of the game. Ty Moore moved up to play the second line the whole game and after Montgomery-Parsons got hurt, Eric Van Loon saw some time there.

Comox played the game without Matthew Teasdale (suspension), Ryan Telford (suspension), Joe Weber (inj) and Trey Anderson (inj). GKings head coach Mike Nesbitt is expecting to have Weber, Anderson and Telford back in the line up for tomorrow’s game. That should add depth to the second line and more grit to the third line. There was no word on Montgomery-Parsons. The Gens have most of their players in the line up with the exception of Brett Arnet (suspension). Nolan Wyatt may have disciplinary action taken as a result of his 5-minute major.

These 2 teams really don’t like each other. They played twice right at the end of the regular seaon and twice in the playoffs and have to play again just 24 hours later. I see this this being a long series, a grudge match, a battle of attrition with two very evenly matched clubs that are hungry, can score goals and be physical. This is my kind of hockey. Game 3 should be a lot of fun. I know there has been overtimes in other series, 70 save performances etc. but for me, this is the series to watch.

Game 3 is on Saturday night in Parksville. Despite the loss, Oceanside still has home-ice advantage which means Comox has to win at least one game at the Howie Meeker Arena. I would expect a big rowdy crowd on Saturday. There will be a contingent from the Valley heading south I’m sure. Oceanside fans were evident at the game in Courtenay which makes the competative spirit that much better. I have spoken with both coaches many times. Dan Lemmon and Mike Nesbitt aren’t the kind of guys to back down or give up. Losing is not an option with them. I truly believe this series is destined to go 7 games. If it does, the fans are the real winners of the series.

Compass Radio will be broadcasting the game live on Saturday and I’ll have the pre-game show at 6:45 and the play by play at 7. Go to http://www.cvcommunityradio.ca and use your tablet or smart phone.

As always, stay safe and see you at the rink.

Darryl Skender

 

Gens Win Game 1

The Oceanside Generals have taken a 1-0 series lead in their best of seven “first round” match up against the Comox Valley Glacier Kings. The Gens downed the GKings 5-2 at Howie Meeker Arena on Wednesday. Brendan Carlson opened the scoring just past the midway point of the first period which ended up being the only goal of the frame. Comox would tie it with a power play marker from Logan Kurki in the second. Kurki and Swanson passed back and forth twice before the former Humboldt Broncos product fired a wrist shot from the high slot past goaltender Ashton Sadauskas for the Glacier Kings first goal. But just 2:42 later, Greyson Weme made it 2-1. Comox went on a PP a short time later with a chance to tie the game. Instead, Brayden Ross would score a shorthanded goal to make it 3-1. For people watching on HockeyTV, the goal was never seen as the cameraman left the camera staring at centre ice during the play. Comox pulled within one before the middle period closed. Jeremy Dewar banked the puck off the boards from inside his own blue line to Logan Kuki just inside the Oceanside line, Kurki then quickly fed the puck to a crashing Caileb Berge who deflected it into the net just before sliding into the goaltender. The goal was called unassisted but I have sent in a video clip to the league office to try and get Kurki and Dewar assists. Caileb Berge came this close to tying the game at 3 in the picture below. Time had just expired before he potted it into the empty net.

In the third period, Miles Carson made it 4-2 and Parker Klippenstein would score an empty-netter to seal the game.

There was some bad blood at the end of the game in which Ryan Telford took a 5-minute slashing penalty which he has been suspended one game for. It was the second game in a row where it was a case of mistaken identity for Matthew Teasdale. In the final game of the regular season, Teasdale scored a goal which was credited to someone else (and later changed to Teasdale). This time, Teasdale was given the major penalty but it was again changed (to Telford). So Matt is eligible to play in Game 2 on Friday.

As mentioned, Game 2 is Friday at the Comox Valey Sports Centre. The puck drops at 7:30 and we’re expecting a good-sized crowd so come early. I’ll have the pre-game show on HockeyTV starting at 7:15.

Exciting news for Compass Radio as we’ll be broadcastng Games 3, 5 and 7 (if necessary) in Parksville for fans to listen to that can’t make the trek to Parksville. Go to http://www.cvcommunityradio.ca to find the link (works best on iPad or or smartphones). I’m off to Oceanside Place now to make sure our feed for Saturday’s game will be solid.

That’s it for today folks. Please stay safe.

Darryl Skender

Glacier Kings End Regular Season On Winning Note

The Comox Valley Glacier Kings ended their 2021-22 regular season with a 6-2 win over the Oceanside Generals on Monday. Logan Kurki led the way with 2 goals and 2 assists while Caileb Berge chipped in with a goal and 2 assists. Austin Montgomery-Parsons, Matthew Teasdale and Jean-Michael Gilbert added the other goals. Jory Swanson tallied 3 assists. Oren Louie and Jacob Thomas scored for the Generals.

Oceanside only dressed 10 forwards and 5 defencemen for the game. Key players like Brendan Carlson, Chase Heslop, Trey Boylan and Evan Dyce were left at home to rest. Parker Klippenstein was assessed a 5-minute major for cross-checking so the Gens were down to 9 forwards before the game was half done. Because of the major penalty, further discipline may be coming which could affect his eligibility in the first couple games of the playoffs. I didn’t see what happened as I was watching the altercation at centre ice which was happening at the same time. The aftermath had Ty Moore lying on the ice for a couple minutes and then was helped up and taken to the dressing room.

Comox Valley looked very good for most of the night despite not dressing Logan Furlong and Riely Wiens. Henry Toomer was brought up from the North Island Silvertips and didn’t look out of place at all. Andrew Lowen stopped 22 out of 24 shots, including a penalty shot to Brady O’Brien, to earn the victory.

The Glacier Kings led the game from start to finish. Head coach/GM Mike Nesbitt was happy with his team’s effort.

“I thought the boys played really well. I felt we had the edge in play most of the night. They fought back, that’s what Oceanside does. At the end of the day, we wanted to see Caileb get our record for goals in a season and also most goals in the VIJHL this season.”

The team got better and better as the season went along. I asked Nesbitt to give his thoughts on his club.

“We have a great team here, a great bunch of guys. It’s going to be so much fun going into the playoffs with these guys. They’re ready for it, they want it, they are a really cohesive group so it’s going to be fun.”

Comox has beaten Oceanside in 5 of the 8 meetings this season and most VIJHL broadcasters are believing this might be the best series in the first round. Both teams can score a lot of goals and can also play tough. Dan Lemmon is a no-nonsense coach that expects the best out of his players. There is no doubt they will bounce back and we will see a high-intensity, hard-fought, emotional series that could go 6 or 7 games. The winner of the Campbell River-Port Alberni series would love to see this series go the full 7. Game 1 is in Parksville on Wednesday at 7:00 PM.

Other Observations:

• Wednesday will mark the Glacier Kings first playoff game since March 2nd, 2017 when they lost 7-1 in Nanaimo.
• Caileb Berge scored his 46th goal of the season. That ties a franchise record (from what we could dig up) and also won the goal-scoring title in the VIJHL this season. Riley Braun of Peninsula was second with 43.
• The Glacier Kings scored 3 powerplay goals in each of their last 3 games.
• It’s not uncommon for a goalie to take a minor penalty but Aaron Kaner also got a 10-minute misconduct. We all know that someone has to serve the 2-minute minor but does anyone have to serve the 10-minute misconduct? I found out tonight the answer is no.
• In just 6 games , Logan Kurki ranks 2nd in the VIJHL in points per game (not counting Andrew Petruk, who Campbell River called up for one game). Only Riley Braun averages more points per game than Kurki.
• Andrew Lowen finally played enough minutes this past weekend to qualify among the league leaders. He finished 6th.
• I loved compete level of Sean Brendeland of Oceanside. He delivered multiple big hits and blocked at least a half dozen shots. There were a couple times he went to the bench hurt but kept going right back out and doing it again. He also got an assist so I picked him as Player of the Game for the Gens.
• I wanted to say a special thank you to Glacier Kings fans Anette and Dave. The gave everyone in the press box a Tim Horton’s gift card and also some flowers to anthem singer Shannon Skender.

• The loss marks the first time all year that Oceanside has lost 3 games in a row.
• Glacier Kings last 15 games: 10-4-0-1. All 4 losses were by one goal and were to the two top teams in VIJHL (Campbell River twice & Victoria twice). Comox outscored their opponents 90-43 in those last 15 games.
• I will be broadcasting Games 2, 4 and 6 on HockeyTV and Games 3, 5 and 7 on Compass Radio (www.cvcommunityradio.ca).
  
  The meaningless games are finally done and we’re ready to play for real now. I cannot wait for Game 1 on Wednesday. This entire series should be fun to watch from a fan’s perspective. I expect some old time hockey from a couple team’s that don’t mind mixing it up. Kyle Ireland will have the play by play of the game which starts at 7:00 PM on HockeyTV.

That’s it for today folks. Stay safe.

Darryl Skender

Comox Valley Playoffs / Mike Nesbitt / Recent Tidbits

The Comox Valley Glacier Kings have had their toughest stretch of the regular season in the final few weeks of the season as they have been playing three of the top teams in the league (Campbell River, Victoria, Oceanside) multiple times. The Glacier Kings seem to be playing their best hockey of the year right now and still have not been dressing their “playoff roster” for various reasons. Since the start of February, they have played the Storm 3 times, Cougars twice and the Generals twice (after Monday’s match up). I spoke with GKings head coach/GM Mike Nesbitt about the tough schedule and he loves it. He feels this is preparing his club for the playoffs with some really good competition.

Instead of feeling sorry for themselves, they come to work with their lunch pails and hard hats and played some really solid hockey. Even in the games they’ve lost to the top teams, it’s been by one goal in every case. Honestly, if they play like their capable, Comox has a shot to go far this year. Mike Nesbitt has looked like a genius with some of his mid-season acquisitions like Joe Weber, Logan Furlong, Jean-Michael Gilbert, Parker Jorginson, Trey Anderson, Logan Kurki etc. Everyone of those players are impact players. He’s also picked up role players like Riely Wiens, Ty Moore and Eric Van Loon who fit into his system seemlessly. Yes that is a big turnover from the start of the year which can be a big gamble when it comes to chemistry but it has worked and the Glacier Kings are a force to be reckoned with. That’s the first time I can say that in my 6 seasons with the club. Mike has been nominated for “Coach of the Year” and “Executive of the Year” and has to be a favorite to win both. Considering this is only his second season and first full season (Covid cut his first season short) with the Yeti, it is remarkable how he has overhauled this team and assembled a speedy, gritty, tough, skilled club which is full of really nice kids that really do like each other. Over the 4 previous years combined, Comox Valley had won a total of just 21 games. This year alone, Mike has amassed 27 wins with one game remaining on the schedule. I am of course biased but he would have my vote. On Saturday’s pregame show, I asked him about it and he gave a very short answer as that’s not what he is focusing on right now. He will talk about his players for long periods of time but not himself. He has been studying Oceanside for a month now anticipating the first round match up. The players have told me that they have been preparing as well.

On the lighter side, I have really enjoyed broadcasting games again, especially in these past couple months. Consider Saturday’s game against Victoria. Down 7-3 late in the third period, Comox came back with 3 goals, two with their net empty and almost got a third. If it wasn’t for being shorthanded, who know how that game may have ended up. It is really fun hockey to watch. In a full 52 game season, I would love to put Caileb Berge / Logan Kurki up against Riley Braun / Logan Speirs. How fun would that be? I have been told that Kurki (former Junior ‘A’ sensation last 4 years) will be available the rest of the way for the Valley which should make things very interesting.

Speaking of entertaining, I loved the very physical game last Friday where they beat Oceanside and the celebration after they beat Campbell River, whom they’ve come close with but had trouble beating all season. It almost seems like a cinderella story and it is now their time. Despite the past half dozen games not meaning much in the standings the fans have found it entertaing too as we’ve had some of the bigger attendance numbers coming to the arena. Everyone can see Comox is peaking at the right time.

Other observations:

• I have given Jean-Michael Gilbert “Player of the Game” the past 2 games. My gosh… is there anything he can’t do?
• It seems like Comox is getting 2-3 breakaways while shorthanded every game lately. They lead the VIJHL in shorthanded goals with 14.
• In back to back nights, the Glacier Kings had 3 PP goals and a 1 SH goal.
• Comox Valley has handed Campbell River 2 of its 6 losses this season.
• In the playoffs, I’ll be broadcasting Games 2, 4, 6 on HockeyTV and Games 3, 5, 7 on Compass Radio (www.cvcommunityradio.ca).
• I met Caileb Berge’s mom, grandma and sister over the weekend. They are visiting from Alberta to watch Caileb play. Btw, Berge still leads the VIJHL in goals with 45.
• It was nice to have Shannon Skender back singing the national anthem the past couple games. She had a long bout with Covid.
• The Glacier Kings have scored first in 33 of their 48 games this season and are 23-1 when leading after 2 periods.
• Caileb Berge leads the team with being named “Player of the Game” 13 times. Ryder Lally is second with 6.
• Wednesday will mark the Glacier Kings first playoff game since the 2016-17 season.
• I couldn’t stop laughing on HockeyTV at one moment in Saturday’s game when referee Liam Reid looked like a Cirque du Soleil acrobat when he stumbled but tried as hard as he could not fall. He was leaned right over forward taking giant steps trying to keep his balance before finally doing a full superman on the ice. I saw him chuckle with the linesman later.
• Getting ready to start the third period, I put my headset on but there was no audio. I started panicking and yelling that I had no audio. Then Shannon turned to me and told me I had the wrong headset on and everyone started laughing at me. Dave Dueck (P.A. Announcer) came over to me with the wireless microphone (had it turned off) and said, “I have no audio either”. I felt like an idiot lol.
• Speaking of Dave, he played a practical joke on Cori Lally (online scorekeeper) a few days ago. She left the booth for the intermission and he saw her 50/50 ticket. During the third period he pretended to call her number and she thought she won $200. Poor Cori. We were all in on it.

• Did you know that our Public Address Announcer/Music Director sometimes where 2 pairs of glasses at the same time? (I’m not gonna lie, it’s kind of weird weird Dave.)

• When Mark Berry (C.R. Storm play by play guy) does color for me, he always bugs me that Glacier Kings owner Marsha Webb likes Kyle Ireland (Oceanside Generals play by play guy) better than me. Mark says that she gives Kyle gets the better sandwiches. I’m thinking he’s right.

I needed 7 minutes on my pregame interview from Mike Nesbitt on Saturday to fill the full 15 minutes. I don’t want to say I’m good but I got it to 7 minutes right to the hundreth of a second. Look at the small number that shows the length. Couldn’t do that again if I tried.

I just wanted to close by saying a special goodbye and congratulations to all the 20 year olds who are playing their last junior hockey game this weekend (the one’s whose team missed the playoffs). I wish you the best of luck in your future as it is your generation that will be taking care of old guys like me. I hope you all have many good memories to cherish from your VIJHL days. You given us so many.

Btw, game time tomorrow is earlier than normal at the Sports Centre. The puck drops at 6:30 with Oceanside in town. Pregame show on HockeyTV starts at 6:15. Stay safe everyone.

Darryl Skender