It was a tough weekend for the Kamloops Storm. On Friday night they visited the last place North Okanagan Knights in Enderby and took it on the chin, losing 5-4 in regulation. With Saturday being a resting day you would think that the team would be re-charged for their Sunday matinee game at the Mac Park Centre against the dreaded Princeton Posse but such was not the case.
For the first couple of minutes of the game the Storm controlled the play but on 12 seconds into a Mitch Lutz penalty for holding, the Princeton Posse scored their first goal from Danny Hillman and the rout was on. Six minutes later, the Storm got their first power play and promptly coughed the puck up at the offensive blueline (which has been a bad habit lately) when Chase Salisbury poked the puck around Jordan Wilkins and made a nice feed to Dayton Shaw who buried his first goal of the game, a nice short-handed goal over the glove of Storm goaltender Anthony Manfredi.
Just 1:28 later, Storm forward Gary Rai got caught stickhandling as the last man back in his own zone. Ben Morgan picked his pocket and promptly put the puck over the same glove hand as the previous goal. Manfredi was livid (justifiably so) and was pulled in favour of newly signed goaltender, Alex Christiansen, who didn't fare much better. With 4:13 left in the period the Posse capitalized on another power play on a goal by Evan Stack and the score was now 4-0.
It was at this time that the Storm finally showed an ounce of pride and started to fight back. At 17:16 Gary Rai made up for his earlier blunder by finishing off a spectacular effort by Duncan Schultz to put the Storm's first goal on the board. Then, 47 seconds later on the same shift, Schultz potted one on a some good work by Bevin Ollek... the team had life and went into the intermission trailing only by 2 and on the power play to start the 2nd period.
Riding on the momentum from their flurry at the end of the 1st period, the Storm came out buzzing and managed to score their 3rd goal in a row. Brett DeFrias let a low slapper go after Tyler Jackson slid a smooth pass back to the point. The crowd was now back into the game but the euphoria wouldn't last long.
The Posse, refusing to break under the onslaught turned the period around by scoring 2 goals of their own before the end of the period and went into the 2nd intermission with a 6-3 lead.
It was Anthony Manfredi returning to the net for the 3rd period. I guess the coaching staff figured that it wasn't the goaltending costing them the game and if they were to going to make a run of it, Manfredi would be their guy.
Didn't work.
The Posse came out "storming" in the 3rd period and scored 2 goals in the first 5:o8 of the period and virtually cruised to an 8-3 shellacking of the Kamloops squad. There were a few scuffles in frustration before the game ended but the scoreboard spoke for itself. This was a humiliation and the boys knew it.
SCOREBOARD
The next and last regular season home game is next Saturday, Feb 13, against the Division leading Revelstoke Grizzlies.
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Coaching Rumours...
There were rumours flying around after the game that coach Greg Hawgood had been dismissed by team owner and GM Barry Dewar. I managed to contact Barry today (Monday) and he had a slightly different story.
Assistant coach Brent Fritz has to leave for a firefighter training course in Texas and Barry had managed to find someone competent enough to fill in and work with Hawgood. The new guy was going to be designated as a co-coach and apparently this didn't sit well with Hawgood and he felt that he was being fired. Dewar has denied that he had fired Hawgood but at the time we talked, he said that he did not know what the status of his coach would be by the end of the day.
We will keep you posted.
With the playoffs on the horizon and the Keystone Cup later in April, it's scary to think that this team, the way that they are playing now, will be anything more than pylons for the provincial champions of the 5 most western provinces who will be here to make their claim on the championship. We all hope that someone or something can change things for the better.
For the first couple of minutes of the game the Storm controlled the play but on 12 seconds into a Mitch Lutz penalty for holding, the Princeton Posse scored their first goal from Danny Hillman and the rout was on. Six minutes later, the Storm got their first power play and promptly coughed the puck up at the offensive blueline (which has been a bad habit lately) when Chase Salisbury poked the puck around Jordan Wilkins and made a nice feed to Dayton Shaw who buried his first goal of the game, a nice short-handed goal over the glove of Storm goaltender Anthony Manfredi.
Just 1:28 later, Storm forward Gary Rai got caught stickhandling as the last man back in his own zone. Ben Morgan picked his pocket and promptly put the puck over the same glove hand as the previous goal. Manfredi was livid (justifiably so) and was pulled in favour of newly signed goaltender, Alex Christiansen, who didn't fare much better. With 4:13 left in the period the Posse capitalized on another power play on a goal by Evan Stack and the score was now 4-0.
It was at this time that the Storm finally showed an ounce of pride and started to fight back. At 17:16 Gary Rai made up for his earlier blunder by finishing off a spectacular effort by Duncan Schultz to put the Storm's first goal on the board. Then, 47 seconds later on the same shift, Schultz potted one on a some good work by Bevin Ollek... the team had life and went into the intermission trailing only by 2 and on the power play to start the 2nd period.
Riding on the momentum from their flurry at the end of the 1st period, the Storm came out buzzing and managed to score their 3rd goal in a row. Brett DeFrias let a low slapper go after Tyler Jackson slid a smooth pass back to the point. The crowd was now back into the game but the euphoria wouldn't last long.
The Posse, refusing to break under the onslaught turned the period around by scoring 2 goals of their own before the end of the period and went into the 2nd intermission with a 6-3 lead.
It was Anthony Manfredi returning to the net for the 3rd period. I guess the coaching staff figured that it wasn't the goaltending costing them the game and if they were to going to make a run of it, Manfredi would be their guy.
Didn't work.
The Posse came out "storming" in the 3rd period and scored 2 goals in the first 5:o8 of the period and virtually cruised to an 8-3 shellacking of the Kamloops squad. There were a few scuffles in frustration before the game ended but the scoreboard spoke for itself. This was a humiliation and the boys knew it.
SCOREBOARD
The next and last regular season home game is next Saturday, Feb 13, against the Division leading Revelstoke Grizzlies.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coaching Rumours...
There were rumours flying around after the game that coach Greg Hawgood had been dismissed by team owner and GM Barry Dewar. I managed to contact Barry today (Monday) and he had a slightly different story.
Assistant coach Brent Fritz has to leave for a firefighter training course in Texas and Barry had managed to find someone competent enough to fill in and work with Hawgood. The new guy was going to be designated as a co-coach and apparently this didn't sit well with Hawgood and he felt that he was being fired. Dewar has denied that he had fired Hawgood but at the time we talked, he said that he did not know what the status of his coach would be by the end of the day.
We will keep you posted.
With the playoffs on the horizon and the Keystone Cup later in April, it's scary to think that this team, the way that they are playing now, will be anything more than pylons for the provincial champions of the 5 most western provinces who will be here to make their claim on the championship. We all hope that someone or something can change things for the better.
Posts
Really? Now this? Are you kidding me? This team will HAVE to be loaded with ap's for the Keystone cause there is NO way this organization is gonna keep the vet's around for six weeks waiting to play 4 games that they know they CAN NOT COMPETE in.Complete breakdown in team managment.Coaches should have been fired a month ago,maybe the Storm might have had a chance,now,Hawgood gone........NO,Hawgood not gone....what a joke.This is the kind of stuff that players talk about,word gets around. Good luck in the future tryin to recruit players.Ask the folks in Grand Forks or Columbia Valley what's in the Kamloops Storm's future.
ReplyDeleteon the coaching rumor....that is too bad that the firing is not true. As we can see the team is not responding to coach Hawgood. I think the change would have been the best thing for the team. Dewar you keep changing players but that is not helping but the coaching firing would have been the next step to try and salvage the season.
ReplyDeleteThe strength of any organization starts at the top. It is easy to blame the coach, but lets look at what the coaches have had to work with in terms of practices,moral,funds for uniforms, food on road trips, etc. There are talented hockey players on the team and they deserve to be treated with respect. It was sad to listen to the GM ( Barry) call a game and do nothing but criticize his team while promoting the other team with positve praise. The statement given early that the team was not given the tools to be successful is a good statement. Most people I know respond better to encouragement than belittling talk and treatment. Perhaps the team could have been handled differently and some players need to sit a few shifts out, but lets look at what we can do now to move forward and give these players a chance to succeed. It is easy for all of us on the outside looking in to speak, has anyome listened to the players? A few bad apples doesn't have to spoil the whole bunch. Good luck as the Storm try to salvage the playoffs and Westerns. I believe you can do it!
ReplyDeleteHeck, what a mess this year has been. It is disappointing for the players and parents. The Storm are suppose to be a quality organization. They can't even keep their web site up to date and in decent order. Check out other team sits and they are amazing. Try spending a little money, Barry. You get what you put into something! Best of luck to the players! Try to dig deep and bring your best to Playoffs!Do it for your own personal sense of pride and for your teammamtes.
ReplyDeletei agree, its easy to sit outside and look in, but how much of what we talk about do we really know. seems like it is from one opinion to the next. speculation is what causes rumors. this team has some troubles right now and fixing them will take the effort of the owner, coaches and players. they are the only ones that see the full picture. its easy to find blame at anything you look at.
ReplyDeletegeez,
ReplyDeletegimme a break.
ive got a hole in my sock, no name bar, didnt get the steak i wanted and my teams website isnt cool?
ya think the teams troubles are because of that?
i will say if you look good you feel good. but underspending or overspending doesnt make a great team. it is the team that makes a great team. leadership and trust in the leadership and team mates makes a great team. believing in yourselves and the system makes a great team.
lets hope mr liebel can bring something to the table that the team needs.
I heard yesterday Feb 9 that one of the reasons players don't come to Kamloops is because we don't have track suits or there are holes in the socks. Obviously it is a player who commented above, be a man and come talk to me.
ReplyDeleteThe difficulty is not that we don't have new socks or jackets, the problem is I cannot reward the players for bad behaviour. If you can't handle that go home and stay there or smarten up. This team as a group (there are individuals that this does not apply to)have no respect for their coaches, dressing room, bus or teammates. Once they learn the basics there are always rewards available.
Barry Dewar
i agree with the last poster throwing money towards the team is not going to make a winner you can't buy happiness you can't buy a winner
ReplyDeletethe bottom line is the storm do not have the talent to have a respectable showing at the keystone this year
nothin to be ashamed of it's just not in the cards next year who knows maybe the storm will be in the keystone and feel good about themselves on how they got there
Barry
ReplyDeleteI think the poster directly above your post was actually making fun of the previous comments about how the team looked.
It is rediculous to think that a team will perform better if they got all the perks.
You are correct to say it should be earned.
stormfan
This has been an interesting read. I agreewith barry you should not reward bad behaviour - yet the coaching staff shouldhave the balls to disipline. That last game was a disgrace - players bitching at each, stick slamming against the boards-yet not one of the guilty ones were sat.
ReplyDeleteAs for the uniforms -it is embarassing to see such a mix of uniforms - pride has to come into play. Forget the fact that this is probably the only team in the leaque with out track suites.
Barry if the guys are behaving like jerks in the dressing room, bus or whatever discipline them. be sure to set high standards. I hear you do not provide (not confirmed) snacks or a proper meal after the game - it this is true shame onyou. YOu have a responsibilty to the players as well!!
Folks, just a note about the use of this blog...
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, it's an independent blog. It is not supported financially or otherwise by the Kamloops Storm Hockey Team. It is simply a platform to spread the news online and give an editorial review.
Secondly, the ability to make comments on the posts is a privilege, not a right. The comments posts are used to feel the pulse of the fans regarding the team. There is room to display satisfaction and dissatisfaction but I, as the author, refuse to allow the defamation of character of any individual (coaches, players, management)or a string of posts perceived to be aimed at destroying the fabric of the team, particularly from individuals who hide behind the veil of an anonymous source.
We are all fans of the team and I thank everyone who contributes their voice. However, if comments appear to be crossing the line between criticizing and badgering/defamation I will be quick to exercise my right to reject those comments.
Again, thank you for your participation and lets continue to cheer for the success of the team.