October 26th vs. Westshore Wolves - Hockey Ops

Good Evening Hockey Fans,

Welcome back for what hopefully is an absolute barn-burner, just like last Friday was.  I am going to talk about the week that we had and what is happening with the team but wanted to talk just a bit about the game on tap this evening.  The Westshore Wolves are in for their 2nd visit of the season, as you recall we opened at home against these same Wolves on September 7th, a game which we ended up on the right side of a 3-1 score.  We played them several weeks ago at Bear Mountain and although we won the game handily by a 7-1 count, the score really did not indicate the type of game it was.  In that one we scored early and often and were lucky that they did not capitalize on their chances.  Once the game was out of reach near the end of the second frame, some extra-curricular activities occurred with several players from each side having to take early showers.  But the grit in the game was something that our young squad needed to take another step in their development and although I am not a proponent of this type of hockey, our kids stood up for themselves as they needed to.  Both clubs have played 16 games which is exactly 1/3 of the way through the season and we lead the Wolves by 3 points in the extremely tight South Division of the VIJHL.  Tonight’s affair is a big one for both squads.  Should the Wolves win tonight in regulation they would pull within a point however if we were to get a regulation win we would start to put a little bit of daylight between the two clubs and would go up 5 points on them in the standings.  Tonight will likely be physical and demanding but as our play has dictated in the past several weeks, we should be up to the task.

All right then, let’s chat a little bit about what has transpired in the past week.  We traveled to Nanaimo last Thursday and won a tight one 4-2 and then of course the game last Friday in our barn which was nothing short of crazy.  If you were in attendance for the 7-6 win you might just have seen something that you will never see again.  The club scored 4 short-handed goals in 5:09 of playing time right at the end of the 2nd period and to say the house was rocking would have to be a huge, huge understatement.  It was nuts in here and everyone was having a blast.  I checked the VIJHL stats for the other 8 Clubs and the most short-handed goals for a team for the year were 3.  That’s right, we scored more short-handed goals in 5:09 than the next closest team.  A couple teams had 2, a couple had 1 and a couple teams had not scored a short-handed marker yet in this season.  Pretty amazing stuff.  We then traveled up to Campbell River on Sunday afternoon and the game started off on a strange note.  Actually it didn’t start off.  The refs did not have the start time correct and although both teams were ready to go at 4:00 pm, the refs had not read the VIJHL schedule correctly and thought that it was a 7:30 start.  After some frantic calls, the stripes turned up and the teams went back out just before 5:00 pm.  They had a second warmup, this one only 7 minutes long and then went straight into the National Anthem and drop of the puck.  Not only did the refs start slow, so did the Panthers.  But the club go it going and held a 5-3 lead early in the 3rd before the Storm stormed back to tie it at 5-5.  Both teams exchanged some quality chances however it would go to overtime.  After five minutes and still tied the teams went into a shoot-out.  Stephen Heslop was perfect on 3 Campbell River attempts while Panthers #29 Zack Smith scored for the “Cats” and this would prove to be the winner.  The two points pulled us into a 2nd place tie with the Saanich Braves and set the stage for a pretty big game two nights ago. 

We took the cross-town trip to Pearkes Arena and Heslop once again went between the pipes.  This game would also be decided in a shootout however the kids could not score in 4 attempts while the Braves scored on their 4th shot to end the game.  We did garner 1 point for the shootout loss but the result did end a tidy little 5-game winning streak that the Club was enjoying.  In the last 9 games we have taken 15 out of a possible 18 points and the youngsters and coaching staff are feeling like we are moving in the right direction.  On Wednesday Reece Costain scored both of our goals, his first multi-goal game and I was very happy for him.  Reece has such a huge upside however has had his highs and lows with the club to date.  This is so typical of a young player trying to find their way in Junior Hockey.  Reece has been playing more of a physical role as of late and

when he does everything else will fall into place.  Young players feel that they have to score to be effective and to move to the next level, and for some this is correct.  But many players - and I am including Costain in this group - can bring much more than just scoring stats to the party.  When he figures out that he needs to work hard every single shift and that he needs to be physical every single shift he will be an absolute horse in the VIJHL.  Keep an eye on him tonight and let’s see what he brings to the table this evening.

Speaking of points, two Panthers lit it up over the three-game stretch last week, Dane Gibson and Cole Golka.  These two 18-year-old forwards each popped for 9 points, Dane getting 6 goals and 3 assists while Cole chipped in with 4 goals and 5 assists.  For their efforts the two were named Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League Co-winners for Player of the Week.  We really needed some of our guys to break out on the score-sheet and these two talents took the bull by the horns in our three wins. 

You probably won’t see Gibson in the lineup tonight as he was headed to Nanaimo to play for the Cowichan Capitals against the Clippers in BCHL Junior A action.  I have a rule on this club and that is when you are called to play up a level, you are not allowed in our lineup on the night in question.  The kids all want to play up however they do not want to let the teammates down and miss a big game.  And make no mistake, we need Dane Gibson tonight and this is a big game.  But we pride ourselves on trying to move players to the next level and if the truth be known, I am happy that he is playing up tonight, it is what our program is about.  Tomorrow evening we will be playing the Kerry Park Islanders and Dane will be with us for that one.  He is scheduled to play up in Cowichan on Sunday afternoon for a 1:00 pm game and I think I am going to watch that one even though it is Coreen’s Birthday.  I told her that we could celebrate after the game! 

It’s is just about time for the curtain to raise up for tonight’s action and this one should be a good one.  Scratches for tonight are Brett Clarke and Brett Sjerven who are both a bit banged up and of course Dane Gibson who should be ready for the drop of the puck in Nanaimo.  Thank you for coming out tonight, I see the crowds starting to grow in size and become more passionate as you get to know the players.  I hope you enjoy!  Pete Z.