Good Evening Hockey Fans,
Welcome back to the Panorama Recreation Centre for Game 2 of this VIJHL 1st round series against the Victoria Cougars. Last night we travelled to Esquimalt to the Archie Browning Arena and ended up on the wrong side of a 6-2 count. The 2nd period is what sealed our fate as the Cougars scored three unanswered markers giving them a 5-1 lead after 40 minutes. The two teams exchanged goals in the 3rd frame but by then the game was on ice, so to speak.
I thought that everyone left the Awards Dinner in a really positive frame of mind and then this past week we had a couple of awesome practices to go over issues in our game that we needed to address. I saw lots of good stuff in the 1st period last night, we were getting pucks out and once we gained the neutral zone, if a play was not there the puck was in deep. This game turned on Power Play opportunities, the Cougars have nice finish around the net and they scored three PP goals and really a 4th where Costain was coming out of the box and did not quite get back into the play before the puck was deposited behind Stephen Heslop. I didn’t speak with Coaches Brian Passmore and Ben King after the game, I know as a coach that I was in no mood to discuss games after a loss but I would expect that we will most likely go with the same lineup as we had last night. Jonas Horvath and Brett Clarke were both healthy scratches last night and Heslop was the starter - once again I think we will not see any changes for tonight.
Nathan Looysen and Jackson Skerratt were our marksmen last night, both are kids that know how to put the puck in the net. We had an early 5-on-3 in the 1st period and although we had several good chances, we did not put the puck in the back of the net. We have a lot of work to do but when I arrived home last night and started preparing this week’s game insert, I found myself already looking forward to the game tonight. I suppose that is a pretty good sign.
I am going to discuss more about the playoffs around the VIJHL later on however I wanted to chat a bit about the Awards Dinner held last Saturday evening at the Glen Meadows Golf & Country Club. For starters, the dinner itself was off the charts as anyone who was there can attest. Following dinner we passed out 11 awards with just the Playoff MVP to be named once our playoff season comes to a close. Ben Meek and Cody Breitenstein were joint winners of the Community Leadership Award. The Most Sportsmanlike Player which combines Sportsmanship and a high level of skill went to 18-goal scorer 17-year-old Zack Smith. 18-year-old Brett Sjerven picked up the coveted Steve Simpson Memorial Trophy for Character, Courage and Heart while the Best Defenceman went to our Captain, 19-year-old Breitenstein. If you check out the back page of this insert you will see playoff series and where they are at as well as the final scoring stats for the Club. Picking up the Top Scorer award was 17-year-old Josh Adkins, a young kid that has had just a great breakout year. Fan Favorite was a pretty easy choice, this year going to 19-year-old tough guy Grayson Vickers. A big cheer went up when 18-year-old Daniel Welch was named as the Unsung Hero while 17-year-old Reece Costain managed to pick up a little bit of hardware when he was selected as the Most Improved Player. And it was 16-year-old Nathan Looysen who walked away with the Rookie of the Year Award. Looking at the first 7 winners from 1999 for the Rookie of the Year, every one of them went on and played either in Division 1 schools in the NCAA, the Western Hockey League, the ECHL, AHL or NHL. I just have a funny feeling that Looysen will join that group, this young kid has that much of an upside. The final award was the Most Valuable Player and this was shared by two 17-year-olds, Adkins and Stephen Heslop. It was a very special night and I believe that everyone who attended left having a good feeling about the season and about the team. For the fans that attended and joined us on the evening, I want to take the time to thank each and every one of you. I don’t think a lot of fans join teams on nights like this and so it just helped to enhance the experience for our kids.
Back to the VIJHL and what has been happening. Obviously we are down 1-0 in this best-of-7 but it is early. Last season we played the Saanich Braves and were down 3-1 in that series and were counted out by every single fan in the VIJHL. Our kids believed that we could come back and win in that series and we did in dramatic fashion winning the final three games, two in overtime including Game 7 in Saanich in double-overtime. Our kids believe this is going to be a long series and we are looking forward to the puck drop this evening. In the other South Island Series the Saanich Braves have taken a 2-0 lead in games over the Westshore Wolves after winning 4-2 in Saanich and then 3-2 in overtime back at Bear Mountain. I expect this series is far from over and it just as easily could have been 2-0 for the Wolves had the puck taken a different bounce here or there. I have a special interest in this series as I traded Cole Golka to the Braves at the deadline while three former Panthers were dealt last summer to the Wolves - Josh Bloomenthal, Kayle Ramsay and Chris MacDonald. Nope, this one is not in the books yet and I feel
it has a ways to go. The news out of this series happened in the first shift of Game 1 when the VIJHL Top Forward, 20-year-old Ty Jones appeared to suffer a knee injury. The chat around the arena is that he is out for the year and if that is the case I feel for the young fellow. Best of luck to both these Clubs.
Up North the Comox Valley Glacier Kings lead 2-0 against the Oceanside Generals. Patrick Croome was dealt from our squad to Comox on the January 10th deadline so I am certainly watching this series with more than passing interest. Of course the Glacier Kings are hosting the Junior “B” Championships early in April and have a bye into the 4-team tournament however it is important for them to continue quite a ways in the playoffs so that they are not sitting on the sidelines for a protracted time period prior to the Cyclone Taylor Cup. And in the other series in the North Division, the Nanaimo Buccaneers have a 2-0 lead in games after beating the Kerry Park Islanders last night by a 4-0 count. Last Sunday the Islanders faced off against the Campbell River Storm - both of these teams finished last in their Division - to earn the right to carry on in the playoffs against Nanaimo and in an exciting overtime win, the Islanders prevailed.
So all other series going on in the VIJHL teams are looking to take a stranglehold by going up 3-0 in games and already Oceanside, Kerry Park and the Westshore Wolves have their backs against the wall. We need to win tonight as well, although a loss would put us down 2-0. We have the toughest draw in the VIJHL for this 1st round but I expect you will see one of, if not our best effort of this season.
I want to thank the White Spot on Mount Newton Crossroad for coming out tonight to sponsor this game. I want to thank all our sponsors and fans, you all help us put out a good product on the ice, one that we are proud of year after year. I hope you enjoy the contest!
Pete Zubersky
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