Hockey Ops. - October 21, 2016

Good Evening Hockey fans on the Peninsula!

Welcome back tonight as we greet the Nanaimo Buccaneers in the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre.  The Bucs seem to be coming on as of late and although they are playing just under .500 hockey, it looks like they might just be ready to make a bit of a run at those Clubs ahead of them in the standings in the North Division of the VIJHL.  This is our first look at the Buccaneers and also their first of two visits to our barn.  I’m looking for a hotly contested game tonight; historically we have always had great games with this Club over the past, once they were welcomed into the league.

I wanted to touch base on last Friday night when our games against the Westshore Wolves was postponed to a later date.  The weatherman was calling for the worst storm in the previous 50 years and on Friday afternoon it looked like he was going to be right.  Over 600 homes on the Peninsula - including ours in Brentwood Bay - lost power and it did not look good.  Around Greater Victoria the storm was moving in and around 4:00 pm I called Wolves General Manager Ken Carson to see what his thoughts were about putting the game off for another time.  There were traffic issues and street lights were out and my concern was some young player on either team or any fan coming out to the game being involved in an accident.  I contacted Kirk VanHelvoirt who is the supervisor for the referee’s in our League and he let me know that he lived by the Panorama and his power went out on the Thursday night and it was out today.  I contacted the Panorama Management and they indicated that they were having problems with their power last night and on the Friday and they were expecting more problems throughout the evening.  We all decided that postponing the game was the prudent thing to do.  Of course the huge storm did not materialize with the vengeance that we all expected we would see but hindsight is always 20/20.  BC Ferries cancelled all sailings from 3:00 pm last Friday and so they too felt it was the prudent thing to do.  I am now working with the Panorama Recreation Centre to come up with a makeup date for the game.

We were busy off the ice as well as Head Coach Brad Tippett pulled off our second deal of the season.  As you recall, we brought in ‘98 D Chase O’Keefe in a cash transaction with the Westshore Wolves and he has been getting better and better with each passing game.  Brad had been talking with the Saanich Braves for a number of days and before last Friday about a number of different names.  The final touches were put on an agreement around 12:00 noon on last Friday which saw Mitch Moloney heading to Saanich with the Braves while coming out to the Peninsula was 17-year-old forward Drew Coughlin.  Drew can flat out fly!  He had ten points with the Braves playing on the left side in their top six and we are absolutely thrilled to have him out here with us out here on the Peninsula.  He is a great young man and a person whom I have known for a couple years.  Drew’s older brother played here on the Peninsula three years ago as a 16-year-old and while he was here, Drew came out quite often and skated with us on Monday nights at practice.  Drew was only 14 at the time but you could tell he was going to be a player.  Drew is wearing #9 tonight and you will not have to look hard to find him.  He will be racing up and down the ice all night long and I believe will be one of the most exciting players in our lineup and in the league.

Marshall Brown slots back into the lineup tonight after breaking his leg back in exhibition play on August 26th.  Marshall has been practicing with the Club for two weeks and has been looking better and better each time out.  Marshall has been chomping at the bit to get back in the lineup and as well as our practices, he has skated with PeeWee B, Bantam A and Midget A teams.  He definitely paid the price to get back in this evening.  I would expect that he will be a bit rusty tonight but at least he is back playing and should be a big boost to our group.  Trevor Owens is still several weeks away after breaking his leg on September 3rd in our 2nd game of the season and we will be so much better upon his return.  Out of the lineup this evening will be Jack McMillan who is nursing a sore shoulder and Joe Stafford-Veale.  I would guess that Coach Tippett will have both of these kids back in the lineup for Sunday when we head North up the Island to take on the Oceanside Generals.

We are trying to add a defenceman to our lineup and so are looking around for a body that can come in, contribute and make us better.  We have six defencemen with Braeden Hansen playing up front and will need to add one more soon.  If you are interested in becoming a billet family, please let Coreen know.  We have billeted two players years ago and still keep in touch with both who are now over 40 years old.

Thanks for coming out tonight, lets put a “W” on the board! Enjoy!  Pete Zubersky