Tag Archives: Isaac Dunsire

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

Glacier Kings Drop Opener

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The Nanaimo Buccaneers got their 2025/26 season off to a good start as they downed the Comox Valley Glacier Kings 4-2 on Saturday. The game was scoreless over halfway through the second period when Madden Cruickshank opened the the scoring for Nanaimo on the power play. It started with Jack Barrett feeding Ethan Nordli on a cross-ice pass at the blue line. Nordli quickly gave it to Cruickshank at the face dot who ripped a wrist shot up high, short side to make it 1-0. The Glacier Kings would counter just 2:48 later when Joel Schmidt sent a rink wide pass through the neutral zone to Cohen Kallin who carried the puck over the blue line and took a wrist shot from the top of the left circle. Goaltender Aaron Pichette made a stick save but the puck would ricochet up in the air and Maxim Lefebvre knocked it out of the air and into the net. The goal was credited to Kallin unassisted but it was Lefebvre at the right side of the net who scored. The Bucs would then score 3 consecutive times, two late in the second and again in the third before Comox would answer. Nanaimo dominated a lot of the second period outshooting the Glacier Kings 16-6. With the score 4-1 midway through the third period, and the Glacier Kings on a power play, Lucas Dionne checked Kingston Gowans up high and took a roughing penalty to give the Yeti a 5 on 3 for 1:10. Head coach Curtis Toneff took the opportunity to take a timeout and it paid off.  A beautiful Tic-Tac-Toe play would pull the GKings within 2. From the right hash, Westin Churchill passed the puck back to the point to Evan Marko who quickly got it to the side of the net to Isaac Dunsire. The Courtenay native would one-time a cross-crease pass to Zaya Moro who buried it into the open net. Marko should have been credited with a second assist but wasn’t on the official game sheet. Comox Valley would have more chances, including a couple more power play opportunities but Pichette closed the door. All in all, it was a good third frame for the Glacier Kings but they fell short.

The game was physical at times, some clean, some not so clean. Comox was 1 for 7 on the PP while Nanaimo went 2 for 4. Timothee Fengos stopped stopped 30 of pucks sent his way while Aaron Pichette blocked 21 of 23.

The Glacier Kings next action is Friday in Saanich. The Predators are coming off a 7-3 victory over the Kerry Park Islanders on Friday. Travis Swanson had a hat trick in that one. He also potted a couple of goals in pre-season. As for the Bucs, they travel to Westshore on Wednesday. The Wolves lost 7-2 to Peninsula on Friday.

Other Observations

  • This is the 3rd year in a row that the Glacier Kings have lost their season opener. Last time they won their first game was 2022-23 when they beat the Westshore Wolves 5-2 at the Q Centre.
  • The first period of last night’s game wasn’t shown on FloHockey due to technical problems.
  • Going back to pre-season action, Zaya Morro has scored in 3 straight games.
  • It was nice to see Larenzo Jensen back behind the microphone. Larenzo has also helped out with a lot of Nanaimo Clippers broadcasts in the past as well.
  • It only took the Glacier Kings 17 seconds to score on their 5 on 3.
  • The announced crowd at the NIC on Saturday was 355. That was their biggest crowd since September 6th, 2018. That was also their season opener when they beat Campbell River 3-1. The announced crowd that night was 370.
  • During the game, I was texting with Comox Valley owner Marsha Webb and former Campbell River Storm play by play broadcaster Mark Berry. One of the reasons I started a blog again was because I was missing the hockey community.
  • This was the first time since 2015 that the Glacier Kings opened their season against Nanaimo. They have started against Campbell River the majority of the times before this. In case you’re wondering, the Buccaneers won that game 4-3 in OT.

That’s it for today, have a great rest of your weekend!

Darryl Skender