Tag Archives: Larenzo Jensen

Country Thunder On Country Night In Oceanside

1 Comment

The players took “Country Night” seriously last night as it was a rough and rugged game at the Howie Meeker Arena. The Comox Valley Glacier Kings came back from a 2-0 deficit with 4 unanswered goals and a 4-2 victory. Both goaltenders stood tall throughout the entire game. The match had huge hits, a fight, some weird bounces and a ton of Grade ‘A’ scoring chances.

The Gens got on the board early in the first period started when GKings forward Easton Sangris wound up for a slap shot but the puck was knocked away before he could make contact with it. Braylon Becker carried it the other way, gave a quick pass to Max Boyle who slid a backhand feed to Logan Duncan and he one-timed it into the empty net.

Just past the halfway point of the period, Brodie Wade caught Cameron Collins with a massive hit.

The Glacier Kings took exception to that open ice hit. Easton Sangris went after Wade and the two combatants went toe to toe in one of the most spirited fights I can remember in the VIJHL. Both guys traded huge right hands in a fight that lasted 24.5 seconds.

Both players were given 5 minutes for fighting. Then as time was running out in the period, the Generals would make it 2-0 with just 0.6 seconds remaining on the clock. A goal mouth scramble took place after a fanned shot in the slot and it was poked in by Levi Green. All the traffic in front of the net made it impossible to see.

That’s how the first period ended. Shots were 10-9 in favor of the Gens.

In the 2nd period, Comox pulled within one goal on the power play. It started with a faceoff win. The puck came back to Kyle Mayenburg at the blue line, the Powell River native took the puck to the middle of the ice and slid it back to the side boards where he had vacated and Rolan Amin beat Andreas Bylerius on the short side.

Just 43 seconds later, the Yeti would tie the game on a bit of a lucky bounce. Sheldon Alexander won the faceoff to Easton Sangris. His shot missed the net but took a weird bounce off the backboards. Goaltender Andreas Bylerius looked back to the wrong side of the net behind him and Alexander backhanded it into the empty net with the netminder’s back to the play.

The middle framed ended 2-2. Shot wound up being 13-11 in favor of the home side.

Early in the 3rd, Comox would take their first lead of the game on an innocent looking play. Leon Mikhalchuk took a shot that missed on the short side and the puck went around the boards to the other side. Haden Parker took a quick snap shot from the side wall through traffic that went off the post and in and it was suddenly 3-2.

Both goaltenders stood on their heads keeping it a one goal game for most of the final frame. The contest would end with an empty net goal from Quinten Harvie from center ice.

Shots in the final period were 13-11 for the Glacier Kings.

The win improves Comox Valley’s record to 19-15-4-1 and sole possession of 3rd place in the North Division. They move 2 points ahead of idle Campbell River but the Storm do have a game in hand as well as the tie-breaker for now. Next up will be the high-flying Peninsula Panthers next Friday in Peninsula. As for the Gens, they fall to 25-13-1-0 and remain tied for first with Nanaimo. Oceanside is off until Thursday when they travel to the Harbour City for a battle of first place teams.

Other Observations:

  • Last night was the Glacier Kings 3rd of 4 straight road games. They are 2-1 on this stretch.
  • This is one of the most physical games I’ve seen this year. It was played like hockey should be played.
  • After going 1 for 12 in their last 3 games on the PP, Comox scored on their only time with the man advantage to start their comeback.
  • The GKings PK which had allowed 6 goals in their last 19 shorthanded situations, came up big on both occasions against the Gens.
  • It was Country Night at the Howie Meeker Arena. The starting line up came out in cowboy hats as they were introduced.
  • The Gens have lost 3 of their last 4 games. Their only win in that stretch was against the #1 team in the league.
  • There was no sound for the first half of the broadcast unfortunately. Good job by Larenzo Jensen to help get it back online.
  • In the dust up between Wade and Sangris, 21 punches were thrown by Wade and 18 by Sangris. A lot of them landed squarely by both guys. They tapped each other as a sign of respect after it was over.
  • The Yeti are 7-2-2-0 in their last 11 games.
  • One of the referees got shaken up late in the 2nd period when he took an accidental stick by Gavin Mowat that caught him in the mid-section.
  • Sheldon Alexander put his body on the line with a huge blocked shot thwarting a big scoring chance with 5 minutes left in the 3rd period. That might have saved the game.
  • Somehow Oceanside picked the 1st and 2nd stars of the game. I have no idea how Lane Maarhuis never got one.
  • Curtis Toneff is really going to have some tough decisions ahead when Anthony Ganoung comes back from his lower body injury. Maarhuis has really made an impact in his 2 games since coming over from Victoria.
  • This game marked the largest attendance number of the year in the VIJHL. The announced crowd was 1025. Campbell River previously held the highest two attendance figures with 1017 and 1010.

Darryl Skender

Glacier Kings-Gens Preview

1 Comment

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

GKings Comeback Falls Short

Leave a comment

The Nanaimo Buccaneers scored three goals in the second period and held on for a 4-3 win over the Comox Valley Glacier Kings. The loss is the Glacier Kings second in a row and 3rd in their last 4 games while the Buccaneers won their 3rd straight and are now victorious in 5 of their last 6 contests.

It was a very even opening period which saw Nanaimo having a nice power play and with the Glacier Kings had big chances by Ethan Gobel and Westin Churchill. However it took almost 17 minutes before the first goal. Brandon Taylor took a shot from the point. It appeared that Westin Churchill may have got a stick on it to deflect it high in the air. The puck landed behind goaltender Aaron Pichette where Gavin Munro poked it into the net.

The lead wouldn’t last long. Less than 2 minutes later Jaxin Karst won an offensive zone faceoff. The puck would get tipped back to Dreyton Hayward at the blue line. The 5’9″ defenceman wristed a shot that went through a maze of bodies to beat Anthony Ganoung blocker side.

That goal made the score 1-1 and the period would end with that score. Shots were 11-7 in favor of Nanaimo.

In the second period, the Buccaneers would take their first lead of the game on an innocent looking play. Zach Spafford gave a 10 foot pass up to his own blue to Jack Barrett and by the time he got to center he skated between both defencemen to go in on a clear cut breakaway. Barrett quickly went backhand-forehand and beat Ganoung stick-side before the second period was three minutes old.

The Bucs made it 3-1 on a power play goal. Jaxin Karst won the faceoff and the puck subsequently never left the Glacier Kings zone after that. Madden Cruickshank eventually took a shot-pass to the side of the net where Porter Williamson deflected it behind the goalie.

Davis Young made it 4-1 with less than a minute to play in the 2nd period as he crept in from the blue line undetected and took a rink wide pass from Jaxin Karst and one-timed it between the arm and body of Ganoung.

The middle frame ended 4-1. Nanaimo outshot Comox 10-9.

Curtis Toneff must have fired the team up during the intermission because the Glacier Kings started off fast. After Nanaimo won the opening faceoff into their own zone, Comox Valley forechecked hard and Kyle Mayenburg did a good job keeping the puck in at the blue line. He directed the puck towards the net and a scramble ensued. Cameron Collins found a loose puck among the bodies and buried it past Pichette to make it 4-2.

That goal took 16 seconds from the drop of the puck. Unfortunately, the Yeti never got any momentum after that goal as Nanaimo tilted the ice afterwards dominating the play. However late in the 3rd period after Comox took a penalty, you could see that they were thinking offence. Cohen Kallin poked the puck off a Nanaimo stick at the Glacier Kings blue line then passed it up to Isaac Dunsire for a 2-man breakaway from center ice. Dunsire went in and snapped the puck past Pichette on the glove side for a shorthanded goal and it was suddenly 4-3.

Unfortunately the Yeti would take another penalty for “Too Many Men On The Ice” when they had possession inside the offensive zone with 19 seconds left. I’m guessing it was a good call because you could see the crowd and the Buccaneers bench pointing and yelling for a penalty. Pichette made a big save with 4 seconds left and that’s the way the game would end. Shots were 11-7 for the Bucs.

The win improves Nanaimo’s record to 11-5-1-0 for 23 points and are 3 points ahead of 2nd place Oceanside. Comox Valley drops to 7-9-2-1 for 17 points and remains in 4th place in the North. They will host the Oceanside Generals Saturday night. The Bucs are in Victoria on Sunday.

Other Observations:

  • Jaxin Karst had 3 assists to extend his point streak to 5 games (3G, 6A)
  • It took the Bucs 11 seconds to score their PP goal in the 2nd period after an offensive zone “Holding The Stick” penalty against the GKings.
  • Leon Mikhalchuk has 5G, 3A in his last 8 games.
  • The Yeti have only drawn 2 power plays in their last 200 minutes of hockey.
  • That was Gavin Munro’s first goal as a GKings player since coming over from Nanaimo. After his goal he pointed up to the stands at the NIC.
  • It was nice to see former Buc Brandon Taylor stick up for Thomas Scobie-Gyug after he got hit from behind. He went after the much bigger Rhys Wilcox who is 4″ taller and and 50 pounds heavier. He simply pushed him before getting into a scrum with Koen Gauthier where Taylor got his helmet taken off. I didn’t love that the referee making it a 4 on 4 instead of a PP for Comox.

  • Despite being outscored 3-0 in the second period, I thought it was a very even period. With that being said, I thought Nanaimo outplayed Comox in the 3rd despite being outscored 2-0.
  • Cameron Collins has 1G, 4A in his last 5 games.
  • Brandon Taylor picked up his first assist as a Glacier King with an assist.
  • The Yeti are 1-7-1-1 when trailing after the second period.
  • It is so refreshing to listen to Larenzo Jensen do play by play, a true professional, not biased, very descriptive. Good job Larenzo!

Darryl Skender