Jan. 31st vs. Kerry Park Islanders - Hockey Ops.

Good Evening Hockey Fans,

Well, welcome back to the Panorama Recreation Centre this fine evening for our game against the visiting Kerry Park Islanders.  This is their 3rd visit onto the Peninsula this season and they will be here on February 14th which will wrap up our Regular Season.  The Islanders have been a real pain in our side this year, we have struggled with them when we have won and we have struggled with them when we have lost.  Of course, both teams have a bit of a different look to them than the last time we played.  We hooked up with the Islanders on January 8th for a whopping 4-player trade with VIJHL leading goal-getter Alex Milligan and gritty Tylor Branzsen coming this way.  These two 20-year-olds have not disappointed one bit and in many of the games since their arrival, they have lead the way.  And going up Island just a bit to Mill Bay were a pair of 18-year-olds in Adam Page and Nick Kean.  In talking with people from the Islanders Organization, they too are quite happy with the transaction as they received two great kids who should be impact players next year and the year to follow that one.  It was a deal that happens often in hockey, one team trying to add to a lineup that they think has a shot at doing something in the post-season and another team that is looking beyond this season and into the future.  We have enjoyed working with the Islanders.  They are a classy Organization and one that we trust in this League.  I suppose we can say we have not enjoyed the same comfort level with all of the Clubs we have dealt with in the recent past, but we would deal again with the Islanders and believe they would deal with us.  This trust makes the game work well.  Watch for these four players this evening, I believe they will compete hard and will enjoy the game and the competition to the utmost.

We added to our group on Wednesday evening when we picked up 18-year-old Rylan Ball.  Please do not strain your eyes tonight looking for Rylan, he is not in the lineup tonight.  Rylan hails from Powell River and he is cleaning up some odds and ends and will be making his way down to the Peninsula on Monday morning.  He will skate with the Club on Tuesday and will probably skate with the Victoria Grizzlies on Wednesday.  Rylan will be thrown right into the fire next Thursday evening when we travel to Nanaimo to take on the Buccaneers and will display his talents next Friday night right here in the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre when we host the Campbell River Storm in a big, big game.  So what will you see when you look at Rylan next Friday night?  For starters, he will most likely be playing in our top 6 forwards and should be a staple on our power play.  He has a better than great shot and can score when needed.  Rylan is a right shot and most likely will be playing the right wing.  As a 17-year-old he played in Comox with the Glacier Kings and was a defenceman for most of that year.  He was put up forward later on in the season and he scored a lot of goals as he adjusted to the new position.  He will be playing up front with us and when Head Coach Brian Passmore contacted him and spoke with him last Wednesday night, Rylan told Passy that he wants to come to the Peninsula and win.  What a great attitude, that is exactly what we are looking for in our players right now.  Rylan started this season with the Cowichan Capitals of the BCHL and was moved part way through the season to the Trail Smokeeaters of the BCHL.  He was sitting at home however, and when we called it took him two weeks to jump at this opportunity to join the Club.  Rylan wants to get back to the BCHL next season and there is nothing more than we would like to see than this.  Our Organization is about helping players get to the next level and we will be working for Rylan to reach this goal.  As I mentioned to Rylan and I mention it to every single player on the Club, when we achieve as a group we will achieve as individuals.  If players want to play at the next level be it College or Junior A, the best way to do it is to play on a winner.  So often players only think about themselves.  When you find a group that will play for each other, who will buy-in to the fact that they are playing a certain role on a Club, you will find a group who will be successful.  I believe that Rylan Ball is one of those guys and so the entire Organization welcome him into the fold and we are looking for him to add to a great group of kids that we have assembled right here.  Alright then, let’s talk a bit about the week that was.  As you recall, we thumped the Westshore Wolves last Friday night by a 10-5 count but the game was a whole lot closer than the score indicated.  It was actually quite close but then a barrage of goals opened up the game and it was over.  The Wolves Goaltender Matt Chester was chased in the process after allowing nine markers but the 20-year-old is far better than that one game showed.  We are going to be meeting the Wolves in Round 1 of the VIJHL playoffs and I expect that this series will be a barnburner. We play the Wolves one more time and that game will take place at Bear Mountain in the last week of the Regular Season on February 12th.  I expect that at that point the game might be meaningless for the Wolves however, we are still in a battle for 2nd place overall in the VIJHL with the Campbell River Storm and the Comox Valley Glacier Kings and the Wolves could play a part in who finishes where.  They play the Storm a couple more times I believe, so it will be interesting.  And last Saturday we headed up to play the hapless Oceanside Generals.  The Generals are simply playing out the string at this point but they came out all fired up and lead 1-0 after the first 20 minutes were entrenched in the books.  Our kids regrouped in the first intermission and then took control the rest of the way winning 5-2.  The win was our 10th in a row and we have also won 13 home games in a row at this point.  Last night we wandered over to Esquimalt to battle the Victoria Cougars, leaders in the VIJHL.  To that point we had split our first six games and so I believe that this game took on a bit more importance than just any other game, albeit, it was just another game in a 48-game regular season.  Our kids were excited to be at the Archie Browning, it has been a long, long time since we were there.  In some quirky scheduling, we played the Cougars twice in September in Esquimalt and had not been back since September 26th.  We rolled in there last night looking for our 11th in a row and in what might have been the most bizarre game of the year we came out on the short end of the stick by a whopping 9-8 score.  The game went into overtime after we gave it away in the last half of the 3rd frame.  We went up 8-5 when Tylor Branzsen tallied with a little over 13 minutes left but Alex Milligan was quickly whistled for a penalty and the Cougars capitalized on the power play.  And they added a couple more against Joey Karrer to knot the game at 8-8 at the end of regulation.  Buchanan was in a battle early in the overtime with Cougars Captain Mark Walton and although it was just good hard overtime hockey in my eyes, we were whistled once again and the Cougars went on the Power Play for the 8th time in the contest.  They scored shortly thereafter to win the game 9-8 and this set off a huge celebration for the Cougars as they scored 4 late unanswered goals to pull the rabbit from the hat.  It was a good wake up call, nothing is free, you have to work for everything.  Milligan was a bright spot potting 4 goals and giving us 2nd spot in the VIJHL, at least for the evening.

I fully expect that we will be playing the Westshore Wolves in Round 1 and although there is a possibility that this will not be the case I thought I would go ahead and lay out what the schedule will look like in this matchup.  We hold home ice in this best-of-7 as we will finish ahead of the Wolves.

Game #1  Monday, Feb. 17th @ Panorama Rec. - 7:30 pm
Game #2  Wednesday, Feb. 19th @ Bear Mountain - 7:00 pm
Game #3  Friday, Feb 21st @ Panorama Rec. Ctr. - 7:30 pm
Game #4  Saturday, Feb. 22nd @ Bear Mountain - 6:00 pm
Game # 5  Monday, Feb. 24th @ Panorama Rec. Ctr. -7:30 pm
Game #6  Wednesday, Feb 26 @ Bear Mountain - 7:00 pm
Game #7  Friday, Feb. 28th @ Panorama Rec. Ctr. - 7:30 pm

On our last night of the Regular Season, Friday, February 14th we will have a fan appreciation and Peninsula Minor Hockey Appreciation night.  There will be extra prizes and we will wear a 3rd Jersey made specifically for this game. Following the game, 23 game worn jerseys will be gifted to 23 PMHA players in an on-ice ceremony.  The winners will have to be in attendance to take home one of the jerseys.  This has to be one of the real highlights of the regular season and we always have a packed house.  Please join us for this.

During the 2nd intermission, our players will go out into the Lobby and will sign autographs for the youngsters in attendance.  We will be giving out programs for anyone who needs them.  This event is always a home run with the youngsters and our Club.  On the 14th these same K.P. Islanders will be in town and as I mentioned earlier, this will conclude the 48-game Regular Season.  Peden Recreation Vehicle Ltd. are the sponsor for the night and have been the game sponsor for several years now. A special thanks to Brad Peden - he is generous to a fault and he helps to make this game a reality.

OK, here we go.  The curtain is certainly just about to rise and the puck is just about to be dropped.  The Club has not lost on home ice since a way back on October 25th and we are going after our 14th in a row right here at the Panorama Recreation Centre.  It’s strange how good home-ice has been to us this season, I can’t recall a season in which I’ve been involved where there was such a discrepancy between our home and away record.  We are hoping to keep the good times rolling tonight with another win.  You fans have been awesome.  It does not matter if the Royals are playing, if the rain is pouring, if the roads are icy or if the weather outside is absolutely brutal, you have been there every single night and I honestly believe that it shows on the ice and in the standings.

Thank you for your ongoing support of the Club.

Pete Zubersky