Tag Archives: Curtis Toneff

Wolves Down Glacier Kings

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I apologize for this being late but I got called into work for a very long day and was unable to get to create the post. It’s not going to be a very good one as the game was a stinker. The Westshore Wolves started strong and coasted to a 5-1 victory over the Comox Valley Glacier Kings on Saturday proving they are the top team in the VIJHL.

Just 2:36 into the game, Rowan Brodie-Rafuse took a wrist shot from the blue line that snuck between the arm and waist of goaltender Timothee Fengos. One that I’m sure that Fengos would like to have back. Then 2:14 later, Kansys Seney gave a nifty pass behind the Comox net to Jasper Fellbaum who one-timed a backhand pass into the slot to Parker Atkinson and he made no mistake putting the puck up high to make it 2-0 before the game was 5 minutes old. The Glacier Kings did play better as the period wound down and it finally paid off. Landon Morris lost an offensive zone faceoff but Kaden Ryan had his clearing attempt blocked by Cohen Kallin who took the puck to the faceoff circle and ripped a wrist shot past Ander Reyes with 1:16 left on the clock. That’s how the period ended, shots were 25-10 in favor of Westshore.

Best chance of the second period came for Zaya Morro when he had a shorthanded breakaway from center ice but was stoned by Reyes. Westshore scored the only goal of the middle frame. On the power play, the Wolves won the draw and the GKings would never touch the puck until it was in the back of their net after a goal by Kansys Seney. For a second period in a row, both goalies were outstanding. Shots were 15-13 for the the Wolves.

In the third, Jasper Fellbaum scored on a rebound to make it 4-1 and an empty net marker by Owen Hentschel rounded out the scoring on a frustrating night for Comox. It was redemption for Westshore after losing 7-1 in Peninsula one night earlier. Shots on goal favored the Wolves by a count of 14-8.

Westshore continues to be the top team in the VIJHL with a record of 8-2-1, three points ahead of the Panthers in the South Division. They host Kerry Park on Wednesday. As for the Glacier Kings, their record drops to 3-5-2 and remain tied for last place in the North Division with Oceanside. They will be off until Thursday when they travel south to Victoria.

Other Observations

  • Despite giving up 4 goals, Timothee Fengos was superb.
  • The 54 shots Comox gave up were the most they’ve allowed all season.
  • After going scoreless in his first 8 games, Cohen Kallin has scored in 2 straight and has a 3 game point streak.
  • It’s been frustrating for so many years seeing how easily the net comes off at the Sports Centre. Especially the one to the broadcasters left. It seemed like 10 times in the 1st period alone.
  • Parker Atkinson’s goal and 2 assists has him sitting in 2nd place in the VIJHL scoring race (9G, 17A).
  • The score sheet is very inaccurate for anyone looking at it. The goals and penalties are reversed with time left instead of time that has expired in the period, Cohen Kallin’s goal was at 18:54 not 10:10, Christophe Giguere’s penalty was in the 2nd period not the 1st etc.
  • Kansys Seney’s PP goal took just 11 seconds to score after the faceoff.
  • To start the month of October, the GKings have only scored a total of 2 goals in 2 games and have scored the 2nd fewest goals in the VIJHL.
  • Maybe it’s just me but I wish the broadcasters (who are very good at play by play), would not cutout sound when the national anthem starts. I’ve heard the broadcasts cutout for both heavy metal music before and yesterday was just silence despite there being a live singer. The national anthem should be heard (even if it’s quiet), it’s a part of hockey and a part of our national pride. What I use to do is turn up both microphones on the headsets to full and hang them outside the open window and ensure everyone in the booth stayed quiet.

As I mentioned to start the post, I was in a negative mood after being called into work and then watching the hockey game so I apologize for the negativity. I’ll get head coach/GM Curtis Toneff’s thoughts on the game next week. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday everyone.

Darryl Skender

Chance To Climb In The Standings

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It might be a little early to call this weekend’s games “big games” but when you look at the standings, a case could be made. If things go right today and tomorrow, Comox could find themselves moving up in ranks. They currently sit in 5th place in the North Division, just one point behind Campbell River who they play tonight. A win this evening will put them in a tie for 3rd place as they would jump over the Storm and be tied with the Port Alberni Bombers who are idle. That’s because the Bombers lost two nights ago in Westshore. The problem for the Glacier Kings is that they have already lost to Campbell River twice this season and that they play the top team in the South Division tomorrow night (Westshore).

Head to head this season against the Storm, the Yeti lost 3-2 in overtime on September 13th and then dropped a 4-2 decision last Friday. The good news is the GKings are on a bit of a roll right now having won 2 in a row and 3 of their last 4. I asked head coach/GM Curtis Toneff if he thinks his club has turned the corner, “We hope so. To be completely honest with you, we asked for a completely boring 60 minutes last Sunday and we ended up scoring 4 goals against the best team in the league so they say. It’s a good sign for the league as well I think with the parity in it. Back to us I thought we played simple for the most part, played pretty steady in our end, had good sticks, had good box outs and it helped us.”

This squad is playing so much better right now than they did at the start of the season. Remember they lost their first 4 games of the year (one in OT). I asked Toneff about what has changed since the beginning of the campaign. He says it’s been the addition of key personnel, “To be honest I don’t think there is one. We came together late. After out first regular season game, it was still kind of like an exhibition game. We picked up 7 guys after that game, 5 of which I kind of knew were coming back at some point. We’ve picked up a couple more since. I think it’s just us just starting to gel, starting to understand how we want to play, how we think we have to play to win. It may not always be the flashiest game. By some of our verbiage on the bench, I can hear what the players are saying. There’s some contagiousness there. They understand how we have to play to have success.” 

Campbell River has always been a thorn in the Glacier Kings side and it has been a great rivalry for many years. It should only intensify as this is the third meeting already in just 20 days. They also played them 3 times in 5 days during exhibition. Curtis talked about why Comox has had trouble with getting points against the Storm so far, “I couldn’t tell you. They’ve all been kinda close games. I’ve thought that we have played fine against them, we just haven’t got the results against them. At some point, we’ll have to take a few points. Since I’ve been here (Luc) Gravel has had our team’s number. He’s from Comox and he gets up for theses games so we need to find a way to get in his kitchen a little bit more.” Gravel has been really good this season and has the stats to show it. He has accumulated a 3-1 record with an impressive 2.35 GAA and a .922 save percentage. The 19 year old has also come into 2 other games in relief of Matteo Scotto Di Pompeo.

The Glacier Kings head into tonight’s contest having outscored their opponents 16-11 in their last 4 contests and sport a 3-4-1 record while Campbell River has only given up 3 goals total in their last 2 matches and carry a 4-4-0 record. Game time tonight is 7:30 at the Rod Brind’Amour Arena. I’ll have Comox Valley’s official roster posted up on the “Gameday Lineups” page of my blog later today. Enjoy the game everybody!

Darryl Skender

Zaya Morro Off To Great Start

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Zaya Morro has looked good this season and that really isn’t a surprise to anyone. He is entering his third full season in the VIJHL and first full campaign with the Glacier Kings after coming over from the Oceanside Generals part way through last season. It seems like a better fit for Comox than Oceanside. Yes he played in Nanaimo for the North Island Silvertips during his Midget tenure but he is a local Comox Valley kid. In fact he played a couple exhibition games for the GKings in 2022 but ended up going back to the Silvertips as a 16 year old in the U18 league. Also, last season Morro went pointless in 10 games with the Generals but scored a goal in just his second game with the Yeti and ended up with 13 points with his hometown club. By all accounts he is well-liked by his teammates and was just named an assistant captain less than a week ago.

It hasn’t always been all roses for Zaya however. In a well documented case, he was racially discriminated against by an opposing player on the ice. He was just 16 years old at the time. Chirping has always been a part of the game but I have ZERO tolerance for racial slurs. The slurs have even come from parents in the stands. I applaud him and his family for not backing down and hiding from the issue. They went public to educate people that this was still a part of modern day hockey. A big “stick tap” to the Morro’s.

Getting back to his excellent start, the 19 year old forward leads Comox in goals (4) and points (9) in just 8 games. He’s also second on the squad in assists (5). Those are pretty good stats for someone playing on a sub .500 team that is having trouble scoring goals. To put in perspective, he’s scored or assisted on almost 40% of the team’s goals this season. Because Morro has intrigued me so far, I asked Curtis Toneff about what kind of kid he is. The coach said, “He’s a very thoughtful person, he doesn’t react, he thinks before he speaks and does things. I have even learned from him over the past year. I can get heated and intense. He stays pretty level. Sometimes there’s pros and cons to that. For Zaya, it’s mostly a positive thing. I think guys look up to him. His effort and conditioning speaks for itself.”

Morro is currently in the Top 15 in VIJHL scoring. Not bad considering he still has another year of junior eligibility left. By all accounts, he’s a great player on the ice but even a better person off the ice.

Darryl Skender