Tag Archives: Braeyen Newans

The Yeti Are Playing Up To Their Potential

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When you think of high end talent and certain players, guys like Joseph Melichar of Victoria or Parker Atkinson of Westshore come to mind. I would pay money just to watch these guys play. Guys like that are far and few between. I can’t think of a single player on most clubs including Comox that I would pay just to see. As for the Glacier Kings as a whole, that’s a different story. They have assembled a squad that believes in each other and have vastly improved as the season has gone on. Because they don’t have the elite stars that some of the other teams have, they need to be great as a whole, not as individuals and every player has to play up to the best of his capabilities. For the most part, these guys are. It doesn’t mean they can’t get better. With more experience and playing time they will improve. But they seem to be playing at a high-level which is needed down the stretch and into the playoffs. That’s why they have picked up at least a point in 11 of their last 13 games.

The fact that they are playing better has been noticed not only by Glacier Kings fans but also by other coaches and teams as well. Comox Valley’s head coach/GM Curt Toneff has observed a significant improvement as well. He was very candid when talking about the big difference from the start of September, “I’m just going to be honest with you, we have better hockey players now than we did at the start of the season. Overall just bigger, faster and older.” It was a very simple message and it was received loudly. He wants players here that will help this organization win hockey games and that certainly has been happening of late.

Even with better personnel, that doesn’t win hockey games alone. We’ve seen in the past in all levels of hockey where a team stacks up elite players at the deadline and things don’t go well. Same things in other sports like basketball. If you have all shooters and no play-makers, only one person can shoot the puck or basketball while the other scorers just stand and watch. Every team no matter what sport needs chemistry to win. It has taken the Glacier Kings a little while to get it with all the new faces but it seems to be coming together. Toneff says they are still working on chemistry, “That’s one thing I almost try to work on as a coach. A little bit of feedback from exit meetings last year was leaving some lines together a little bit more. It’s tough, I think we talked about it last week, it’s tough when you have 14 or 15 forwards that pay money to play. It’s tough to build that chemistry. I’ve left it alone almost as much as possible. I’ve thrown the lines in the blender a little bit midway through the game but there are very consistent duos and I think we talked about it last week about plugging the third guy in or the third center in or plugging the winger in. I think we have a lot of pairs as far as chemistry. Our ‘D’ I would definitely say are very familiar with each other.” Meatloaf’s song ‘Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad’ might be applicable here. It will get better with more playing time but remember, every other club will be improving as well.

I look down the roster and can see a bunch of guys playing really well right now. Some are obvious because they have been good since the start of the season but there are some that are under the radar. As a whole, everyone is playing at a higher level. Curtis talked about some of his players that he has liked during this stretch of really consistent hockey, “I think Haden Parker has been really good. He’s starting to believe in himself a little bit more offensively. He scored the tying goal on Friday and scored the winner on Saturday. He comes to mind. I think (Kyle) Mayenburg has been kind of what he needs to be. A guy that you don’t notice a ton as someone with a lot of flash but he’s out there 30 minutes a night. Rolan Amin’s a guy that puts some life on our bench with his compete and leadership. I think Quinten Harvie is just settling in and starting to play hockey whereas before Christmas he was going over the line a little bit and ended up in the penalty box a little bit too much. I don’t think it was always warranted but he seems to have addressed it. You know when you go down the line up, some guys are developing a little bit more trust to play harder minutes and maybe they weren’t even in the line up the night before. Gavin Munro, Mateo Moro, guys that you aren’t going to talk about a ton, they get out there, they play their 10-12 minutes and they play hard. We trust them, the bench trusts them. I think for us that what we need to be successful. We don’t have that guy that’s going to get 80 points but if we can get it by committee at the highest level then it can be done.” If everything stays at the rate it is right now, Leon Mikhalchuk will finish as the top scorer for his squad with 46 points. He currently has 39 points with 7 games left and averages one point per contest.

I looked around to see what other teams top point leaders have accumulated and it surprised me that Oceanside, who is a top contender, is in the same boat as the Glacier Kings. They also need to play a full team game to win and they’ve been effective at doing just that. Braeyen Newans leads them with just 35 points but to be fair he has been with the Powell River Kings a little bit as well. Just a side note, I think I can see why the Generals are doing so well. According to their roster they have a 24 year old and a 22 year old playing lol. I jest because it’s just a mistake on their website with Braylon Becker who is actually a 2008 not a 2003 born player and Levi Green is a 2005 not a 2001. With Comox, Ethan Gobel could be leading the Glacier Kings if he was still with them. He had the highest average of points per game on the squad (1.17). However it’s been a struggle for him in the BCHL as he has only amassed 2G, 1A in 16 games and that’s after getting a goal and an assist in first 2 games with his junior ‘ A’ club.

That’s it for today, enjoy your Wednesday everybody.

Darryl Skender

Glacier Kings-Gens Preview

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The Comox Valley Glacier Kings are back at it tonight as they travel to Parksville for a game against the Oceanside Generals. The Gens dropped into a tie for first place in the North Division after their 2-0 loss in Campbell River last night. That combined with Nanaimo’s victory over Lake Cowichan dropped Oceanside out of sole possession of the top spot. As for the Glacier Kings, they dropped out of sole possession of third and into a tie for third after the Storm win. The Generals are 25-12-1-0 while Comox is 18-15-4-1. The Gens come into tonight losing 3 of their last 4 games being outscored 18-10. The GKings have lost 2 of their last 3 but are still 6-2-2-0 in their last 10.

It looks like it’s going to be a good race for the number one and the number 3 seeds in the North going down the stretch. A win by the Generals tonight will clinch a playoff spot. The Glacier Kings on the other hand need just a point to regain sole possession of third place. In case you were wondering, the Yeti’s magic number to clinch a post-season berth is 6 (any combination of Comox wins and Port Alberni losses).

As for tonight, expect Oceanside to come out of the gates quickly. They have been good all year and aren’t happy with their results lately. Play by play broadcaster for the Generals and the Port Alberni Bulldogs of the BCHL Kyle Ireland talked about the game, “Gens will be looking for a fast start. They got shutout for the 4th time this season last night in Campbell River. Lane Maarhuis gave the Gens fits in an 8-2 loss to Victoria on January 11th so it will be interesting to see if he gets the start for the GKings.” Of course, Maarhuis started his first game for Comox on Thursday and was outstanding in a 2-0 loss in Victoria.

There aren’t a lot of players on either side to talk about regarding current streaks. That’s because both sides are coming off games where they were shutout. Neither club has an individual that is tearing up the league this season. Oceanside is led by Braeyen Newans (13G, 21A, 34Pts.) while Comox Valley’s leading scorer is Leon Mikhalchuk (17G, 18A, 35Pts.). Ireland did make a note of one key player that won’t be in the line up, “Gens will be without Kaiden Day for a second straight day due to a suspension, he’s a big part of the offence.” Day has tallied 26 points in 26 games this season. He had 10 assists in his last 10 games before the suspension.

A couple of players that will hopefully get back on the scoresheet tonight are Zaya Morro and Westin Churchill. They are 2nd and 3rd respectively on the active roster in scoring but have a combined 0 points in each of their last 5 games. Goaltending doesn’t seem like an issue as all 3 tenders have been good. Kyle says there’s a couple guys to watch tonight, “Braylon Becker has goals in 2 of his last 3 games for the Gens and will look to stay hot for the Gens. 5 points over his last 3 games and I look for power forward Leon Mikhalchuk to have another big game against the Gens, he has 8 points this season in games against the Gens… 2 very well coached teams, season series has been back and forth, very physical series. I expect the same tonight.” This is the 6th and final regular season for these two foes. Comox is 2-2-1-0 in the head-to-head battle so far. The last time they met was on January 4th when Oceanside won 4-3 in overtime.

Here is a look at the special teams:

PP
Comox Valley: 17.8% (7th)
Oceanside: 14% (10th)
PK
Comox Valley: 80.7% (7th)
Oceanside: 77.8% (9th)

Here are some other Glacier Kings stats:

Score First Goal: 13-5-2-0
Allow First Goal: 5-10-2-1

Lead After First Period: 13-0-0-0
Trail After First Period: 1-8-2-1
Tied After First Period: 4-7-2-0

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

It’s “Country Night” at the Howie Meeker Arena tonight. That’s my kind of night! My favorite would be a “Jimmy Buffett” night. I am appreciative of Dave Dueck playing a couple of Jimmy’s songs at the Yeti’s home games. Kyle Ireland will be broadcasting the Alberni Valley Bulldogs home game tonight so Buccaneers play by play broadcaster Larenzo Jensen will be the man in the booth for this evening’s contest. It will broadcast on both FloHockey and 88.5 The Beach. Puck drop is 7:00 PM. I will post Comox Valley’s line up as soon as I get it.

Darryl Skender

Controversial Ending Extends GKings Losing Streak

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The Comox Valley Glacier Kings got off to a quick start but couldn’t hold on as they dropped a 4-3 decision to the Oceanside Generals on Friday. The game was action packed with plenty of chances both ways but the GKings will start the season 0-1-1 at home.

The first period was a little slow at times in the first half of the period but there was a ton of action in the last half. About 11 minutes in, goaltender Anthony Ganoung was tested with 2 close in shots. The first by Sloan Kroeker and then the rebound by Max Boyle. About 3 minutes later, a huge chance for Comox when Ethan Gobel stole the puck at the left side faceoff circle and turned around and gave Leon Mikhalchuk a perfect cross ice pass. Mikhalchuk had a wide open net but partially fanned on it and shot wide. Then a few minutes after that, Zaya Morro was sent in on a breakaway by Landen May but was robbed by Ethan Suhr and 10 seconds later, Morro would have another chance from the edge of the crease but was stoned again. Gobel picked up the rebound but hit the post. The game was scoreless after the first period.

Early in the 2nd period and with time running out on the Glacier Kings power play, Cameron Collins had a terrific chance on a wrap-around but couldn’t bury it. With the puck loose in the crease, Maxim Lefebvre poked at it but Suhr was there to make the save. The first goal of the game would be on a power play… yes you heard that right a power play. Ethan Gobel won the faceoff back to the point to Tommy Scobie-Gyug who slipped the puck up to Leon Mikhalchuk. He quickly fed it across the ice to a wide-open Suhaan Nagra who walked into the faceoff dot and wristed the puck past Suhr. Cohen Kalin got an assist but it clearly should have gone to Scobie-Gyug. Comox went up by 2, again on the PP, when Ethan Gobel dug the puck out of skates behind the Oceanside net and passed back to the faceoff dot to Leon Mikhalchuk who made no mistake wristing it short side past Ethan Suhr. That lead would be cut in half just 1 minute later. Sloan Kroeker gave a ‘point to point’ pass to Braeyen Newans who took a hard wrist shot that was deflected in front by Jacob Leamy and the Gens were on the board. They weren’t done there. Oceanside would tie the game late in the 2nd stanza when Westin Churchill lost control of the puck inside his own blue line. Jacoby Leamy fished it out along the boards and passed it through the slot to Ryken Lay who one-timed it past Ganoung with just 1:10 remaining. 

In the 3rd period, both teams were 4 on 4 fairly early. Hunter Toth took a pass at his own blue line and skated up the right side, beat the defenceman and then got the puck past Anthony Ganoung from the circle. It may have hit a skate in front before entering the net. The Generals led 3-2. However the Yeti PP would come through again. It started with a great play by Kyle Mayenburg to keep the puck in at the blue line. He passed across to Cameron Collins who gave it right back to Mayenburg. The big defenceman took the shot which was stopped by Suhr but a big rebound came to Westin Churchill who potted it home. Again, the Gens would take the lead. They ended up with a rare short-handed 2-man breakaway goal. Jackson Bostock slid the puck over to Ryken Lay for his second goal of the game. Late in the 3rd period, the GKings appeared to tie the game with their goalie pulled. Generals d-man Levi Green appeared to push Ethan Gobel into the Oceanside goaltender. The referee was standing right beside the play and did not call goaltender interference which would mean that Gobel was pushed in. A few seconds later Suhaan Nagra tipped a shot past the netminder who was still down. The referee immediately waved the goal off. The ref then marked the ensuing faceoff outside the blue line which would depict Gobel initiating the contact. I’ve looked at the replay several times. Gobel definitely got pushed but the question is if he embellished that shove to make contact with the goalie.

Comox Valley outshot Oceanside 44-29 including 17-6 in the 3rd period but couldn’t pull it out. The Yeti drop to 0-3-1 while Generals improve to 2-3-0. The Glacier Kings are right back in action tomorrow night in Kerry Park while the Gens is off until week from tomorrow when they host Lake Cowichan.

Other Observations

  • This is the first time this season the Glacier Kings have scored first and also the first time that they have had a lead at any point in a game.
  • The first PP goal for Comox Valley broke a 0 for 14 streak.
  • Their 2nd PP goal took just 6 seconds (see what happens when they win faceoffs).
  • Kudos to Comox Valley Play by Play broadcaster Matt Parnell for picking 3 Stars fairly. It doesn’t happen much in this league. Clay Cochrane for Saanich is very fair as well.
  • Oceanside has not scored on their last 23 PP opportunities.
  • This is the Glacier Kings worst start to a season since 2019 when they were 0-12 before recording a victory.
  • Ryken Lay now has 5 goals which is tied for 3rd in the league (at the time of this post)
  • Despite a good start on Friday, Comox still just has one 1st period goal in their 4 games.
  • Westin Churchill has goals in back to back games.
  • Jacob Leamy has points in 3 straight games and 4 of his last 5 including his time with Saanich.

Darryl Skender