The Comox Valley Glacier Kings have had a tough start with their offense this year and have had too many turnovers in the defensive end. One area that they haven’t struggled in is goaltending. As most people are aware, last year’s standout, Aaron Pichette was moved to Nanaimo to complete a deal with the Buccaneers. Aaron put up terrific stats for Comox last year posting a 3.24 GAA and a .914 save percentage. He has actually started 2 out of the first 3 games for Nanaimo this season. In his 2 starts, he allowed just 2 goals against the Glacier Kings and 1 goal against Port Alberni, both were victories. It’s very early but a 1.50 GAA and a .939 save percentage isn’t too bad.

The GKings are carrying 3 goaltenders right now. Timothee Fengos has started in 2 of the 3 games so far. Fengos is a 17 year old out of Pierrefonds, Quebec. He has looked good in both games, made some huge saves in the last game in particular against Campbell River but would probably like to have that OT goal back. Anthony Ganoung started in Saanich and played well enough to be the 3rd ‘Star of the Game’. Comox Valley is carrying a third goaltender who has not seen any action yet. That’s 17 year old Silas Dromarsky out of Alberta. He saw action in the pre-season but hasn’t appeared in a regular season contest yet.

With the Glacier Kings carrying two 17 year old goalies and one 18 year old, I asked head coach & GM Curtis Toneff, what the situation looks like for his netminders. Toneff replied, “I think we’re in a position where Luca Vanzo could very well come back in October. One of our other goalies Anthony Ganoung is knocking on the door and challenging the other two (Fengos & Dromarsky) and has done a great job doing that. He’s making the other guys better everyday.” It will be interesting to see who he goes with tomorrow night.

Everyone knows a competition is a very healthy way out of getting the very best out of each individual. The question is, who’s the number one goalie. The bench boss said, “If someone gets hot, they might play back to back. But there’s always a good possibility that the guy in the crease is rested and not overworked. I think it’s a great combination. It’s too early to tell who’s running away with it.” Considering we’re only 3 games into the season, there’s still lots of time for someone to emerge. And if they both play well, that’s a bonus with 2 strong rested backstops.

We’re all wishing the best for Luca Vanzo first and foremost and also hope he can make it back to be a part of the equation in Comox. That would really make the competition fierce in the land of the Yeti. On a team that finished under .500 last year, Vanzo had a very respectable 6-6 record, 3.49 GAA and .903 save percentage.

Now if only the offence can give these guys some support. They’ve scored just 4 goals in 3 games to start the season. The Glacier Kings play tomorrow evening at home to Oceanside. Hope to see a big crowd at the CVSC. That’s it for today, have a great Thursday.

Darryl Skender