Monthly Archives: October 2025

Storm Beat Comox In OT Again

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The Campbell River Storm have had the Glacier Kings number this year. They started out strong on Friday and came away with a 2-1 overtime win in what was probably the most entertaining games you’ll see this year. Both goaltenders stole the show as they stopped chance after chance. This was the second time in three meeting that the Storm have won in the extra stanza.

The first period was dominated by Campbell River which was helped out by two power plays. A couple of the highlights for me in that opening frame was when Zaya Morro made a terrific defensive play while shorthanded in the slot to thwart a scoring a chance by Jack Smith. Later,  a bouncing puck went by a Comox defenceman and came right to Colby Driebergen behind everyone where he slid it over to a wide open Tom Marguet but a wonderful save was made by Anthony Ganoung. The game was scoreless after the first. Shots were 20-8 in favor of the Storm.

The Yeti came out much stronger start in the second period with some scoring chances. They would finally get on the scoresheet first with a shorthanded goal. It started with a blocked shot from the Comox line which gave the Glacier Kings a 2 on 1 from inside their own zone. Cohen Kallin carried it all the way down the ice, used Zaya Morro as a decoy, and fired it past Luc Gravel on the blocker side. Comox almost scored 2 more times on that same Storm power play but Gravel was good. An incident in the second happened when Declan Johannesen was hit from behind and shaken up by Bryson Walsh. Because the referee didn’t call a penalty, Leon Mikhalchuk took matters into his own hands and may have fought the wrong man as he took on big Aryx Siefker (who was right in the vicinity of the hit from behind by Walsh). It was a one-sided fight that was won by Siefker. The home team would tie the game a little later on when Holden Smith won a puck battle behind the net and centered it out front to Ryder Tanner who scored up high on Anthony Ganoung. Both goaltenders, especially Ganoung, were outstanding in that middle frame which saw Comox  outshoot Campbell River 21-14.

Early in the third period, there was more rough stuff and it involved Bryson Walsh again when he gave a huge hit to the smaller Kingston Gowans. The Glacier Kings defenceman laid on the ice for a short while before slowly going off the ice. That didn’t go unnoticed. Right after the puck drop following the mandatory timeout, Haden Parker challenged Walsh to a fight in which Parker won decisively.

Despite many chances, there wouldn’t be any scoring in the third period where Comox outshot Campbell River 11-10.

In overtime, Leon Mikhalchuk had a chance to end it when he found himself wide open in front but was stoned by Gravel. Campbell River would eventually end the game on a horrible line by the glacier Kings. That line change gave the Storm a 2 on 1 all the way down the ice where Jack Smith would eventually beat Ganoung to win it and finish a very exciting game.

The loss drops Yeti’s record to 3-4-2 which ties them for last place in the North Division with Oceanside who won on Friday. Next up for Comox is the VIJHL’s best team… the Westshore Wolves. The 2 teams will square off tonight at the Sports Centre. Puck drop is at 6:30. Campbell River (5-4-0) plays in Oceanside tonight.

Other Observations

  • Comox Valley was shorthanded more times in the 1st period than they were in their entire last game.
  • It sounds like a broken record but the Storm won the majority of faceoffs again.
  • The Glacier Kings consecutive games streak with at least 1  PP goal ended at 5 games.
  • It was nice to see Storm defenceman Lucas Beaudoin play in the game after taking a puck to the face in his last game.
  • Zaya Morro extended his point streak to 5 games (3G, 5A).
  • Made me chuckle when I heard the Campbell River broadcaster mention a dental company that was the sponsor for high sticking penalties.
  • The GKings had a 5 on 3 PP for 1:18 in the 2nd period but failed to score.
  • Comox Valley’s shorthanded goal was their first of the season.
  • This was definitely the most physical game of the year that I’ve seen. These 2 teams really don’t like each other.
  • The Storm haven’t scored a PP goal against the Yeti in any of the 3 meetings (0 for 10 overall).
  • Comox Valley native Luc Gravel is now 3-0-0 against his hometown club and 4-1-0 overall for Campbell River.
  • After going pointless in 6 consecutive games, Cohen Kallin now has points in his last 2 contests.
  • Jack Smith’s OT winner gives him 3 goals in his last 5 games.
  • The Glacier Kings now have points in 3 straight games while the Storm have won 3 in a row.

Darryl Skender

Chance To Climb In The Standings

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It might be a little early to call this weekend’s games “big games” but when you look at the standings, a case could be made. If things go right today and tomorrow, Comox could find themselves moving up in ranks. They currently sit in 5th place in the North Division, just one point behind Campbell River who they play tonight. A win this evening will put them in a tie for 3rd place as they would jump over the Storm and be tied with the Port Alberni Bombers who are idle. That’s because the Bombers lost two nights ago in Westshore. The problem for the Glacier Kings is that they have already lost to Campbell River twice this season and that they play the top team in the South Division tomorrow night (Westshore).

Head to head this season against the Storm, the Yeti lost 3-2 in overtime on September 13th and then dropped a 4-2 decision last Friday. The good news is the GKings are on a bit of a roll right now having won 2 in a row and 3 of their last 4. I asked head coach/GM Curtis Toneff if he thinks his club has turned the corner, “We hope so. To be completely honest with you, we asked for a completely boring 60 minutes last Sunday and we ended up scoring 4 goals against the best team in the league so they say. It’s a good sign for the league as well I think with the parity in it. Back to us I thought we played simple for the most part, played pretty steady in our end, had good sticks, had good box outs and it helped us.”

This squad is playing so much better right now than they did at the start of the season. Remember they lost their first 4 games of the year (one in OT). I asked Toneff about what has changed since the beginning of the campaign. He says it’s been the addition of key personnel, “To be honest I don’t think there is one. We came together late. After out first regular season game, it was still kind of like an exhibition game. We picked up 7 guys after that game, 5 of which I kind of knew were coming back at some point. We’ve picked up a couple more since. I think it’s just us just starting to gel, starting to understand how we want to play, how we think we have to play to win. It may not always be the flashiest game. By some of our verbiage on the bench, I can hear what the players are saying. There’s some contagiousness there. They understand how we have to play to have success.” 

Campbell River has always been a thorn in the Glacier Kings side and it has been a great rivalry for many years. It should only intensify as this is the third meeting already in just 20 days. They also played them 3 times in 5 days during exhibition. Curtis talked about why Comox has had trouble with getting points against the Storm so far, “I couldn’t tell you. They’ve all been kinda close games. I’ve thought that we have played fine against them, we just haven’t got the results against them. At some point, we’ll have to take a few points. Since I’ve been here (Luc) Gravel has had our team’s number. He’s from Comox and he gets up for theses games so we need to find a way to get in his kitchen a little bit more.” Gravel has been really good this season and has the stats to show it. He has accumulated a 3-1 record with an impressive 2.35 GAA and a .922 save percentage. The 19 year old has also come into 2 other games in relief of Matteo Scotto Di Pompeo.

The Glacier Kings head into tonight’s contest having outscored their opponents 16-11 in their last 4 contests and sport a 3-4-1 record while Campbell River has only given up 3 goals total in their last 2 matches and carry a 4-4-0 record. Game time tonight is 7:30 at the Rod Brind’Amour Arena. I’ll have Comox Valley’s official roster posted up on the “Gameday Lineups” page of my blog later today. Enjoy the game everybody!

Darryl Skender

Zaya Morro Off To Great Start

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Zaya Morro has looked good this season and that really isn’t a surprise to anyone. He is entering his third full season in the VIJHL and first full campaign with the Glacier Kings after coming over from the Oceanside Generals part way through last season. It seems like a better fit for Comox than Oceanside. Yes he played in Nanaimo for the North Island Silvertips during his Midget tenure but he is a local Comox Valley kid. In fact he played a couple exhibition games for the GKings in 2022 but ended up going back to the Silvertips as a 16 year old in the U18 league. Also, last season Morro went pointless in 10 games with the Generals but scored a goal in just his second game with the Yeti and ended up with 13 points with his hometown club. By all accounts he is well-liked by his teammates and was just named an assistant captain less than a week ago.

It hasn’t always been all roses for Zaya however. In a well documented case, he was racially discriminated against by an opposing player on the ice. He was just 16 years old at the time. Chirping has always been a part of the game but I have ZERO tolerance for racial slurs. The slurs have even come from parents in the stands. I applaud him and his family for not backing down and hiding from the issue. They went public to educate people that this was still a part of modern day hockey. A big “stick tap” to the Morro’s.

Getting back to his excellent start, the 19 year old forward leads Comox in goals (4) and points (9) in just 8 games. He’s also second on the squad in assists (5). Those are pretty good stats for someone playing on a sub .500 team that is having trouble scoring goals. To put in perspective, he’s scored or assisted on almost 40% of the team’s goals this season. Because Morro has intrigued me so far, I asked Curtis Toneff about what kind of kid he is. The coach said, “He’s a very thoughtful person, he doesn’t react, he thinks before he speaks and does things. I have even learned from him over the past year. I can get heated and intense. He stays pretty level. Sometimes there’s pros and cons to that. For Zaya, it’s mostly a positive thing. I think guys look up to him. His effort and conditioning speaks for itself.”

Morro is currently in the Top 15 in VIJHL scoring. Not bad considering he still has another year of junior eligibility left. By all accounts, he’s a great player on the ice but even a better person off the ice.

Darryl Skender