Tag Archives: Cameron Collins

Comox Wins Again

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The red-hot Comox Valley Glacier Kings were down early but came back and handed the Lake Cowichan Kraken a 6-2 loss on Friday. The win is the 4th in the Glacier Kings last 5 contests and they also have points in 5 of their last 6. It was a good 60 minute effort for the road side who moved up into sole possession of 4th place in the North Division.

The scoring started early but it would be the Kraken who would get on the board first. Iaroslav Morozov stole the puck on a sloppy clearing attempt by the Glacier Kings at their blue line. Morozov skated down the right side, cut towards the net and beat Anthony Ganoung from a bad angle in close.

The game stayed 1-0 until the later stages of the opening period. Logan Walz shot the puck around his own net but a great job by defenceman Landen May to pinch and get to it first. Despite being double-teamed, he managed to get the puck to the the top of the circle to Leon Mikhalchuk who walked right to the faceoff dot and fired a shot past goaltender Evgeni Tkachenko.

Then just 1:11 later Comox would take their first lead of the game. Maxim Lefebvre banked a pass back to the point to Kyle Mayenburg, his shot was stopped by Tkachenko but Zaya Morro was on the doorstep to tap it in. Ethan Gobel got credit for the assist instead of Mayenburg however. And they weren’t done there. With just 16 seconds left in the period, the Glacier Kings would get a 2 on 1 with Cameron Collins sliding it over to Landon Morris who made no mistake to make it 3-1.

That’s how the period would end. Shots were 11-10 for the Kraken.

Just like in the first period, the Kraken would score first in the second stanza. Toby Johnson carried the puck over the blue line and took a shot from the slot that was stopped by Ganoung’s pad but was poked in by Kieran Prichett and it was suddenly 3-2. Unfortunately for Lake Cowichan, that would be the last time that they score. Late in the second frame, Lefebvre gave a beautiful pass in front of the net to Morris to make it 4-2.

The road team made it 5-2 with 1:26 left and it was on another 2 on 1. Cameron Collins fed it to Ethan Gobel who buried it. Somehow Collins never got an assist on the play. The middle frame ended with shots 12-11 for the Kraken.

There was just one goal in the third period. That happened early when Cohen Kallin stole a bad pass inside his own line while shorthanded and had a breakaway the whole way down the ice and beat Tkachenko to make the final 6-2.

Shots were 12 apiece. The Glacier Kings were outshot for the game but had the better chances throughout with multiple odd man rushes.

The win improves the Yeti’s record to 7-7-2-1 and play at home to Peninsula on Saturday. Both of those teams are just 2 points out of first place in their respective divisions. The Kraken drop to 5-10-0-0 as they went winless in October. They host Campbell River on Sunday.

  • The 6 goals were the most Comox Valley has scored this season.
  • The loss extended Lake Cowichan’s losing streak to 9 games.
  • Oddly enough, the Glacier Kings did not have a PP in the game. That breaks their streak of at least 1 PP goal in 3 straight matches.
  • Talk about scoring in bunches. Comox scored 3 goals in a 2:41 span late in the 1st period, then scored 2 goals in 51 seconds late in the second.
  • Leon Mikhalchuk has now scored a goal in 5 of his last 6 games.
  • The Kraken’s PP goal came on a 5 minute penalty during the second period.
  • Despite not scoring a PP goal, Comox did convert on a short-handed goal and a 4 on 4 marker.
  • Kieran Prichett’s goal was his first point in 8 games. He put up 4 points (2G, 2A) in his season opener.
  • The Yeti are now a perfect 6-0-0-0 when leading after the first period.
  • The second period mandatory timeout never took place until there was 3:19 left on the clock.
  • Etan Gobel has 2G, 5A in his last 4 games.
  • The GKings are at .500 for the first time this season.
  • And finally, don’t forget to turn your clocks back tonight before you go to bed.

Darryl Skender

Wolves Win 6th Straight

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The Westshore Wolves jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead and held on for a 6-4 victory over the Comox Valley Glacier Kings on Friday. It was a valiant effort by the Yeti as they came back after being down early to take a 2 goal lead but Westshore, who have now won 6 in a row, proved why they are the highest scoring team in the league. It was disappointing to give up the lead but the boys played hard and looked gassed by the end. Full marks to the Wolves who are a very good skating team which is just one of the reasons their offence is so good.

Westshore came out of the gates skating hard and earned an early 1-0 lead when Linden Hoskins took a wrist shot from the top of the circle that Timothee Fengos stopped but Owen Hentschel tapped in the rebound from inside the crease. The Wolves then went up 2-0 late in that opening stanza when defenceman Kyle Mayenburg got caught up ice on a bad bounce and Westshore had a 2 on1, Ashton Vine-Sullivan slid a perfect pass over to Jackson Buie who went forehand-backhand on Fengos before putting it up high glove-side.

But, with just over a minute left, Comox would cut the lead in half when Leon Mikhalchuk centered the puck from behind the the net and Zaya Morro got to it in a crowd of sticks and skates and somehow put it past goaltender Ander Reyes. The period would end at 2-1. Shots on goal were 13-11 in favor of the Yeti.

In the second period, the GKings would tie it up on the power play. Cameron Collins fed the puck to the side of the net to Ethan Gobel who slid it in front to Leon Mikhalchuk and he backhanded it past Reyes. Just 2:21 later Comox would take their first lead of the game with another power play goal. Cameron Collins passed to the left side boards to Suhaan Nagra who immediately fed it cross-ice to Ethan Gobel. The 18 year old blasted a one-timer past the goalie and it was 3-2.

The Glacier Kings weren’t done there. Shortly after a successful penalty kill, they would have a 2 on 1 of their own. Kaden Ryan turned the puck over at his own blue line and Ethan Gobel went in and took a shot that Reyes made the save on but Cohen Kallin got the rebound and just got it by the sprawling goaltender. Suddenly it was 4-2 for the road side.

However, you knew you weren’t going to keep Parker Atkinson off the score sheet forever. He gave a perfect tape to tape pass to Noah Gebicki in the slot who one-timed it into a wide open net to make it 4-3.

That’s how the middle frame ended. Shots were 17-6 for the Glacier Kings.

Things got even more tense in the 3rd when Noah Gebicki went over the blue line and both d-men cheated over towards him. That left Kansys Seney all by himself and he made no mistake. That tied the game at 4.

Jasper Fellbaum would put the Wolves ahead for good after a lucky bounce and he found himself wide open in front, then beat Fengos on the blocker side. Alejandro Snead would add an insurance marker after that to make it 6-4. Shots were 11-7 for the home team in final period.

The loss drops the Glacier Kings record to 5-7-2-1 as they remain in 5th place in the North. They will be at home to Saanich on Saturday. Meanwhile the Wolves win improves their line to 13-2-1-0 and are now 4 points ahead of 2nd place Peninsula. Their next action is next Wednesday when they host Campbell River.

Other Observations:

  • Westshore had 12 different players with at least a point.
  • Comox Valley had 3 players with multiple points.
  • During the Wolves 6 game winning streak, they have outscored their opponents 31-16.
  • GKings scored 4 consecutive goals from the near the end of the 1st to midway through the 2nd, the Wolves then scored 4 consecutive to finish the game.
  • Kansys Seney extended his point streak to 6 games (5G, 4A)
  • After going 1 for 27 on the PP in October, Comox Valley scored on their first 2 PP opportunities of the game. For some reason, the online scoring shows they were 2 for 2 but were actually 2 for 4.
  • Love the broadcast from Marlon Martens. He’s one of the best in the league. I actually sent him a friend request on Facebook a long time ago but he didn’t accept lol.
  • Leon Mikhalchuk now has a goal in 4 consecutive games.
  • This is the first time this season that Comox has lost a game when leading after 2 periods (4-1-0-0).
  • Attendance was just 93 people at the game. The capacity for the Q Centre is 2780 including standing room.
  • Ethan Gobel is the only Glacier King averaging more than a point per game (13 points in 10 games).
  • The 6 goals allowed are the most the Yeti have given up this season. Their previous high was 5 which was also against Westshore. They had only allowed 3 goals total in their previous 3 games.
  • The GKings continue to lead the VIJHL in Penalty killing. In October, they have only allowed 2 goals on 25 shorthanded situations.

Darryl Skender

Glacier Kings Lose In A Shootout

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The Comox Valley Glacier Kings came close again but ended up dropping their 4th straight game, a 2-1 shootout decision to the Port Alberni Bombers on Saturday. It was a fun game for the fans to watch but will have head coach/GM Curtis Toneff scratching his head. That’s because Comox had too many scoring chances to count but didn’t score. That’s been the story for them since the beginning of the season. Despite the loss, they do pick up a very important point.

The scoring started early, in fact just 41 seconds into the game. Bomber forward Malik Oliva carried the puck over the blue line and dropped it back for McCall Nault whose shot from well out beat Timothee Fengos glove side. Not the start Comox wanted to have. They did play much better after that goal and Fengos was solid. That’s how the period ended. Shots were 10-10.

In the second period, the Glacier Kings really picked up the pace and outplayed Port Alberni. Landon Morris had a few really good chances but was stopped by goaltender Joseph Naccarato each time. He did end up on the stat sheet later after delivering an open ice hit that was a little high and received a roughing penalty. Cohen Kallin also came close with some nice stickhandling inside the visitors blue line and took a wrist shot that rung off the inside of the goal post but stayed out. About two minutes later Mateo Morro also hit the post on a one-timer from the slot. Despite all the chances for the Yeti, there would be no scoring by either side. The GKings outshot the Bombers 21-7.

There were some good chances in third by both clubs. Comox easily could have had 4 or 5 goals if it weren’t for Naccarato. The home team would finally tie it up late. Ethan Gobel cycled it down low for Cameron Collins who brought the puck back to the blue line and took a shot that went off a Bomber defenceman, then off the glove of the goaltender and into the back of the net. That goal would force overtime.

There were plenty of opportunities in the extra period as you might expect when it’s 3 on  3 play. Once again both goalies were outstanding and nothing was decided after 10 minutes of the 4th period. So off to the shootout they went. Port Alberni’s Joel Dorn was the only goal scorer out of the 6 shooters and was credited with the game winner on a shot that went off the post and in. Declan Johannesen also pinged the inside of the post that ricocheted out the other side of the net but did not cross the line.

With the shootout loss, the Yeti have now lost 4 in a row (0-2-2) to start October. Despite the point, they remain in the basement in the North Division with a 3-6-2-1 record while the Bombers are 6-6-1-0 which is good for 2nd place, just 1 point behind Campbell River. The Glacier Kings are now off until Friday when they travel to Lake Cowichan. The Bombers next action is Saturday when they host Nanaimo.

Other Observations

  • Before the game, Comox released Joel Schmidt and moved Geon Park to Port Alberni for a “Playoff Development Fee.”
  • The nets continue to be a problem as they come off their pegs way too often. How hard can it be to fix this issue?
  • Speaking of which, the Glacier Kings did put the puck in the net just after the net was pushed off. After a meeting with the 4 officials, the goal was waved off.
  • The 60 shots Comox put on the board breaks their season high which was 57 against Kerry Park on September 20th.
  • What a game by Port Alberni goalie Joseph Naccarato making 59 saves. That equals a .983 save percentage and doesn’t even count the saves he made in the shootout.
  • Cohen Kallin had his 3-game goal streak broken. As mentioned earlier, he came close to making it 4 games in a row but hit the inside of the goal post.
  • Comox hit 3 goal posts and had nothing to show for it. Port Alberni hit 1 and it was the game winner.
  • Ethan Gobel now has 6 assists in his last 4 games.
  • The GKings are 0-3 in games that have been tied after regulation time (0-2 in OT & 0-1 in shootouts).
  • Obviously scoring is an issue. The Yeti have scored just 4 goals in their last 4 games.
  • Bombers forward Malik Oliva now has 2G, 2A in his last 4 games.
  • Comox has not scored a PP goal in 4 straight games.

Darryl Skender