Tag Archives: Anthony Ganoung

Yeti Win 2nd Straight To Finish Month

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For the first time this season, the Comox Valley Glacier Kings have a winning streak. This is thanks to a 4-3 win over the Peninsula Panthers on Sunday. I have done a lot of writing about how big this past weekend was going to be and how we would find out a lot about this squad. After losing in Campbell River on Friday, they played at home to Nanaimo, who at the time was in first place in the North, and beat the Bucs, then played the only undefeated team in the VIJHL in the Panthers and came out victorious. Three games in three days is never easy but I think we can all say that this was a very successful weekend.

The scoring got started early when Leon Mikhalchuk got a loose puck behind the net and centered a pass in front to Declan Johannesen who wristed it past a sprawling Matus Volovar. Just one minute later things could have turned when 5th year forward Ethan Lingard went in on a breakaway but was denied by Ganoung. The period ended 1-0. Shots were 12 apiece.

The lead however would be short-lived in the second period. The Panthers had sustained pressure in the offensive zone and that pressure paid off when Jacob Eddy took a slap shot from the point that was deflected perfectly by Alex Sajan past the goaltender. Then exactly one minute later Peninsula took a 2-1 lead from a faceoff win. Lingard walked right between 2 defenders but was denied by Ganoung. However the rebound at the top of the crease was put home by Oskar Aitken-Salmons. That was it for the scoring in the second. Shots were 9-8 in favor of the home side.

An incident late in that second period happend when Leon Mikhalchuk stole the puck in the slot and was robbed by Volovar but then was subsequently sticked in between his legs by the goaltender. Neither referee saw it while Mikalchuk stayed down on the ice in pain. Play continued down to the other end of the arena as the Glacier Kings bench erupted. The whistle was finally blown with Peninsula in control of the puck inside the Comox blue line. All 4 officials got together and ruled a 4-minute spearing penalty.

The third period was a bit crazy but a lot of fun to watch. With a little over a minute left in the double-minor, Ethan Gobel gave Cameron Collins a perfect pass in front to tie the game at two. The officials had to gather again to make sure the puck had crossed the goal line. Then the Glacier Kings took the lead just a couple shifts later. Ethan Gobel won the offensive zone faceoff back to Mikhalchuk who one-timed a wrist shot from the top of the circle past Volovar. The GKings would eventually make it 4-2 later in that final frame. The play started with a 2-man breakaway where Cohen Kallin slid it over to Zaya Morro who was absolutely robbed by Volovar. The rebound came out in front and Landon Morris put it into the empty net while being hooked down to the ice. The Panthers wouldn’t go away quietly however. With their goalie pulled, Joe Marranzino took a shot from the blue line and Ganoung left a big rebound that Carson Harris put into an open net to make it a one goal game again. That’s how this contest would finish.

The win gives the Glacier Kings a 3-4-1 record as they moved 1 point ahead of the Oceanside Generals. Their next game is Friday night in Campbell River. The loss for Peninsula was their first of the season (6-1-0). They also play on Friday when it’s the battle of the top 2 teams in the VIJHL. The first place Westshore Wolves, who are led by former Glacier Kings coach Mike Nesbitt, will be at the Panorama Recreation.

Other Observations

  • This marks the first time this year that Comox is not in the basement in the North Division.
  • The Glacier Kings have been off to slow starts this year so scoring just 1:29 into the game was very refreshing. They also scored 1:17 into the 3rd period.
  • Declan Johannesen now has goals in 3 of his last 4 games.
  • This was the first time this season that the GKings have won a game when trailing after 2 periods.
  • Anthony Ganoung’s start made him the first Comox goalie to play in back to back games this season.
  • Panthers forward Oskar Aitken-Salmons’ goal gives him 9 already which is tied for the league lead. He has 3 multiple goal games already through 7 games.
  • Aitken-Salmons teammate Carson Harris also has 9 goals. Interesting stat is he has 9 goals and 0 assists. Cy Young candidate? (For you baseball fans.) In all seriousness, he has scored at least 1 goal in 6 of his 7 games.
  • I liked the camera work in Peninsula. They would zoom in quite often on the play when it required it. Most teams just leave the play zoomed out when things are exciting or important events are happening.
  • Ethan Gobel has 5 assists in his last 2 games.
  • The Yeti scored 2 goals in 1:02 to go from being behind to going ahead in the 3rd period.
  • Comox now has at least 1 power play goal in 5 consecutive games.
  • Cameron Collins has at least a point in 4 of the 5 games he’s played in this season.
  • The GKings took just 1 penalty in the entire game (a tripping call in the 3rd period).
  • Zaya Morro has a 4-game point streak (3G, 4A)
  • Next Friday will already mark the 3rd time in 9 overall games that Comox Valley and Campbell River will play each other.

Darryl Skender

Comox Puts In 60 Minute Effort In Win

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The Comox Valley Glacier Kings have certainly looked like two different teams so far this season. It’s not surprising considering how early it is. Teams are still looking for chemistry and still trying to find their identity. Last night the Glacier Kings looked good throughout and came out with a 5-3 victory over the Nanaimo Buccaneers. That’s the second time these 2 teams have met with each side winning by 2 goals. The Bucs came into the game tied for first place in the North Division. 

Nanaimo started the scoring on a second consecutive power play. Haden Parker took a boarding penalty which Comox killed off. But after the penalty was over Parker was still on the ice and got into a scrum in front of the opposition net. He ended up taking a roughing penalty for giving Ethan Nordli a face wash. It took 17 seconds for Madden Cruickshank to make them pay on a rebound off the pad of goaltender Anthony Ganoung. The GKings tied it up right after the mandatory timeout. Ethan Gobel took a shot from the left dot that was stopped by Aaron Pichette but the rebound went to Declan Johanneson who made no mistake. The boys in white would score again a few minutes later with a lucky bounce. Zaya Morro stole the puck inside the Nanaimo blue line and and attempted a backhand pass into the slot. The puck ricocheted off Davis Young’s skate and into his own net. The period would end 2-1.

In the second period, Isaac Dunsire had a terrific shift chasing down pucks, forechecking and getting to the dirty area to score his team’s 3rd goal from a crowded slot. The middle stanza would end with Zaya Morro’s second of the game after he was in the right place at the right time burying a rebound off the stick of a Kyle Mayenburg shot from the point.

The Bucs weren’t finished yet however. They got goals by Ethan Nordli and Koen Gauthier to make it a one goal game. Morro would complete his hat trick with an empty net goal just before the buzzer sounded to make it a 5-3 game. Final shots were 45-36 in favor of the Yeti.

With the Buccaneers loss and the Lake Cowichan win on Saturday, Nanaimo has dropped into second place in the North at 4-2-0. Their next game is next Thursday at home to Saanich. Comox remains in the basement but they do improve to 2-4-1 for the season, just 1 point behind both Oceanside and Campbell River. They play again Sunday in Peninsula. The Panthers are a perfect 6-0-0 this season.

Other Observations

  • The Glacier Kings now have points in 3 of their last 5 games.
  • Their PP goal in the 2nd period makes it 4 consecutive games with at least 1 goal with the man advantage.
  • This game marked the 4th time already this season that Comox has had 40+ shots on net.
  • Zaya Morro showed patience on his hat trick goal as he knew time was running down. Instead of shooting the puck from his own blue line, he skated down the ice and shot inside the Bucs line as the buzzer sounded.
  • Speaking of Morro, he has a 3 game point streak  (3G, 3A)
  • The Bucs Madden Cruickshank is off to a great start having points in 5 of his team’s 6 games (10 points).
  • This was just the 2nd time this year Comox has lead after 2 periods. They are 2-0 in those games.
  • Goaltender Aaron Pichette has played in both of Nanaimo’s games against his former team. He is 1-1 against Comox Valley.
  • The Glacier Kings only have 18 hours from the ending of this game to the start of Sunday’s afternoon match.

Darryl Skender

Thursday Thread

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I don’t know about anyone else but I am excited about this weekend’s games for the Comox Valley Glacier Kings. So far, they’ve played strong teams like Nanaimo, weaker teams like Kerry Park and middle of the road teams like Campbell River, Oceanside and Saanich. All those games have one theme… the Yeti have been in every one of them until the very end. So what’s difference about this weekend? Well… so far they have played a total of 5 games combined over 3 weekends. Starting Friday, it will be 3 games in 3 days. Two games will be against undefeated teams (Peninsula 5-0, Nanaimo 4-0) and their other opponent will be their arch rival (Campbell River). This is as tough as it gets. As I said, the Glacier Kings have been very competitive so far but this will be a definite test.

Going into the weekend, Comox Valley is in pretty good shape healthwise. They already have 13 players that have played in all 5 games and they added some players a couple weeks ago who didn’t start the season but will be in there everyday. Head coach/GM Curtis Toneff talked about the situation heading into this weekend, “Tegan Clayton has a broken clavicle, he’s out for probably another couple months. Other than that, we’re pretty healthy here… knock on wood.” Of course it’s still early and the wear and tear of playing such a physical sport at this level will take its toll at some point with some of the guys. It’s a long season. For now, fingers are crossed.

As long as the coach is carrying three goaltenders, questions will continue to mount on what his position is with carrying three. So I decided to look and see what the other 10 teams in the league are doing. 9 of the other 10 teams in the VIJHL are also carrying 3 goalies. The only squad with just 2 are the Nanaimo Buccaneers. For the Bucs, former Glacier King Aaron Pichette has played two games (2-0, 1.50, .938)  and Adam Ranger has also played in two (2-0, 2.38, .919) so that tandem has done well. I asked Toneff about who was leading the way for his team, “I still think it’s early, they’re all coming from Midget to Junior. They’re all pushing each which is nice, they’re all wanting the net which is what you want to see. There’s just one or two goals a practice that they have had that you just can’t let in. If they all clean that up, it will really get interesting in there. If you look at our goals against and other stuff, goaltending hasn’t been an issue. Hopefully it’s like the rest of the team and they get better and continue to grow.” Here are the stats so far:
Silas Dromarsky, 1-0-0, 1.00, .947
Anthony Ganoung, 0-2-0, 3.04, .902
Timothee Fengos, 0-1-1, 3.46, .901
You have to wonder if all 3 goalies will get starts this weekend considering the 3 games in 3 days. All have played well for the most part.

We’re through 5 games now and the GKings still don’t have a captain and only one assistant captain. Obviously Haden Parker has an ‘A’ which he earned from being an assistant captain last season with the club. So, we are expecting one “C” and two more “A’s” to be named before too long. Curtis did say that he has been proactively collecting information to make sure he makes the right decision, “I did put it to a vote earlier this week. I did that just to give myself a better gauge and to give the players a say in their thoughts. There were about 4 guys that they voted for Captain and they had 2 ‘A’ votes because Haden Parker is lettered nonetheless. That why I made the vote one C’ and two A’s. It was interesting because it didn’t really get me anywhere because the vote was so even and perhaps all over the place. It gives you a good indication that there are 5 or 6 guys that are the leadership group. But who gets what remains to be seen to be honest with you. I don’t want to jump the gun on these decisions like we talked about a few weeks ago.” It will definitely be interesting to see if the players that are given letters will be the veterans or a mixture of new blood and experienced vets.

On gamedays, remember to check out the “Gameday Lineups” Tab on this blog to see the the roster that will be dressed for that days game. Gameday Lineup do not get emailed out to my subscribers like the new posts do. Curtis sends it to me the day of the game and I try to post it right away if possible. That’s it for today, have a great Thursday!

Darryl Skender