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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Posts
long gone? hmmm
ReplyDeletewas a speedy player who could crank it up.
heard a rumor that mann is also gone.
two holes to fill. any rumor on who might be out there?
on a side note i see the cocco bros have left grand forks and will be sharing ice time with brandon long.
any more news on who has a good proposal for the expansion spot in the league? looks like they want it in this division.
ty dave
ps hope the interactive site idea goes well. would be nice to see more stories input etc from others as well.
Hi, and thanks for your question. Yes, Darren Mann has left the building although he has been neither traded or released. Apparently he has some hockey interest down in Vancouver. The team is being vague about it at this time.
ReplyDeleteThe loss of both Mann and Long certainly weakens the team depth although it is still pretty good as long as every one is healthy.
We will try to give an update on the broadcast this Sunday.
StormWriter
When will Christian Pedersen be back from injury. The team needs a backup for Manfredi, one that can actually play a few games for the team to give Manfredi a break.
ReplyDeleteNot sure when Christian is supposed to return. I haven't had an update in a week when I was told that he should be back in town any time. Hopefully we will have more for you on broadcast of Sunday's game.
ReplyDeleteStormwriter