Tag Archives: Kyle Ireland

Glacier Kings-Gens Preview

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The Comox Valley Glacier Kings are back at it tonight as they travel to Parksville for a game against the Oceanside Generals. The Gens dropped into a tie for first place in the North Division after their 2-0 loss in Campbell River last night. That combined with Nanaimo’s victory over Lake Cowichan dropped Oceanside out of sole possession of the top spot. As for the Glacier Kings, they dropped out of sole possession of third and into a tie for third after the Storm win. The Generals are 25-12-1-0 while Comox is 18-15-4-1. The Gens come into tonight losing 3 of their last 4 games being outscored 18-10. The GKings have lost 2 of their last 3 but are still 6-2-2-0 in their last 10.

It looks like it’s going to be a good race for the number one and the number 3 seeds in the North going down the stretch. A win by the Generals tonight will clinch a playoff spot. The Glacier Kings on the other hand need just a point to regain sole possession of third place. In case you were wondering, the Yeti’s magic number to clinch a post-season berth is 6 (any combination of Comox wins and Port Alberni losses).

As for tonight, expect Oceanside to come out of the gates quickly. They have been good all year and aren’t happy with their results lately. Play by play broadcaster for the Generals and the Port Alberni Bulldogs of the BCHL Kyle Ireland talked about the game, “Gens will be looking for a fast start. They got shutout for the 4th time this season last night in Campbell River. Lane Maarhuis gave the Gens fits in an 8-2 loss to Victoria on January 11th so it will be interesting to see if he gets the start for the GKings.” Of course, Maarhuis started his first game for Comox on Thursday and was outstanding in a 2-0 loss in Victoria.

There aren’t a lot of players on either side to talk about regarding current streaks. That’s because both sides are coming off games where they were shutout. Neither club has an individual that is tearing up the league this season. Oceanside is led by Braeyen Newans (13G, 21A, 34Pts.) while Comox Valley’s leading scorer is Leon Mikhalchuk (17G, 18A, 35Pts.). Ireland did make a note of one key player that won’t be in the line up, “Gens will be without Kaiden Day for a second straight day due to a suspension, he’s a big part of the offence.” Day has tallied 26 points in 26 games this season. He had 10 assists in his last 10 games before the suspension.

A couple of players that will hopefully get back on the scoresheet tonight are Zaya Morro and Westin Churchill. They are 2nd and 3rd respectively on the active roster in scoring but have a combined 0 points in each of their last 5 games. Goaltending doesn’t seem like an issue as all 3 tenders have been good. Kyle says there’s a couple guys to watch tonight, “Braylon Becker has goals in 2 of his last 3 games for the Gens and will look to stay hot for the Gens. 5 points over his last 3 games and I look for power forward Leon Mikhalchuk to have another big game against the Gens, he has 8 points this season in games against the Gens… 2 very well coached teams, season series has been back and forth, very physical series. I expect the same tonight.” This is the 6th and final regular season for these two foes. Comox is 2-2-1-0 in the head-to-head battle so far. The last time they met was on January 4th when Oceanside won 4-3 in overtime.

Here is a look at the special teams:

PP
Comox Valley: 17.8% (7th)
Oceanside: 14% (10th)
PK
Comox Valley: 80.7% (7th)
Oceanside: 77.8% (9th)

Here are some other Glacier Kings stats:

Score First Goal: 13-5-2-0
Allow First Goal: 5-10-2-1

Lead After First Period: 13-0-0-0
Trail After First Period: 1-8-2-1
Tied After First Period: 4-7-2-0

Lead After Second Period: 13-1-1-0
Trail After Second Period: 3-12-2-1
Tied After Second Period: 2-2-1-0

It’s “Country Night” at the Howie Meeker Arena tonight. That’s my kind of night! My favorite would be a “Jimmy Buffett” night. I am appreciative of Dave Dueck playing a couple of Jimmy’s songs at the Yeti’s home games. Kyle Ireland will be broadcasting the Alberni Valley Bulldogs home game tonight so Buccaneers play by play broadcaster Larenzo Jensen will be the man in the booth for this evening’s contest. It will broadcast on both FloHockey and 88.5 The Beach. Puck drop is 7:00 PM. I will post Comox Valley’s line up as soon as I get it.

Darryl Skender

Gens-GKings Preview

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The Comox Valley Glacier Kings are back in action tonight as they host the Oceanside Generals in one of four games on the VIJHL slate. The Glacier Kings will look to rebound after a 4-3 loss in Nanaimo on Thursday. The Generals, after a 12-0 blowout loss to Peninsula on Halloween, have rebounded to win their last two games including a 1-0 shutout in Campbell River last night. Braylon Becker scored the only goal of the game midway through the second period and Ethan Suhr picked up his first shutout of the season.

The Gens and the Glacier Kings both share one thing in common as neither team has a player in the top 20 in scoring. Ryken Lay is 23rd in the VIJHL with 10G, 8A in 19 games. Zaya Morro is tied for 24th with 6G, 11A also in 19 games. Oceanside does not have anyone that averages a point per game while Ethan Gobel is the only player on the home side to hit that mark (17pts in 14 games).

Special teams will be very interesting tonight. Comox Valley needs to start creating more opportunities as they have only had the man advantage twice in the last 3 games. Leon Mikhalchuk leads the team with 3 power play goals. As for the Generals, they’ve had 17 opportunities in their last 3 contests. Jacob Leamy, Ryder Bradford and Braylon Becker lead their squad with two each.

Power Play
Oceanside: 12.2% (10th)
Comox Valley: 16.3% (9th)

Penalty Kill
Oceanside: 77.8 (9th)
Comox Valley: 81.3 (6th)

The Glacier Kings are about .500 when it comes to Goals For and Goals Against (13 PPG For/12 PPG Against) so it’s really the even strength play that has been the difference for them this year. At even strength, (5 on 5, 4 on 4, 3 on 3, the shootout not included), they are -14. Head coach/GM Curtis Toneff emphasized that his team, especially some of the more experienced players need to get better, “I went back and did the plus/minus 5 on 5 for the whole season and there’s some guys that have been on the ice for maybe five 5 on 5 goals for and some of these are veteran guys. You can only stick with for so long before there’s a guy that comes along that you might want to give an opportunity to. They haven’t seized their opportunities.” In case you’re wondering, some of the best plus/minus players on the squad are Kyle Mayenburg, Landen May and Ethan Gobel.

Oceanside is one of the hottest teams in the VIJHL right now winning 5 of their last 6 games. It seems like just a month ago they were in last place in the division. Veteran play by play broadster and multiple winner of the “Broadcaster of the Year” award Kyle Ireland talked about what is key for his club, “The Gens need to stay out of the box… the PK worked overtime last night going 6/6 in Campbell River. They need to keep rollin’ on the road… 7-4 best record in the North. If the Gens continue to get great goaltending they will be very successful. Head coach Garrett Dunlop called all 3 goalies “our rocks” last night during a second intermission interview. Not sure who is dressing yet. The guys need to use their speed and have a great forecheck against a very well coached team.” Kyle then summed it all up with, “Three factors… speed, stay out of the box and continue to play well on the road.” He will be broadcasting the game on 88.5 The Beach. Meanwhile, Comox has a chance to get back to .500 on home ice tonight as they sport a 2-3-1-1 record. The GKings have played 12 of their 19 games on the road this season.

These 2 clubs have played twice this season with both sides winning once. On September 19th, the Gens took the match 4-3 while the Yeti came back to win the second on October 18th by a 2-0 score. Oceanside currently sits in second place in the North Division with an 11-8-0-0 record, one point behind Nanaimo and four ahead of third place Campbell River. Comox Valley (7-9-2-1) is now tied for 4th after Port Alberni’s win over Kerry Park last night. Puck drop is 6:30 PM at the Sports Centre. I have the Glacier Kings lineup posted on the “Gameday Lineups” page of this blog.

Darryl Skender

Game 4 Preview Vs. Gens

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The Comox Valley Glacier Kings will make another attempt tonight to get their first win of the season. They’ve started 0-2-1 after a 3-2 OT loss in their home opener to Campbell River on Saturday. It’s the first time they haven’t recorded a win in their first 3 games since 2019 when they started the season 0-12.

Things have been trending upwards from game to game for the GKings. A big reason is because of their recent acquisitions. Head coach & GM Curtis Toneff talked about how they are settling in, “Real well, I think this week of practices has really helped. They are starting to fit in. They are all quite different players and they all compliment our team in different ways. Leon Mikhalchuk has the big shot, a long reach, puck protection skills and has an ability to beat guys one on one which is pretty rare at any level. Geon Park has a good low base to him, he has a good shot, plays with his head up, likes the puck on his stick and likes to make plays. He can fit anywhere in the line up on any given night. Tommy Scobie-Gyug had a real good weekend. He’s obviously had a great summer as far as his training. His conditioning is elite. He found himself with his first goal after a great shake of a d-man at the point, had a great shot and got his first junior goal in his second game. He’s going to make our D better and Anthony Ganoung obviously had a great game on Friday.” Scobie Gyug took a big hit on Saturday and hit the ice pretty hard. The book on him has always been he plays bigger than he is and he has definitely shown that so far. He’s listed at just 5’7″ and 155 pounds but has been a big pickup for his squad.

Both teams have struggled to find wins to start the season. The Generals have been scoring at a higher rate but also giving up more goals than the Glacier Kings. Toneff said the simple things can give his club their first win, “We need to be making plays when they’re there with the puck, being a hockey player not a robot. If there’s not a play there, play a man’s game, whether it’s having a battle in the corner, or protecting the puck or simply seeing the other D’s number turning to go get pucks all night. That’s kind of the difference where these guys come from in Midget. Certain plays they’re taught are bad plays. Buying into simplicity, you can always build on simple but when you try and do too much it’s tough to get on the same page.” 

Meanwhile for the Oceanside Generals, they’ve had an up and down start to their season. Play by Play broadcaster Kyle Ireland said he was impressed with the season opener against Campbell River where they downed the Storm 5-2. He said there is a youngster on the team that has impressed him, “Braeyen Newans, a 17 year old Parksville product has been a huge bright spot for them with 4 points in his first 4 games. Goals in back to back.” A cool story about Newans is that he scored his first VIJHL goal last Saturday on his 17th birthday. The 4-time VIJHL Broadcaster of the Year also let us in on a recent trade yesterday, “The Gens have made a huge move just minutes ago sending forward Jasper Fellbaum to Westshore for forward Jacob Leamy.” Fellbaum had a goal and an assist in 2 games for the Generals while Leamy potted 1 goal and 2 assists for the Wolves before the trade. Ireland said he thought his club played well against Victoria 5 days ago but special teams hurt them, “The Gens looked good on Sunday at moments against the Cougars but could not get anything going on the power play going 0 for 6.” Oceanside and Comox Valley are currently sporting the worst 2 PP’s in the league. The Generals are at 4.3% (1 for 23) and the Glacier Kings are 5.9% (1 for 17).

Oceanside comes into the game on a three game losing streak. although they deserved a better fate against Port Alberni where they outshot the Bombers 45-24 but lost 4-2 thanks to an empty net goal at the end by Joel Dorn. The same could be said about their 5-3 loss to the Westshore Wolves where the Gens jumped out to a 3-1 lead midway through the game but allowed 4 unanswered goals including another empty netter.

Game time tonight is at 6:30 pm at the Sports Centre. Either Rob Hudson or Matt Parnell will have the play by play on FloHockey (Matt has a new baby on board, congratulations!) while Kyle Ireland will do the honors on the radio at 88.5 The Beach. Go Glacier Kings!

Darryl Skender