Tag Archives: Holden Smith

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

Storm Down Glacier Kings Again

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The Comox Valley Glacier Kings lost for the fifth time in six games this season as they dropped a 4-2 decision to the Campbell River Storm. This is the second time this season that the Yeti have lost to the Storm. The first time was back on September 13th which ended in a 3-2 overtime score at the Sports Centre. The loss drops Comox Valley’s record to 1-4-1 on the season while Campbell River improves to 3-4-0.

It was a very uninspiring first period for Comox who had very few chances as the play on both sides would be sloppy. There were no goals and the Storm outshot the Yeti 16-7.

The GKings would open the scoring in the second period on the power play. Cameron Collins skated down the left side and gave a drop pass to Maxim Lefebvre who blasted a shot from the top of the circle but goaltender Luc Gravel made a nice pad save. Unfortunately for Gravel, the rebound came right back to Lefebvre who snuck a quick backhand feed to Collins at the side of the net where it would be an easy tap in. Immediately after the mandatory timeout midway through the frame, the Storm won the faceoff in their own zone and would score without the Yeti ever touching the puck. Noah Spencer skated behind the net, came out the other side and took a quick turn-around shot from a bad angle that beat Timothee Fengos short side to knot things at one. Just over 3 minutes later, the Storm would score another goal after a faceoff win. It took about 10 seconds when Ryder Tanner scored from a terrible angle at the side boards and it was 2-1. In the dying seconds of the middle stanza, Comox would turn the puck over in the center ice area and Holden Smith took over carrying it in over the blue line, then skated behind the net and passed back to the top of the right circle where Lucas Beaudoin wristed it past Fengos and it was 3-1 after 2 periods. Shots on goal after at that point were 32-19 for the home side.

As they’ve done for the most part this season, the Glacier Kings played better in the third period but it was the Storm that would score a 4th consecutive goal. On the 4 on 4 situation, Nicholas Condon broke in over the blue line, toe-dragged around Leon Mikhalchuk and beat Fengos blocker side. The GKings would make the score more respectable late when Aryx Siefker hammered Maxim Lefebvre into the boards to give Comox a power play. Kyle Mayenburg took a pass from Declan Johannesen and beat Gravel through the legs. That’s how the game ended. Shots were 17-9 in favor of the road team in that period.

Just as a side note: There was a scrum in front of the Comox Valley net about 5 minutes into the 3rd period after Fengos made a save. I’ve replayed it about 15 times to try and figure out what happened. It looked like Haden Parker crossed checked a Storm player down to the ice which I thought would be the extra penalty. As 8 players started wrestling, it appeared that Landen May sucker punched Campbell River’s Lucas Beaudoin in the face which made me think an extra penalty again. Now all 10 players were in the melee and a fight broke out between May and Noah Spencer. Lots of punches were thrown. May threw his helmet off on the way to the penalty box and Spencer raised his arms up trying to get the fans going. Somehow, the referees decided 2 minutes for everyone except the Storm’s Jack Smith who got an extra 2 minutes and it would be the Glacier Kings with a power play. I’m still scratching my head on that one.

Campbell River now has a day before they go back into action Sunday when they will be at home against Lake Cowichan for an afternoon affair. Comox is right back at it tonight when they host the Nanaimo Buccaneers. The Bucs won the season opener between these two clubs by a score of 4-2. Game time is 6:30pm at the Sports Centre.

Other Observations

  • Comox has now scored a PP goal in 3 consecutive games. They have a total of 6 in those 3 contests.
  • After the Glacier Kings made it 1-0 and maybe a chance to gain some momentum, they took a penalty just 32 seconds later. (I admit it was a very weak interference call by the referee.)
  • Campbell River’s 3rd goal was tough to swallow as they scored with just 1 second left in the 2nd period because of a defensive breakdown.
  • Once again, the Storm won the majority of the faceoffs
  • At one point in the 3rd period, there were 10 players in the penalty box (5 from each side).
  • Cameron Collins now has at least a point in all 3 games that he’s played in (1G, 3A)
  • Storm forward Noah Spencer was an assist shy of a Gordie Howe hat trick. He was just missing the assist. (He wasn’t credited with a fight on the game sheet but it was definitely a scrap with lots of punches.)
  • After recording at least a point in each of his first 4 games, Dylan Toth has been held pointless in 2 straight.
  • The 41 shots the Yeti gave up was the most all season. Their previous high was 37, also against the Storm.
  • Comox continues to struggle in 1st period. They’ve scored just 3 goals in 6 games in the first period.
  • A nice crowd of 711 fans were on hand. That’s Campbell River’s second highest total of the year. They had 818 in their home opener against Oceanside.
  • The Storm are 2-0-0 against Comox and 1-4-0 against the rest of the league.

Darryl Skender

Glacier Kings Earn First Point

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It was another shaky beginning for the Comox Valley Glacier Kings but they battled back and earned a point in their 3-2 OT loss to the Campbell River Storm on Saturday. It was giveaways that killed Comox Valley in the opening frame. It started when Storm forward Armaan Punn stole the puck from Haden Parker and backhanded the puck in front of the net. The puck would glance off Kingston Gowans’ skate and into his own net just 3:12 into the home opener.

Just 1:07 later, another defensive zone turnover would prove costly. Glacier Kings defenceman Maxim Lefebvre got the puck stuck in between his skates in his own slot and Campbell River’s Dylan Toth dug it out and fired it past Timothee Fengos and it was quickly 2-0 just 4:19 into the first period.

Comox wasn’t about to fold the tent however. Westin Churchill would win an offensive zone draw. Joel Schmidt won the puck battle at the side boards and got it back to Thomas Scobie-Gyug who walked into the faceoff dot and beat goaltender Luc Gravel to the far side with a wrist shot. That made it 2-1.

The Storm had a terrific chance to go back up by 2 goals when Elliott Turgeon was sent in on a breakaway but was stoned by Fengos who squeezed his pads just in time.

The second period may not have had any scoring but it was exciting from a fan’s perspective. Both teams had scoring opportunities but Campbell River had more of the Grade ‘A’ chances but Fengos stood tall stopping everything that came his way in that middle stanza.

That set up an exciting 3rd period. The Yeti would tie the game when Westin Churchill received a pass from Landen May at centre ice and raced down the right side, took the defenceman with him and backhanded the puck in front of the net to Zaya Morro. He was slashed by Emmanuel Grenier to cause a delayed penalty. However, the loose puck slid to the side of the net and Churchill poked it home to make it 2-2.

There were so many chances in the 3rd period with Comox getting the better of the opportunities but both goalies were fantastic. And yes, it was fitting that the contest would go to OT. The Storm owned the puck for most of the extra period and won the game when Thomas Curri circled at his own blue line skated all the way down the left wing and beat Fengos from a bad angle.

On the bright side, Comox Valley picked up their first point of the season. They showed a lot of heart after being down early once again. This is the kind of effort that could turn things around. They have shown to be a good 3rd period team, now they need to learn how to get off to a better start. We’ll see if they can come out of the dressing room stronger on Friday for a home date against the Oceanside Generals. Have a great day everyone.

Other Observations

  • Unfortunately the audio didn’t work on FloHockey so I had to do play by play in my head.
  • This is the GKings 3rd straight home opener against Campbell River. The Storm are now 3-0.
  • I really believe Campbell River won 80% of the faceoffs. It was mind-numbing.
  • With just under 6 minutes left in the 3rd period, Holden Smith tripped Maxim Lefebvre as he took a pass and was behind the defenceman in front of the net. The referees got together to discuss if it was a tripping penalty or a penalty shot.  Unfortunately they chose to go with a 2 minute minor.
  • Comox forward Leon Mikhalchuk had an unreal dangle around a defenceman and then the goalie only to backhand it wide.
  • The Glacier Kings played without a captain again. It is unknown when Curtis Toneff will be naming one.
  • The 3rd period Saturday was the first time Comox has outscored an opponent in any period this season.
  • Next Friday’s home game will be the first of only 4 home games the Glacier Kings will play on a Friday this season.
  • It is nice to see Dave Dueck back for another season as the public address announcer. Not only is he great on the P.A., he is even a better person.

That’s it for today. Have a great rest of your weekend!

Darryl Skender