2009 Kamloops Storm Awards Banquet

On Sunday Feb 22 the Kamloops Storm held their annual awards banquet and presentation at the McArthur Island Curling Club lounge. It was a good turnout and the potluck meal buffett was absolutely spectacular. Thanks to everyone who brought food . The desserts were decadent.

There were a total of 9 Awards given out. The Award winners are as follows:

The Coaches award sponsored by DICO Holdings/The Mortgage Centre :

David Gore and Anthony Manfredi

A & W Most Points Award:

David Gore

Radio NL Jim Harrington Game Breaker Award:

Jose Reyes

A & W Hard Hat Award:

Devin Gannon

Home Hardware Defenseman of the Year Award:

Shae Naka and Mike McCance

Eastside Marios Fan Favorite Award:

Mick Ludvig

Sandi Dewar Unsung Hero Award:

Scott Kirkham

Canada Logo Rookie of the Year:

Ryan Hanes

The McDonalds Three Star Award Winners:

Devin Gannon and Anthony Manfredi

Playoffs begin on Tuesday Feb 24 and Saturday Feb 28 at 7pm at McArthur Island Sports centre.

Barry Dewar, General Manager - Kamloops Storm

Kamloops Storm Split Weekend Points

Grab 3 of a Possible 6 Points.

A win, a loss and an overtime loss is what the Kamloops Storm bring back from this past weekend road trip to the East Kootenay's.

This was the first extensive road trip for the team and although they didn't dominate the competition, they survived. This October road trip has always proved tough on the team as they have to learn to get their road legs, find out more about each others bad habits and most of all, find the guy real leaders on the team.



Obviously, the line of Reyes, Gore and Ludvig have started showing their leadership on the ice. This line contributed a total of 15pts over the weekend and at least one of them was involved in 7 of the 11 goals that the Storm managed to muster up. This is good news for the Storm as this line started the year slow but are now gaining momentum.

Nice to see Josh Caron back in the lineup. He will be a welcome addition to the blueline.

Ryan Hanes requires minor surgery on his ankle that will keep him on the sidelines for about a month.

No word on Brandon Long (we miss his penalty killing). He's out with a banged up shoulder and was still not skating when the boys left for the road trip.

After 2 very commendable appearances between the pipes in Kamloops, Christian Pedersen faced his first adversity as he got pummeled by Golden on Friday night. He was pulled mid-way through the 2nd period and replaced by Anthony Manfredi. It happens. Christian is going to be a good goaltender for the Storm. Hang in there kid.

game summaries

Thanks to Jeremy Salamandyk for sending the game summaries.
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The new Team Profile page should be ready by the end of the month... some guys just have to be prodded to submit their information. Look for a high profile sponsor. In addition, you, the fans, will be invited to contribute to the pages and give us all a laugh... stay tuned
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Posse Gunned Down in Storm

Complete Team Effort by Storm Pays Dividends

It was a good old fashion shellacking, one we're sure the Princeton Posse will keep in the back of their minds for the next meeting. The Kamloops Storm unleashed their offense and used sound defense to control the game from start to finish. The Posse looked like they were standing still.

Two 20 year-old veterans, Jamie Galbraith and Mick Ludvig stepped up their efforts on Friday night to score 2 goals apiece in a 9-2 drubbing of the Posse. And there were significant contributions from almost every one on the team. In fact, everyone on the team got on the score sheet except James Friedel (who was tossed for fighting the middle of the second period) and AP Chris Clark. Clark saw limited ice time until late in the 3rd period.

Sheldon McDonald (0-3) and Austin Goode (1-2) led the point parade with 3 apiece while 7 others had 2 points.

For added entertainment there were a couple of good tilts. James Friedel took on Brody Brewster with Brewster taking a narrow decision and Jose Reyes duked it out with Kevin Darcy with Reyes on top of the heap after the smoking fists cleared.

A couple of unfortunate hitting-from-behind penalties also took a couple of players out of the game. Nick Cecconi got nailed for the Posse. I did not see the hit as my vision was obstructed so I can't comment on the hit. I will however say that Cecconi was issuing cheap hits earlier in the period and got away with it so it didn't break any of the Kamloops fans hearts to see him tossed. Darren Mann, in his speedy, aggressive style of play took out a Princeton player in front of the penalty box with a hit from behind and also got tossed. I did see that one and although I don't think it was intentional, it was a good call by the ref, who struggled with the concept of hitting and getting hit throughout the game.

Kamloops was firing on all cylinders. It was too bad that Manfredi lost his bid for a shutout. The goals were a perfect example of team overconfidence that led to breakdown. One fan mentioned to me after the game that it was a good thing the Posse scored earlier in the 3rd period because the Posse's 2nd goal was a coaches nightmare. Taylor Stuart, who played a pretty good game for the most part, committed the ultimate sin of being the last guy back with the puck, trying to stickhandle out of his own zone. With three Posse players on top of him, he coughed it up resulting in a goal by Bill Marshall. With head buried between his legs coming to the bench, the coaches didn't need to say too much.

For full game results, go the the KIJHL site here.

All said and done, the Storm seem to be coming together much earlier than the last two seasons.
With five really good players out of the lineup (Ryan Hanes-ankle, Travis Cech-suspension, Tyler Jackson - flu, Brandon Long - shoulder and Josh Caron- ankle) one wonders how good this team can really be. The impending 5 game road trip should solidify the character of the team and do nothing but grow their confidence.

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Keep your eyes open for the new player profile pages. We are solidifying a sponsor and intend to hold a season long contest for all fans.

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