Hockey Ops. - September 9, 2016

Good Evening Hockey fans on the Peninsula!

Welcome back tonight as we welcome in the visiting Comox Valley Glacier Kings for their first of two visits on the 2016/17 season. The Glacier Kings have been involved in several exhibition games however, this is their Regular Season opener while we played a home-and-home series with the Saanich Braves last weekend.  I will discuss tonight’s affair in a bit but let’s roll back the clock a week and look in the rear-view mirror at our first two games of the season.

We entered last weekend feeling pretty good about things.  We have many new and young rookies in the lineup and while we understand that there are going to be lot of growing pains, we also feel that we are much further advanced than we were at the same time last season.  Our team is faster and has more skill, we know that playing with more grit in all areas of the sheet will be the difference-maker.  We were knocked off at home last Friday night 5-3.  I thought there were a couple of goals that our big starter Shawn Parkinson would have liked back but he continued to get stronger as the minutes rolled along.  It was also Coach Brad Tippett’s first time seeing his group in action and he too had to see firsthand what he has.  There were times when some of the boys did not want the puck, that is understandable and I have seen this with young kids for years and years.  Perhaps with a bit more ‘compete’ we might have come out on top but there were plenty of positives.

On Saturday in Saanich we stepped it up a notch as did the Braves.  Parky was between the pipes once again and he was outstanding.  We had battle and compete for the most part, but the injuries bit us hard.  Trevor Owens - who I believe is set to have a big year for us - scored a highlight reel goal to give us a 2-1 lead midway through the 2nd frame.  Ten minutes into the final period, he took an innocent hit in the corner but did not get up.  He had to be helped off the ice and we found the next day that he had broken his leg and will be out for the next six weeks.  17-year-old Holden Cochrane took a big hit in front of the Saanich bench and after playing just one more shift, was forced to the sidelines.  He was still limping around this week and did not skate, perhaps he will be back in a week or two.  But the game raged on and it was a good one.  It looked like it was playoff action rather than opening weekend.  We were clinging to a 2-1 lead with just a few ticks over four minutes left when a goalmouth scrum resulted in Shawn Parkinson having his shoulder pop out. Parky was in big pain on the ice however, our trainer Josh Armstrong was in the dressing room with Owens. Josh came out and worked with Parky and the shoulder was back in. It was quite amazing to see the 17-year-old goaltender go from intense pain to a spot where he wanted to continue in the game.

We decided to shut Parky down at this point and went to the bench for another 17-year-old, Liam Tutt.  I was pulling for the young netminder as it was his first action and it could not come in a more pressure situation.  And to add to things, Liam played his Minor Hockey in Saanich and I am sure that he had some extra juices flowing.  The Braves pulled their target and with just under two minutes remaining, they managed to beat Tutter in the very final stages of the game.  And then just 36 seconds into overtime, the Braves scored again to grab the win from the jaws of defeat.  We managed to garner a single point on the weekend and in all honesty, we deserved a bit more than that.

Out of the lineup tonight will be Owens, Parkinson, Cochrane and Marshall Brown who also broke his fibula two weeks ago.  I cannot believe this early rash of injuries and have never been involved with a team so banged up this early.  Peninsula Midget AA goaltender Conner Pugh will be in the lineup in a backup roll to Tutte this evening.

On Monday night we pulled off a deal with the Westshore Wolves and acquired the playing rights of Chase O’Keefe, an 18-year-old defenceman who will really help the Club this season.  Chase is a smooth-skating and skilled D who had 19 assists last season with the Wolves.  We moved a sum of cash the other way and I know it is money well-spent.  Look for Keefer tonight early and often.  He has been in the VIJHL for a full season now and brings us some experience.

Coreen is just putting the final touches on our marketing campaign and if you would like to help out, chat with her at the front table.  Next Monday she will be pouring it on working on our 2016/17 Program and she is looking at early October to have it out for you.  Happy Birthday to Coach Tippett and to a young fan, Eli!  Thank you to each and every one of you for coming out this evening.  We have the best support of any of the teams in the South Division and that helps us to run a great program.  I hope you enjoy the night!
Pete Zubersky