Tag Archives: Haden Parker

Storm Beat Comox In OT Again

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The Campbell River Storm have had the Glacier Kings number this year. They started out strong on Friday and came away with a 2-1 overtime win in what was probably the most entertaining games you’ll see this year. Both goaltenders stole the show as they stopped chance after chance. This was the second time in three meeting that the Storm have won in the extra stanza.

The first period was dominated by Campbell River which was helped out by two power plays. A couple of the highlights for me in that opening frame was when Zaya Morro made a terrific defensive play while shorthanded in the slot to thwart a scoring a chance by Jack Smith. Later,  a bouncing puck went by a Comox defenceman and came right to Colby Driebergen behind everyone where he slid it over to a wide open Tom Marguet but a wonderful save was made by Anthony Ganoung. The game was scoreless after the first. Shots were 20-8 in favor of the Storm.

The Yeti came out much stronger start in the second period with some scoring chances. They would finally get on the scoresheet first with a shorthanded goal. It started with a blocked shot from the Comox line which gave the Glacier Kings a 2 on 1 from inside their own zone. Cohen Kallin carried it all the way down the ice, used Zaya Morro as a decoy, and fired it past Luc Gravel on the blocker side. Comox almost scored 2 more times on that same Storm power play but Gravel was good. An incident in the second happened when Declan Johannesen was hit from behind and shaken up by Bryson Walsh. Because the referee didn’t call a penalty, Leon Mikhalchuk took matters into his own hands and may have fought the wrong man as he took on big Aryx Siefker (who was right in the vicinity of the hit from behind by Walsh). It was a one-sided fight that was won by Siefker. The home team would tie the game a little later on when Holden Smith won a puck battle behind the net and centered it out front to Ryder Tanner who scored up high on Anthony Ganoung. Both goaltenders, especially Ganoung, were outstanding in that middle frame which saw Comox  outshoot Campbell River 21-14.

Early in the third period, there was more rough stuff and it involved Bryson Walsh again when he gave a huge hit to the smaller Kingston Gowans. The Glacier Kings defenceman laid on the ice for a short while before slowly going off the ice. That didn’t go unnoticed. Right after the puck drop following the mandatory timeout, Haden Parker challenged Walsh to a fight in which Parker won decisively.

Despite many chances, there wouldn’t be any scoring in the third period where Comox outshot Campbell River 11-10.

In overtime, Leon Mikhalchuk had a chance to end it when he found himself wide open in front but was stoned by Gravel. Campbell River would eventually end the game on a horrible line by the glacier Kings. That line change gave the Storm a 2 on 1 all the way down the ice where Jack Smith would eventually beat Ganoung to win it and finish a very exciting game.

The loss drops Yeti’s record to 3-4-2 which ties them for last place in the North Division with Oceanside who won on Friday. Next up for Comox is the VIJHL’s best team… the Westshore Wolves. The 2 teams will square off tonight at the Sports Centre. Puck drop is at 6:30. Campbell River (5-4-0) plays in Oceanside tonight.

Other Observations

  • Comox Valley was shorthanded more times in the 1st period than they were in their entire last game.
  • It sounds like a broken record but the Storm won the majority of faceoffs again.
  • The Glacier Kings consecutive games streak with at least 1  PP goal ended at 5 games.
  • It was nice to see Storm defenceman Lucas Beaudoin play in the game after taking a puck to the face in his last game.
  • Zaya Morro extended his point streak to 5 games (3G, 5A).
  • Made me chuckle when I heard the Campbell River broadcaster mention a dental company that was the sponsor for high sticking penalties.
  • The GKings had a 5 on 3 PP for 1:18 in the 2nd period but failed to score.
  • Comox Valley’s shorthanded goal was their first of the season.
  • This was definitely the most physical game of the year that I’ve seen. These 2 teams really don’t like each other.
  • The Storm haven’t scored a PP goal against the Yeti in any of the 3 meetings (0 for 10 overall).
  • Comox Valley native Luc Gravel is now 3-0-0 against his hometown club and 4-1-0 overall for Campbell River.
  • After going pointless in 6 consecutive games, Cohen Kallin now has points in his last 2 contests.
  • Jack Smith’s OT winner gives him 3 goals in his last 5 games.
  • The Glacier Kings now have points in 3 straight games while the Storm have won 3 in a row.

Darryl Skender

Glacier Kings Announce Leadership Group

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For the first few weeks of the season, the Comox Valley Glacier Kings did not have a captain and played with only one assistant captain. Before the season started head coach/GM Curtis Toneff said he was going to take his time and make sure his decision was the right decision. He wanted to see how things played out. The leaders will rise to the top in the dressing room and on the ice. It was also a chance to gauge the maturity levels of the possible candidates. The decision was made after the Campbell River game last weekend and now the club has a full compliment of “C’s” and “A’s”.

Curtis told me a month ago that in past years he would get excited in the offseason to name the players receiving letters right away. He also said that he has matured as a coach and patience to make the correct decision was paramount. I asked him yesterday about the process in making the decisions, “There was a lot of observing. Just over a week ago, Monday I think, we took a vote (the players). The votes didn’t necessarily fix the letters, I just wanted to see for myself. There wasn’t really one guy running away with one C or A. So it’s kind of interesting to take a look at it. Brad (Smith), myself and Jackson (Garrett) discussed it, even got Marsha’s (Webb) opinion as well. She’s been around and has owned the team a long time. The Webb’s have owned this team a long time for a reason. I took their opinions into consideration but at the end of the day it was my call.” First of all I want to say sorry Marsha. I know from past years that she hates when I mention her name in my blogs lol. I only do it because I love you. So who did the coach end up deciding on? Here’s what he had to say…

Kyle Mayenburg (C)
“We think he has a great presence, his effort, his attitude and to be honest, even his posture kind of speaks for itself. The kind of guy that has a firm handshake, looks at you straight in the eye, doesn’t say too much but also doesn’t say too little. He works hard everyday.”
Zaya Morro (A)
“Zaya Morrow is the kind of guy that calms us all down., maybe including myself. In sudden moments, he is a very good communicator with the refs. He plays hard every night.”
Isaac Dunsire (A)
“I challenged the team the other night to play for the logo and not themselves. Dunsire, to me, is a guy that cares more about the team than himself through and through. He very badly wants to win every night, works hard everyday and is a good person.”
Haden Parker (A)
“Haden Parker got some ‘C’ votes. It’s been really cool to watch him progress over the last year since I’ve been here. Seems like he’s really been enjoying playing the game. He’s been a bit of a rock back there (on defence) in my opinion for us. He’s got a great stick , hard to get around, he’s upped his ‘compete level’ from the end of last year.”

Just because certain players were not chosen for a letter doesn’t mean they aren’t leaders in their own right. Every player and goaltender has to hold themself accountable for their play on the ice as well as how they carry themselves off the ice including in the dressing room and in public. Toneff did say other players deserved some recognition as well, “Some other guys round out the leadership group, they might not wear an ‘A’ but Landen May, Cohen Kallin and Tegan Clayton will all be part of it as well.” The selections seem solid but that certainly doesn’t diminish anyone’s role on the team that weren’t chosen.

That’s it for this post. Stay tuned as my next post is going to include a lot of team stats as well as the coaches opinion on newly named assistant captain Zaya Morro who is off to a terrific start on a team that struggles to score goals. Have a good Wednesday.

Darryl Skender

Comox Puts In 60 Minute Effort In Win

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The Comox Valley Glacier Kings have certainly looked like two different teams so far this season. It’s not surprising considering how early it is. Teams are still looking for chemistry and still trying to find their identity. Last night the Glacier Kings looked good throughout and came out with a 5-3 victory over the Nanaimo Buccaneers. That’s the second time these 2 teams have met with each side winning by 2 goals. The Bucs came into the game tied for first place in the North Division. 

Nanaimo started the scoring on a second consecutive power play. Haden Parker took a boarding penalty which Comox killed off. But after the penalty was over Parker was still on the ice and got into a scrum in front of the opposition net. He ended up taking a roughing penalty for giving Ethan Nordli a face wash. It took 17 seconds for Madden Cruickshank to make them pay on a rebound off the pad of goaltender Anthony Ganoung. The GKings tied it up right after the mandatory timeout. Ethan Gobel took a shot from the left dot that was stopped by Aaron Pichette but the rebound went to Declan Johanneson who made no mistake. The boys in white would score again a few minutes later with a lucky bounce. Zaya Morro stole the puck inside the Nanaimo blue line and and attempted a backhand pass into the slot. The puck ricocheted off Davis Young’s skate and into his own net. The period would end 2-1.

In the second period, Isaac Dunsire had a terrific shift chasing down pucks, forechecking and getting to the dirty area to score his team’s 3rd goal from a crowded slot. The middle stanza would end with Zaya Morro’s second of the game after he was in the right place at the right time burying a rebound off the stick of a Kyle Mayenburg shot from the point.

The Bucs weren’t finished yet however. They got goals by Ethan Nordli and Koen Gauthier to make it a one goal game. Morro would complete his hat trick with an empty net goal just before the buzzer sounded to make it a 5-3 game. Final shots were 45-36 in favor of the Yeti.

With the Buccaneers loss and the Lake Cowichan win on Saturday, Nanaimo has dropped into second place in the North at 4-2-0. Their next game is next Thursday at home to Saanich. Comox remains in the basement but they do improve to 2-4-1 for the season, just 1 point behind both Oceanside and Campbell River. They play again Sunday in Peninsula. The Panthers are a perfect 6-0-0 this season.

Other Observations

  • The Glacier Kings now have points in 3 of their last 5 games.
  • Their PP goal in the 2nd period makes it 4 consecutive games with at least 1 goal with the man advantage.
  • This game marked the 4th time already this season that Comox has had 40+ shots on net.
  • Zaya Morro showed patience on his hat trick goal as he knew time was running down. Instead of shooting the puck from his own blue line, he skated down the ice and shot inside the Bucs line as the buzzer sounded.
  • Speaking of Morro, he has a 3 game point streak  (3G, 3A)
  • The Bucs Madden Cruickshank is off to a great start having points in 5 of his team’s 6 games (10 points).
  • This was just the 2nd time this year Comox has lead after 2 periods. They are 2-0 in those games.
  • Goaltender Aaron Pichette has played in both of Nanaimo’s games against his former team. He is 1-1 against Comox Valley.
  • The Glacier Kings only have 18 hours from the ending of this game to the start of Sunday’s afternoon match.

Darryl Skender