Injuries and Defections Plague the Storm

While Trying to Maintain First Place in Division

After only collecting 2 of a possible 6 points in the West Kootenays last weekend, the Kamloops Storm still has a sizable lead of 7 points (over Princeton) in the Okanagan-Shuswap division of the KIJHL however with the rash of injuries and defections in recent weeks their stronghold could be weakening.

The Storm has lost 3 skilled speedsters to defection or trade.
As reported last week, Brandon Long and Darren Mann left to find greener pastures on the coast. I believe Mann has not been released from the Storm as yet so can't be playing anywhere yet.

This past week saw the departure of Travis Cech, a crafty stickhandler and speedster. At first he was traded to the Beaver Valley Nite Hawks and then the word that I got was that he was off to Qualicum Beach (Van Isl) to play for Oceanside. Despite his gritty play, Travis struggled with staying out of the coach's and general manager's doghouse by persistently being involved in disruptive behavior. The team management decided enough was enough and off he went. I hope things work out for him.

Injuries You Say

The goaltending position has been hardest hit in this latest injury parade. As if losing Christian Pedersen for the bulk of the season wasn't enough, star starter, Anthony Manfredi went down himself last weekend with a strained knee. He ended up backing up Kyle Graham for both the Castlegar and Nelson games. The team expects that Manfredi will be available to play this coming weekend if required.

Ty Jackson is out with a bruised knee... he's day-to-day.

Daniel Medland-Marchen has strep throat.

And Mike Hanes, who has been on a tear the last couple of weeks will finally undergo surgery for the lump on his ankle. Don't expect him to return until sometime in January.
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They Swim



I attended a recent BCHL game in Salmon Arm with the Merritt Centennials as the visiting team. As I was watching the warm up I recognized Scott Kirkham on the ice, then Mike McCance and then Sean Menton. All were up as AP's for last place Centennials playing against the league powerhouse, Salmon Arm Silverbacks.

Merritt coach, Al Glendinning, being the sink or swim type of bench boss that he is, threw all 3 of them out together for a number of shifts. And to my pleasant surprise, these boys swam. So well that they all saw power-play and penalty kill time, especially in the 3rd period.

Mike McCance played very well. I bet he saw well over 20 minutes of ice-time including power-play, penalty kill and regular shift. His 5'7" frame played 6'6" in size as he played the body and the puck with precision and effectiveness. He easily out-played 2 or 3 of the regulars and was rewarded with the extra time.

Kirkham played well but just couldn't seem to connect on offensive opportunities (neither could any other regulars who had numerous chances). His defensive game was sound enough to keep him and the team out of trouble most of the night.

Sean Menton took a little longer to acclimatize himself to the faster game and played a stronger 3rd period. He looked a little confused positionally at first but being the smart kid that he is, he adapted well. (...Sure hope he gets a new pair of skates for Xmas Dad).

After talking with Barry Dewar today, I guess all of these boys are back in Kamloops. That's the good news. The possible bad news is "how long before Merritt starts plucking and keeping players?"

McCance's performance sure deserves a second look.

Losing kids to the BCHL is kind of a goal for Junior B's but as the season wears on it would be nice to keep some consistency in the line up.
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Your comments are welcome. Just click below and give us your thoughts.

See you at the game on Saturday... a rematch with Castlegar.

later... kamloopsstormwriter

Stormy Weekend Ends with 4 Points

2 Wins and 1 Loss Keeps Kamloops atop the Division

3 games this weekend reinforced the Kamloops Storm hold on the Okanagan-Shuswap Division of the KIJHL but some chinks have showed in it's armor. Could it be that the loss of speedsters Darren Mann and Brandon Long has upset the balance of the team?

On Friday night the Storm visited division rival Chase and got their lunch handed to them with a 4-2 loss. Newcomer Scott Jackson scored a 2nd period hat trick to put Chase ahead to stay. All reports was that it was a lack lustre effort by the Storm and a spectacular effort by Chase, particularly Jackson. Devin Gannon and Jose Reyes scored the 2 goals for Kamloops.

Saturday night's tilt was a slugfest in Princeton with 4 fights and coaches being suspended. Kamloops easily won 6-2 with Ryan Hanes posting the hat-trick and Josh Caron chipping in for 2 goals. A total of 8 players were ejected for fighting and 2 other 10 minute misconducts.
With one fight in the 2nd period, all hell broke loose in the 3rd period with 3 more fights. The 4th fight between Storm defenseman Daniel Medland-Marchen and Posse's Brody Brewster drew suspensions for both head coaches.

Is there a pattern here? It seems that when ever there is a major dust-up in the Okanagan-Shuswap division, Princeton is involved. Last year it was against Chase. It seems that when things aren't going their way the only way they know how to deal with it is to fight.

Hey, by no means do I want to see the end of fighting in hockey. It has it's place but continual intimidation and lack of respect for the game itself seems to emit from the Posse organization year after year. It's a black-eye on the league.

Back to hockey.

On Sunday, the Grand Forks Border Bruins paid a visit to Mac Park and gave Kamloops everything they could handle. The Storm ended up winning 4-2 but it took 4 third period goals to secure the win. Grand Forks goaltender, Shane Mainprize was steady throughout the game, making save after save but finally succumbed to the pressure as the Storm really picked it up in the 3rd period.

Things looked grim just after the halfway point when Storm speedster Jose Reyes got a cheap call from referee Tom Henetiuk for a hit from behind. The call was out of line for a couple of reasons, first the player turned to draw the penalty and secondly Jose held up and clipped the side of the player. It wasn't hard to recognize. A particularly spectacular save by Storm goaltender, Anthony Manfredi, near the end of the 2nd period seemed to turn it around for the Storm.

With head coach Ed Patterson suspended for the game and co-coach Steve Passmore tending to some personal business, assistant coach Scott Sinclair stepped up to the plate as the bench boss for the game. A well timed time-out near the end of the 2nd period also helped Kamloops get back on track.
After one goal in each of the first two periods by Grand Forks (Jensen and Olsen), Devin Gannon finally got Kamloops on the board.

Sean Menton then went to work setting up 2 more goals and scoring the winner with 3:24 left in the 3rd. Mick Ludvig and David Gore scored on the Menton feeds.

It's a long stretch between home games as the Storm head out on the road for 4 games. Next weekend should be the toughest of the season as Kamloops heads to the West Kootenays to play Nelson, Castlegar and Beaver Valley. The following week they start Friday on the road in Revelstoke and then finally return to Mac Park for a rematch against Castlegar.

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No word on the return of Christian Pedersen yet. He is still in Calgary nursing a sore knee however one has to question whether he intends to return to the Storm as a back up for Manfredi. Pedersen certainly has the tools to be a number 1 somewhere else but not here. Hopefully we can get more concrete answers before the next home game.

Kamloops Storm Split Weekend Tilts

Nelson Leafs dump the Kamloops Storm 2-1 in Regulation

The Kamloops Storm faced some stiff opposition in their home barn last Friday when league leaders, Nelson Leafs came to town. It was a tight game between two of the most powerful offenses in the league and a battle between two top notch goaltenders.

The scoring didn't get started until the middle of the second period when the Leafs Dane Rupert cashed in on the power-play. Up until that point both goaltenders, Anthony Manfredi and Garrett Beckwith were rock solid, even acrobatic.

Kamloops got on the board early in the 3rd period, also on the power-play when David Gore finished off a nice 3 way play from Ludvig and Naka. Gore has been hot of late with 6 goals in 3 games.

Nelson finished off the scoring on another slick passing play as Kai Bauman slid a rebound under Manfredi. Kamloops got itself into penalty trouble at the end of the game, leaving only 10 seconds to be at full strength. Sean Menton, who took the penalty knew where to go when he got out of the box but couldn't knock down the pass to get a final chance to tie the score.

The game was close, with both teams showing similar characteristics that make them amongst the best in the league... depth at offense, strong skating skills and of course, quality goaltending.
I thought that Nelson showed a little more organization on the power play and holding the blue line. Manfredi really did a great job there.

Depth at offense was starting to show up in the Kamloops 4th line of Jackson, Friedel and Stuart.
Both Taylor Stuart and Friedel has one of their best games of the season showing much stronger skating and offensive zone control. Jackson was his usual spunky self and is happy to have a couple of wingers that he can work with.

Darren Mann returned after almost a month off. He looked a little tender out there but that will improve with time.

In summary, although the crowd was entertained, Kamloops again fell to a top team from the other division (Golden twice/Fernie) in their own barn. As good as they are looking now, there is still room for improvement. They meet the Leafs again on Nov 23 in Nelson and let's hope that the Storm can return the favor.

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James Friedel hits the Score Sheet



On Saturday night the Storm visited the Revelstoke Grizzlies. The Grizzlies dominated the first period, out shooting the Storm 15-5. Again Manfredi was hot, but it was James Friedel who got the Storm off to an early start. With their strong play the night before, Coach Patterson, showing a lot of confidence in the Jackson line, started them and Friedel got his first goal of the year, unassisted. It was 1-1 after the first period.
Two quick power-play goals in the second period by Jose Reyes and David Gore put Kamloops ahead to stay. Ryan Hanes scored the other 2 goals with a total of 4 goals in the 2nd period.

The 3rd period appeared to be a goon show as both teams took a truck load of penalties with 6 players being ejected for fighting. Ty Jackson finished off the scoring in the 3rd period making it a 6-2 final.

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Brandon Long has left the team to pursue Jr hockey on the lower mainland. Apparently he has an opportunity to AP with a BCHL team in the area (Surrey?) but it wasn't going to happen unless he was locally available. Good luck Brandon.

Last but not least, back-up goaltender JJ Zackall finished off the game in the 3rd period, logging 5:57 min and stopping 5 of 5 shots.

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The new Team Profile page should be ready soon... we are excited to have Dolson's Source for Sports on board as the Team Profile sponsor. We are just getting the final details ironed out before we go live.

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3 Game Sweep Extends Storm Lead Atop Standings

Captain David Gore on a Tear!

It was a near perfect weekend for the Kamloops Storm as they played 3 days in a row and came away with 3 victories. Every game was tight, especially the Sunday game against Creston, where the Storm got a lucky bounce off the butt of the referee when David Gore capitalized scoring the game tying goal with 34 seconds left on the clock.


Gore had a tremendous weekend scoring 5 goals and adding 2 helpers. Previously David had been playing well and getting assists but this weekend he was gold on the goal scoring trail and has now moved up into a tie with Scott Kirkham, leading the team in points with 25.

On Friday night the Sicamous Eagles were in town trying to make amends for the poddy-kicking (8-1) they received from the Storm the previous week, on home ice no less. The game was a close affair with both goaltenders posting big save after big save. It was an Italian standoff as Storm goaltender Anthony Manfredi out duelled the Eagles stopper, Delaney Minichiello.
Gore had the hat-trick, including an empty netter to seal the win at 4-1. It was a good game, with both teams playing hard. Kamloops really didn't shake the Eagles until late in the 3rd period when it was still tied at 1-1.

Saturday night in Summerland saw Jose Reyes as the dominant player on the ice as Kamloops rolled to a 4-2 win over the Sting. Kirkham, McCance and Brandon Long (just back from injury) scored the other goals. Gore has a lone assist.

Then of course, there was Sunday's tilt against the Creston Thunder Cats. Loaded with past Kamloops Minor hockey products in Silverston, Miller and the Moen brothers (Kolton, Brodie), the Thunder Cats proved a tough opponent. Creston is in 4th place in a tough division but has a few games in hand on the divisional leaders (Fernie, Columbia Valley, Golden). Goaltender Wade Waters was stellar however Kamloops goalie, Anthony Manfredi was equal to the task and then out duelled Waters in the shootout.

The Storm's next home game doesn't get any easier as the league's best record in the Nelson Maple Leafs comes to town. It should be an epic battle.
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Quick Notes:

Darren Mann is back in town and expects to start skating this week after rolling over on his ankle on Thanksgiving weekend.

Jamie Galbraith is day-to-day (groin).

Daniel Medland-Marchen is also day-to-day with a strained glutimus-maximus.

Christian Pedersen may be done for awhile. He is in Calgary getting an MRI done on his knee and may need arthroscopic surgery. We will hear more this week.

James Friedel remains snake bitten in the goal scoring department. He missed a wide open net on Friday night's game against the Eagles. Friedel has been playing hard and coaches Patterson and Passmore have rewarded him, Tyler Jackson and Taylor Stuart with more ice time recently because of their dependable play. On Sunday, Friedel was moved back to defence to replace Medland-Marchen and played pretty well. I don't think he wants to stay there though.

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Watch for the Kamloops Storm Profiles to start here on the blog. Along with the profiles, the Storm will be running an ongoing fan & player participation contest (of sorts). Contributing fans will be able to secure discount coupons from our profile sponsor... Dolson's Source for Sports and the players will be competing for a prize, also contributed by Dolson's... the only thing holding us up are the delinquent profiles required from a few...ahem... star players.
It will be fun and everyone is encouraged to participate. In the end, we would like to also create the largest team profile website in the province... Stay Tuned.

here's a hint... dig up some old or recent photos of your favorite Storm player, we are gonna need them.

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Thanks to Barry Dewar for the Volunteer Appreciation pizza-fest after Sunday afternoon's game.

October 31 game

A very entertaining game on Halloween night as the Sicamous Eagles put up a great battle before the Storm were able to pull out a 4-1 win. Danny Minichiello made his first start for Sicamous against the Storm and played awesome as did Storm goalie Anthony Manfredi. Manfredi had to be sharp in the first period making a couple of key saves and then again in the second before the Storm took control of the game. Minichiello stopped 47 of 51 shots. Manfredi stopped 32 of the 33 shots he faced. The McDonalds 3 stars of the game were #3 Minichiello, #2 Anthony Manfredi and the number one star was David Gore who scored 3goals including an empty netter with seconds remaining on the clock. Ryan Hanes with one goal and one assist got the other marker. Mick Ludvig had 2
assists while Kirkham, Reyes, Menton and Long all had one assist

INJURY REPORT
Christian Pedersen has returned to Calgary for a few days following a tweak in his knee, he should be back this week and will likely get a start next weekend. Darren Mann will resume skating this week after a twisted ankle. Jamie Galbraith will be out for another couple of weeks with a lower body injury. Doug Orr and Ryan Hanes both returned last night after a couple of weeks off due to injury. Both had strong games in the win over Sicamous