Tag Archives: Curtis Toneff

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

Bombers – Glacier Kings Preview

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The Comox Valley Glacier Kings are looking to break their 3 game losing streak tonight when they play host to the Port Alberni Bombers. Comox had yesterday off after losing in Victoria the night before. Meanwhile Port Alberni lost 6-0 last night to Peninsula in a game where the Panthers outshot them 22-2 in the third period. The standings are crazy in the North Division this year. The Glacier Kings are in 6th place but a win can put them into a tie for 3rd place and only 1 point behind the 2nd place team.

Getting back to tonight’s game, Comox will try to take advantage of home ice, something they haven’t really done much of this year. They have won just 1 of 4 games at the Sports Centre this year. The Bombers haven’t been much better on the road with a 2-4-1 record. After tonight, Port Alberni will have played 8 of their 13 games away from the Multiplex.

One thing that the GKings have struggled on lately is scoring, especially on the power play.  After having a streak of 5 straight game with at least 1 PP goal, they haven’t scored one in their past 3. I asked head coach/GM Curtis Toneff about the struggles, “Ya, a couple guys efforts, execution isn’t what it needs to be. Sometimes I wear a lot of hats so I’m focusing on it a little more this week. I told the guys about 3 weeks ago that their 5 on 5 play will play a factor in their power play situations. And if they’re on the power play already, their work ethic on the power play would decide if they stay on the power play or not. A couple guys have found themselves on the power play and a couple guys found themselves in the stands. That’s the reality of it in junior hockey.” They are currently 0/13 with the man advantage in October.

As much as the power play is struggling, it’s just the opposite with their penalty kill. In the last 4 games, they’ve held the opponents off the score sheet in 11 of their last 12 shorthanded situations. Toneff talked about his club’s PK, “I think that guys that have been around the team and around my style of effort. A lot of our veterans kill. We don’t beat it up a ton to be honest. We have our values and the guys stick to them and have done a great job in executing that so far.” The Glacier Kings are killing penalties at an 85% clip. The Yeti have actually done a pretty good job staying out of the box as there are only 3 teams with less total penalties minutes this season.

The goaltending duo of Timothee Fengos and Anthony Ganoung has been pretty good so far. One knock on Fengos so far is that he has made some terrific saves and has played well but it seems he lets one goal a game in that he should have maybe stopped. I asked Curtis about that,” Fengos is 17 which reminds me of Luca Vanzo last year, he stole the net down the stretch. I bet you in September and October that there were a few goals that he would like back. He ended up taking the net in the playoffs. I think as long as you work through the problems, as long as you’re making big saves, I’d rather give up those goals unfortunately now than down the stretch. I think Timmy is a very good goalie, he’s very sound east to west, moves well and I think has a lot of potential. I’d rather him just work through whatever that issue is, maybe a confidence thing, don’t get all up tight about it. I think the rest of it is there. He knows that he has to clean that 1 goal up every night. He’ll get another crack at it soon enough. In practice with some of the things he’s done, we have a good thing going there as a whole.” Fengos has put up a 0-3-1 record with a 3.77 GAA and a .909 save percentage so far this year.

As for Anthony Ganoung, he has played a couple more games than Fengos. Ganoung has also been very good and is the only goaltender with back to back starts for Comox this season. I asked the coach if Ganoung is considered the go-to guy yet, “Well, they’re so different (Ganoung and Fengos). I would say at this present moment, absolutely, you gotta go with the guy that’s won the games. He’s got the hot hand. With Anthony, it’s a different look in there. Timothee is more of a focused type guy, a little bit quieter in his gameday like a lot of goalies. Then Anthony brings that kind of swagger to our team it seems. It’s not like you get the same thing in there which is nice. As a coach, you have to read who the best fit is. And on top of that, Silas (Dromarsky) has gotten better every day too so he’ll get opportunities shortly to build his stat sheet. It’s positive that I got three guys I like right now. Hopefully our guys play hard in front of them.” After Thursday’s loss, Ganoung now sports a 2-3-1 record and a 2.83 GAA with a .922 save percentage.

The Glacier Kings enter tonight at 3-6-2 while Port Alberni sports a 5-6-1 record. A win by the home team would pull them within one point of the second place Bombers and still have a game in hand on them. The two squads are challenged offensively averaging less than 3 goals per game each. Both sides only have one player among the top 20 scorers in the VIJHL. Bomber forward Kash Nicklin is tied for 16th with 12 points in 10 games. Zaya Morrow for the GKings is tied for 18th with 11 points in 11 games.

Curtis Toneff has announced that Timothee Fengos will be the starter in net for Comox. Puck drop is 6:30 pm at the CVSC. Enjoy the game everyone.

Darryl Skender

Comox Valley – Victoria Preview

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The Comox Valley Glacier Kings are coming off disappointing results last weekend accumulating just one out of a possible four points. To be fair they were missing 3 key players due to injuries and a suspension. However it was still a let down after their previous weekend against two of the top teams in the league. The consistency is still a work in progress. Head coach/GM Curtis Toneff said his club didn’t come out of the gates as quickly as he would have liked last Friday and Saturday, “It was kind of the opposite from the weekend before, like our starts. I thought we got better in both games as the they dragged on. It just shows our team that we have to be ready for every shift. We have to be prepared when that puck drops, be ready to compete because we aren’t a team that can throw on a jersey and have success, and there are a couple teams in this league that can do that. We aren’t one of them.” The better starts are key as they aren’t a great ‘come from behind team.’ Their record when trailing after 2 periods is 1-4-1.

But this is a new game tonight. One of the issues for Comox will not just be a better start but they also need to start scoring more goals. It seems to me like they are creating a ton of scoring opportunities but not putting the puck in the back of the net. I asked Toneff about that, “You know what, as for scoring chances, I’m happy, the execution, maybe not so much. I don’t know if we’ll ever be a team that’s going to blow the brakes off another team but the fact that we’re getting the chances is a good sign. We just gotta bear down and put it in the net. Sometimes maybe that’s another pass across the crease or just get a stronger bottom hand on the stick, maybe a little bit of practice habits. There are highs and lows during the season. The weekend before we had no problems scoring goals so hopefully we can get back to that.” To put in perspective, the Glacier Kings are ranked 10th in scoring out of the 11 teams. On the opposite side, the Cougars lead the lead in goals per game averaging an impressive 5.7 tallies per contest.

It was a short practice week this week as the Glacier Kings are in action tonight. Special teams has been part of the focus. I asked Curtis what else they have been working on, “A lot of passing, a little bit of system play, breaking out the puck and a little bit of ‘compete’ as well. As you know, I used to coach the Bucs, they played Thursdays. I love it personally. Four days in a row of practice can get a little bit long. I love how these mid-week games break up the league to be honest with you. And then a day off tomorrow and back it Saturday.” The task that he is talking about on Saturday isn’t a whole lot easier as they will host the Port Alberni Bombers for the first time this season.

The Victoria Cougars are a perfect 2-0 to start October and have won 3 in a row heading into tonight. In their 8 games in September, their results didn’t have any winning or losing streaks… L-W-L-W-L-W-L-W. With that being said, the Yeti have lost both games in October after winning 3 of their last 4 games in September. I asked the GKings bench boss what to expect tonight and what his squad needs to do to be successful, “With any Mike Vandekamp coached team you’re going to get effort, physicality and tough hockey. I feel that we built a roster that should be able to play up to that. Just your classic, simple road hockey game, kind of back to how we were playing Peninsula. That ‘feeling good about yourself’ after every shift in the first ten minutes and just go from there.” The good news is that all 3 players that missed the last game in Westshore should be back in the lineup tonight which includes Haden Parker who was suspended for one game for his 5-minute boarding major against Campbell River.

Comox comes into tonight with a 3-5-2 record which is tied for last place in the North Division with Oceanside who plays in Saanich tomorrow. Meanwhile, the Cougars are 6-3-1 and comfortably sitting in third place in the South. One player I’m looking forward to seeing tonight is Joseph Melichar. The 20 year old is lighting it up this season. He is currently second in the league scoring. The 6’0″ 186 pound forward from the Czech Republic has amassed 11G, 15A in just 10 games. He should be fun to watch. Anthony Ganoung has been named as the GKings starter in between the pipes and deservedly so with the way he has been playing. He is 4th in the VIJHL in save percentage (.924) and 2nd among goaltenders who have played more than 3 games. Puck drop is at 7:00 pm at the Archie Browning Arena. Comox Valley’s official line up for tonight will be posted on the “Gameday Lineups” page of this blog in a few minutes.

Darryl Skender