It’s Gameday! The Comox Valley Glacier Kings are playing at home for just the second time in 28 days. The Lake Cowichan Kraken will be visiting the Recreation Centre for a North Division tilt. Comox comes into the matchup with a 20-15-5-1 record for 46 points and third place in the North. The Kraken are 12-25-1-1 for 26 points and last place in the division.

Lake Cowichan is coming off a 9-0 drubbing by the Campbell River Storm last Sunday after having an impressive 8-4 win over Port Alberni two days before. They have lost 5 of their last 6 games and could be eliminated from playoff contention with a loss tonight or a Campbell River win. They have allowed 38 goals in their past 6 games (6.33 per game). The team is led in scoring by Iaroslav Morozov with 13G, 16A, 29Pts and Toby Johnson who has 12G, 17A, 29Pts. Morozov is still just 17 years old and has a bright future. In net, Alfie Blakeley has gotten the most starts compiling a 9-12-0-0, 4.02, .890 line. 17 year old Ethan Lorentz saw his first VIJHL action Sunday in a mop up roll playing in the last 7 minutes when Campbell River was already up 7-0. He allowed two goals on four shots in those 7 minutes.

Meanwhile Comox Valley is 8-2-3-0 in their last 13 contests which includes a 3-2 overtime loss in their last game against Victoria on Saturday. Leon Mikhalchuk continues to lead the way with 39 points in 39 games. He leads the squad in goals, assists, points and power play goals. The starting goalkeeper tonight will be interesting as I haven’t received the line up yet. With Lane Maarhuis up with the Vernon Vipers now, will Ander Reyes get his first start for Comox or will it be backup tender Silas Dromarsky? Remember it’s the club’s only game of the week so the decision is quite compelling.

With the Glacier Kings creeping closer to the second place Oceanside Generals, one has to wonder if they are in a battle for third place or is second place still a possibility. I asked head coach/GM Curt Toneff if he thinks second place is still within his team’s grasp, “We just have to focus on our own game. If we take care of our own game we stay where we are. If we exceed our expectations to finish the year perhaps we can get home ice. The home ice part is out of our control so as long as our game is getting better nightly, I think that is the most important thing.” It doesn’t seem too long ago that the Glacier Kings were in 4th and hoping to hang on to that last playoff spot.

Special Teams

Power Play
Comox Valley: 18.7% (6th)
Lake Cowichan: 17.2% (8th)

Penalty Kill
Comox Valley: 80.8% (6th)
Lake Cowichan: 74.3% (10th)

Other GKings Stats:

Score 1st Goal: 14-5-2-0
Allow 1st Goal: 6-10-3-1

Lead After 1st Period: 13-0-0-0
Trail After 1st Period: 2-8-3-1
Tied After 1st Period: 5-7-2-0

Lead After 2nd Period: 13-1-1-0
Trail After 2nd Period: 3-12-3-1
Tied After 2nd Period: 4-2-1-0

You can’t underestimate Lake Cowichan despite where they are in the standings. They are on the verge of getting eliminated from playoff contention and that makes them a dangerous team. Toneff said that his club can’t take them lightly. “They have some high-end players. They’re probably at that part of the year where they’re playing free. They’re probably vying for positions next year and playing loose. That can be hard to play against because the guys don’t have a heck of a lot lose. They’ve has some really great games lately and some poor ones. I think we go back to the last time we played them, they took two points in our home. I think they get up to play us for some reason so we got to be ready to go.” A fast start would be a terrific plan. You can see from the stats above that Comox is a perfect 13-0-0-0 when they lead after the first period.

The Yeti need just one point tonight to clinch a playoff spot in the North Division. If they can garner a single point, it will be mathematically impossible for the Port Alberni Bombers to catch the Yeti. Comox is currently 3 points ahead of 4th place Campbell River and 5 points behind 2nd place Oceanside. The Storm and Generals are both in action this evening as well. Tonight’s puck drop in Courtenay is at 6:30 PM. I will post the Glacier Kings line up to the “Gameday Lineups” page of this blog when I get it.

Darryl Skender