Tag Archives: Joseph Melichar

Glacier Kings Lose Third Straight

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The Victoria Cougars came out of the gates fast and jumped on Comox early and skated to a 4-1 victory over the Glacier Kings. From the opening faceoff, Victoria showed a lot of speed and tenacity. The Cougars have played very well in October after a so-so September for their standards. They won just 3 of their first 7 games but now have reeled off 4 straight wins. Comox Valley ended September winning 3 of 4 but are 0-3 this month.

The Cougars got on the board early when a point shot from Quintin Bortolotto was deflected perfectly by Joseph Melichar for his 12th goal of the year.

Comox Valley would tie the game late in the opening stanza when Kingston Gowans shot the puck high off the glass in his own corner out to center where Zaya Morro tipped it ahead to put Cohen Kallin on a partial breakaway and beat goaltender Lane Maarhuis short-side. The period would end tied at 1.

Shots were 13-9 in favor of Victoria.

Then in the second frame, the highlight goal of the night came from Joseph Melichar while shorthanded. He stole the puck at the offensive blue line from a GKings forward and undressed another player to go in all alone to make it 2-1. They would never relinquish the lead after that. Shortly after, Carter Zeeben picked up a loose puck at center, circled down the left side over the blue line, went around Zaya Morro and roofed it past Anthony Ganoung. Just like that it was 3-1.

I watched an interesting play about 15 times in that period when the referee called an unsportsmanlike diving penalty on Ethan Gobel. It appeared to me every time that he was high sticked in the face. Victoria’s Haydyn Brooks was even headed for the penalty box when the referee told him that the infraction wasn’t against him. I’m still scratching my head that Gobel received the penalty. Shots were 12-8 for Comox Valley.

The Yeti played a pretty good third period but the only scoring would be an empty net goal by James Clarke late in the game to salt it away. Final shots were 35-35.

The loss drops the Glacier Kings record to 3-6-2 as they remain tied for last place with Oceanside but the Generals have 2 games in hand. Comox hosts Port Alberni Saturday. Victoria improves to 7-3-1 and are just 1 point behind Peninsula for second place in the South. They are off until Tuesday when they travel to Kerry Park.

Other Observations

  • The difference in the game ended up being the Cougars scoring 2 goals in a span of 1:10 in the 2nd period.
  • Comox did not score a PP goal for a 3rd straight game after having scored at least 1 in 5 straight.
  • Cohen Kallin scored a goal in his 3rd consecutive game for the Yeti.
  • There were remarks made in the game that were totally unjustified and over the top.  Let’s give this league a little dignity. I will leave it at that.
  • Glacier Kings have scored a total of 4 goals in their last 3 games.
  • Joseph Melichar is a stud. There’s no denying that. I had said I was looking forward to watching him play and I wasn’t disappointed.
  • Speaking of Melichar, he has at least a point in all 11 games and has multiple points in his last 9 contests.
  • This was the 2nd shorthanded goal Comox has allowed this season.
  • Simon Semancik was held pointless for the first time this year. He had 9 points in his last 3 games and at least 1 in his previous 9.

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