Tag Archives: Cohen Kallin

Comox Clinches Playoff Spot

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The Comox Valley Glacier Kings started strong and cruised to a 5-1 victory over the Lake Cowichan Kraken on Friday. The win clinched a playoff spot for the Yeti who still have hopes of home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. It was a full 60 minute effort in what looked like a grudge match at certain times and was certainly very entertaining.

The scoring got started early in the first period as a result of a Westin Churchill faceoff win. Landen May’s shot from the point went to the side of the net where Cameron Collins centered in front to Churchill who redirected it into the open net to make it 1-0.

The Glacier Kings would score again late in the opening frame because of a faceoff win. This time it was Gavin Munro getting it back to Haden Parker who slid it over to Gavin Mowat. His shot from the blue line was defected beautifully by Zaya Morro to make it 2-0.

That’s how the period ended. Shots were 16-5 in favor of Comox Valley.

Early in the second period, Haden Parker got a lucky bounce as he shot the puck off the glass from center ice but it hit a stanchion in the glass while goaltender Evgeni Tkachenko was going behind his goal to stop it and the puck redirected straight into the net. Unfortunately the cameraman still had the camera pointed at the Kraken bench showing an injured player while the goal happened. This is the best photo available afterwards.

The Glacier Kings kept the pressure on and eventually score again. Morro led a 3 on 2 break over the blue line and made a smart move passing it back to the trailer Evan Marko. His shot was stopped by Tkachenko but the rebound went right to Cohen Kallin who backhanded it through two sets of legs into the open cage.

Comox would make it 5-0 just 2:37 later on a scramble in front of the Lake Cowichan net. The puck eventually went off a skate right to Collins. He made a terrific turnaround pass through the slot, through skates and right to Easton Sangris who buried it past the netminder.

Late in the middle frame, GKings goalie Ander Reyes lost his bid for a shutout in his first game with his new club. Comox couldn’t get the puck out of their own zone. Toby Johnson made them pay as he passed cross-ice to Blaine Wilson who one-timed it into the net with just 52 seconds left on the clock. The 2nd period ended 5-1. The shots were 15-8 for the home side.

There wasn’t any scoring in the very physical 3rd period. Most of the hits were clean. A very close call for a goal took place early in the final stanza on a wrap-around attempt. Tkachenko lost his stick in his net and was caught on the wrong side when Rolan Amin cut around to the other side of the goal and it somehow didn’t go in. You can see the puck go along the goal line if you look closely.

With about 5 minutes left, Gavin Mowat and Toby Johnson decided to drop the gloves. It was a good bout and I’ll give the edge to Johnson.

The final score was 5-1. Comox Valley once again had a decisive edge in shots in that period 19-6.

The win improves the Yeti’s record to 21-15-5-1 for 48 points, still 3 ahead of Campbell River who also won on Friday. The Kraken drop to 12-26-1-1 for 26 points. They have been eliminated from playoff contention. Next up for Comox is a road game in Port Alberni on Wednesday while Lake Cowichan plays tonight in Kerry Park.

Other Observations:

  • By the time the game was 93 seconds old, the Glacier Kings already had a goal and hit a cross bar. They ended the period with 2 hit goal posts and 2 crossbars.
  • It was nice to see Westin Churchill’s goal in the 1st period. He has been snake-bitten. That was his first point in 9 games and first goal in 11.
  • GKings are 9-2-3-0 (21 points) in their last 14 games.
  • Comox Valley’s PP with 1:18 left in the 1st looked good. The puck never left the offensive zone but they couldn’t score before the intermission whistle.
  • Lake Cowichan’s Toby Johnson now has points in 7 of his last 10 games. He leads his club in assists and points.
  • If you’re a fan of fighting, you would have loved the bout between Nicolas Kalinocka and Landen May. They started chucking hard punches with a lot landing on both sides. The part I loved about it was that they shook hands after and then tapped each other on the helmet after it was over. I’ll be honest, I have never seen a handshake after a fight.

  • Landen May’s fight upped his his penalty minute total to 142. That’s the 4th most in the VIJHL.
  • Comox Valley is now a perfect 14-0-0-0 when they lead after the 1st period.
  • Cameron Collins now has 1G, 3A in his last 3 games.
  • Haden Parker had 1 goal in his first 37 games. Since then he has scored 3 times in his last 4 contests.
  • A fan came very close to winning the prize during the 1st intermission. He shot the puck from center ice and missed the net but Gavin Mowat redirected it with his stick and it came so close to going in.
  • The online scoring shows Lake Cowichan’s goal at 0:02 into the second period. No the Kraken didn’t set a VIJHL record with fastest goal to start a period. The time should read 19:02.
  • This is the 5th time Comox has had at least 50 shots. They are 4-0-0-1 in those games.
  • The GKings are just 3 points behind 2nd place Nanaimo in the North. Those 2 squads square off against each other in a week from Monday. Don’t count the Yeti out of a 2nd place finish quite yet.

Darryl Skender

Coach Toneff Reaction To Recent Games

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The Comox Valley Glacier Kings played in a couple of really tight games last Thursday and Saturday. On Thursday, they travelled to Victoria and dropped a 2-0 decision to the Cougars before driving to Parksville on Saturday and coming out with a 4-2 come from behind victory. It was a couple of solid performances and gives hope that this club can play with the better teams in this league. They have proven it in the past beating Peninsula once, Westshore twice, Oceanside 3 times and Nanaimo once. The Glacier Kings have been playing a physical, defensive style that has been working. The team may not have its full chemistry yet with all the changes they’ve made but they are having good efforts and are really backing up each other as well.

They may not have won on Thursday but playing a team who is one of the best in the league and coming within a disallowed goal late in the 3rd period of going into overtime is a real accomplishment. It was definitely a disappointment not coming away with any points but it also showed the fight in this team. Head coach/GM Curtis Toneff liked some things and wasn’t crazy about other aspects in that contest, “For not playing in about 12 days, going into a tough building against a very good hockey club, to keep it 0-0 until the ten minute mark of the third period or whenever that goal was scored, I thought it showed that we took pride in defending. It showed in our effort, blocking shots and doing the things you need to do to be successful. I didn’t love our willingness and ability to go to the inside part of the ice in the offensive zone. Maybe it was just a product of not having those game reps the last number of days before because of the all-star break. That was addressed but overall we did a good job. I think Victoria is a very high-end team. If they (Victoria) would have just hit a couple more pucks they would have had more chances for success. They decided to make one or two extra passes all night. I would have been frustrated coaching that kind of talent just to be that fancy. It made our life easier in the long run.” The Cougars had 8 different goal scorers in their 10-0 win last night. Joseph Melichar continues to be the league’s best player.

As for Saturday’s game, Comox made up their minds that they were going to be physical. That same approach was taken by the Oceanside Generals and it made for some good old-time hockey. The fans got their money’s worth no matter which side they were cheering for. This is as close as a series can be with each team winning 3 games. This is also a possible playoff match up come end-February. Coach Toneff said his guys played with some spirit, “It was kind of a strange game, it was an emotional game for our team in a good way. We wanted those 2 points. A couple times it got intense on the bench and in the room with guys holding each other accountable. To give up a goal with 0.6 seconds left in a period, you can’t let that tell the story for the rest of the night. We come back to tie it and get the winner from an unsung hero like (Haden) Parker was a good sign. I thought our quote-unquote 4th line was really good the last two games. That was Mateo Morro, Gavin Munro and Cohen Kallin like we were talking before before we started recording, just their buy-in to their role, creating a little bit of energy, establishing some trust and us putting them out there in some certain situations was nice to see.” Between Oceanside’s loss, and Nanaimo’s win over Saanich yesterday, the Gens now find themselves in second place in the North.

Now that the weekend is over, it’s back to practice this week for the Yeti. There will no doubt be some bumps and bruises after Saturday’s game and some of the players may need a couple days off. Curtis talked about the week of practice ahead, “I made today’s practice optional, it’s a skills day. Guys can be there or they can take another day of rest, it’s up to them. We’re going to have a really good battle day tomorrow to get us back in that mindset. Systems on Wednesday and Thursday as well as special teams leading up to two really hard hockey games this weekend.” Those 2 games he is talking about are going to be against Peninsula and Victoria, a couple powerhouses to say the least.

With only 9 games left in the regular season, it appears that Comox will finish either 3rd or 4th unless Nanaimo or Oceanside have a complete collapse. It appears any team can beat any team in the North so it may not matter who finishes 3rd and who ends up 4th. You have to make it into the playoffs first and the Glacier Kings magic number to clinch is down to 5 (any combination of Comox wins and Port Alberni losses).

Darryl Skender

Nail Biter In Victoria Goes Cougars Way

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The Comox Valley Glacier travelled to Victoria to take on one of the best teams in the VIJHL and gave the Cougars everything they could handle until finally dropping a 2-0 decision to the league’s second most potent offence. The game had a little bit of everything… great goaltending on both sides, a fight, a disallowed goal and a big missed opportunity at the end. All in all, I think the Glacier Kings can be proud of their performance but disappointed with their result.

Midway into the first period, Quinten Harvie had a glorious chance on Comox Valley’s first PP as he took a back door pass at the side of the net from Rolan Amin but was robbed by goaltender Finn Wilson. That power play netted a bunch of great chances but they couldn’t beat Wilson. Shortly after Cohen Kallin made a nifty pass to put Westin Churchill on a breakaway but was once again stoned by the home team’s netminder. The period would end scoreless. Shots were 7 apiece.

The second period had a few chances but was mostly a defensive frame which was an advantage for Comox who likes that style of play. With less than a minute left, Joseph Melichar kneed Tee Hagel right in front of the referee and it wasn’t called so defenceman Brandon Taylor took matters into his own hands and went after Melichar.

This is the knee right in front of the ref…

Then Brandon Taylor looked at the referee with his hand up asking if he’s going to call it…

Since there was no call, Taylor went after Melichar and the 2 squared off…

The whole incident should have been avoided by the referee making a call. And wouldn’t you know it the Glacier Kings took a penalty just 12 seconds later. The game remained 0-0 heading into the third with Victoria on the power play. Shots were 8-6 for Comox in that period.

In the 3rd, Comox killed off the remainder of the penalty and would accomplish the same feat when they took another one just 46 seconds after they were finally at full strength. Thanks to some wonderful saves by Lane Maarhuis, the contest was still at goose eggs. However a third penalty would do them in. Grady Slugget carried the puck to the right faceoff dot and quickly slid it across to the opposite circle where Joseph Melichar wristed it short-side on Maarhuis. That made it 1-0. The Yeti would get a power play shortly after. They won the faceoff and had several chances as the puck didn’t leave the zone but unfortunately the goaliekicked the net off its pegs really hard to stop play.

The posts are as secure at the Archie Browning Arena as they are at the Comox Valley Sports Centre unfortunately. The Glacier Kings pulled their goalie late and appeared to tie the game when Leon Mikhalchuk beat Wilson but it was waved off for goaltender interference. I looked this one over about a dozen times. Sheldon Alexander was line up along the boards. Comox won the faceoff and he headed straight for the net. Alexander stopped and tried to lean back into defenceman Jacob Bernardo. However Bernardo side-stepped him and Alexander lost his balance and his momentum was taking him into the goaltender. Bernardo gave him the slightest shove with the stick but it appeared that Alexander was going into the goalie regardless. Tough bang-bang play for the official as Wilson did get up just as the shot took place. I hate to say it but probably a good call. This photo is just as Alexander is falling on his own…

And this is a shot, just as the puck crosses the line…

The 4 officials got together at center and decided to stay with the call on the ice and placed the faceoff outside the blue line. The Glacier Kings pulled their goalie again and looked to have a sure goal when Alexander fed a terrific cross-ice pass to Rolan Amin who had a wide open net and shot it in between the goaltender and the front of the net.

You can see him on the right side of the picture put both hands up to his head in disbelief. The Cougars would ice the game when Tyler Delli-Carri scored an empty net goal.

What a tough way for the game to end as it looked like Comox tied it up on 2 separate occasions. Shots ended were 14-4 for Victoria in the final 20 minutes.

The loss drops the Glacier Kings record to 18-15-4-1, still in 3rd place, 8 points behind Nanaimo and 2 points ahead of Campbell River. The Cougars improve to 25-8-3-0, also in 3rd place, just 1 point behind Westshore. Comox next travels to Oceanside to take on the first place Generals. Victoria is off until Sunday when they host Kerry Park.

Other Observations:

  • The Cougars first goal was unfortunate because while shorthanded, GKings d-man Gavin Mowat broke his stick. Quinten Harvie tried to hand him his twig during play but missed so it was basically 5 against 3.5 players. Mowat was without a stick in the defensive zone for 32 seconds which was when the goal was scored.
  • Joseph Malichar’s goal extended his goal streak to 6 consecutive games with at least 1 goal (has 9G, 5A in those 6 games).
  • Melichar has a 13 point lead in the scoring race and has actually played in 2 less games than the players tied for 2nd.
  • First start in net for Lane Maarhuis for Comox after being acquired from Victoria just a couple days prior and he was outstanding.
  • It was also goaltender Finn Wilson’s first appearance for the Cougars since coming from the Greater Ontario Hockey League and he registered a shutout.
  • This is the second time this season the Glacier Kings have been shutout. (Sep. 12-25 @Saanich)
  • The Cougars are now a perfect 4-0 in January.
  • Good flow in the first period which saw 7:23 of action without a whistle (8:32 to 1:09).
  • Westin Churchill remains 2nd on his club’s scoring (24 points) despite being pointless in 5 straight games. (Ethan Gobel has more but is currently with the Powell River Kings).
  • Nice to see Carter Crabb back in the lineup for Victoria. He hasn’t played all season waiting on surgery but decided he wanted to get back to playing hockey while waiting on a date.
  • Kudos to Brandon Taylor for sticking up for his teammate after getting hurt. The hometown kid is played just his 15th game for Comox after coming over from Nanaimo.
  • Very unselfish play by Grady Slugget on the 2-man breakaway to pass to Delli-Carri to let him score the empty net goal.
  • Leon Mikhalchuk had his 3-game point streak and 2-game goal streak broken.
  • Cougars forward Ben Wetterberg left for the dressing room with about 4 minutes left in the 2nd period and did not return. I went back to look at his last shift but didn’t see anything that would indicate an injury. He spent the 3rd period with his uniform on at the end of the arena.
  • Victoria’s Jordan Ramsay had his 3-game point streak snapped (4G, 4A)
  • These 2 squads have 2 games left against each other. (Jan. 31 & Feb. 14 both in Courtenay).

That’s it for today. Have a good day everyone!

Darryl Skender