Ghostriders Weather the Storm

Fernie wins Game 1 in Double OT

Trevor Hertz scored his 2nd goal of the game at 4:47 of the 2nd overtime period to give the Fernie Ghostriders the opening win in KIJHL semi-final action last night at the Fernie Memorial Arena.

It was a great game with each team running through cycles of momentum, trading periods of dominance throughout. The nearly 900 fans were into it as they packed the old palace and their home team didn't disappoint.

Kamloops executed their game plan well most of the time and showed a lot of grit and determination to come back twice from a goal down after setting the tone early in the first period with a power play goal by Ryan Bullock.

The Storm did a very good job early in the game keeping high-scoring Fernie forward Martin Croteau under wraps but it was his supporting cast that also came to play and ultimately put the game away.

Kamloops wasn't without it's chances. In the overtime, Ryan Bullock had an opportunity when he forced a turnover and went in on a breakaway only to be thwarted by Fernie goaltender Evan Smith.

Both goaltenders, Smith and Storm backstopper Anthony Manfredi had solid games keeping their teams in the hunt when called upon. Manfredi made a Dominic Hasek type save in the second period to keep the score at 2-1 that kept the Storm within reach.

It was give-aways in the defensive end that ultimately cost Kamloops the game as Fernie displayed great puck possesion when they kept the puck in the Storms zone.

Other goal scorers for Kamloops were Lundy Trenaman and Anthony Collins, both capitalizing in the goalmouth area. Trenaman's was a nice tip in from a Paul Riddell point shot and Collins was johnny-on-the-spot picking up a rebound and tucking it under goatender Evan Smith.

Fernie had 2 goals from Hertz and 2 from David McIvor.

Game 2 goes tonight at 7:30 mountain time (6:30 Kamloops time) at the Fernie Memorial Arena. Game 3 will be in Kamloops on Sunday night, 7:30 at the Mac Park Sports Centre.

BOXSCORE

Storm Sweeps Series Against Grizzlies

Kamloops on the Road for Next Series Opener

In a well played and officiated game, the Kamloops Storm stayed one step ahead of the Revelstoke Grizzlies to take the Okanagan-Shuswap Division Championship 4 games to none.
Unlike the fiasco the night before which saw an unparalleled parade to the penalty box, this was a good game.

Revelstoke started strong and played well but it was Kamloops who notched the first goal and stayed ahead or tied all game. Jassi Sangha kept his hot hand going with a goal and 2assists and league playoff goal scorer, Ryan Bullock had 2 goals and one assist including the game winning goal. Lundy Trenaman had the other Kamloops goal.

boxscore


Manfredi was Magnificent!

The difference in the series was goaltending. Although Grizzlies goaltenders Colin Stebner and Jordan Barry played well (except perhaps game 3), Anthony Manfredi stole the show, especially in game 4. In the second and 3rd period when Kamloops got themselves into some defensive trouble Manfredi was simply spectacular making Dominic Hasek type saves to keep his team in the game. You could see the focus in his posture and demeanor, challenging Revelstoke to test him. Revelstoke still managed to beat him for 3 power play goals, something they struggled with earlier in the series but when the game was on the line, Manfredi showed why he was chosen the division MVP.

On the Road

The next series, a 3 of 5 game affair will take place in either Fernie or Beaver Valley depending on the outcome of the Nelson - Beaver Valley series. If Nelson wins, they get the bye into the final and Kamloops is off to Fernie to play the Ghostriders in the semi-final. If Beaver Valley wins, they will host the Storm and Fernie would get the bye.
Currently Nelson leads the series 3-2 and Game 6 goes tonight in Beaver Valley.

Expect the semi-final series to start this Wed or Thurs.

Kamloops Storm takes 3-0 Series Lead in Penalty Marred Game

Officiating Crew Outshines Teams for Headlines

It took less than one minute for the officiating crew of the game 3 showdown between Kamloops and Revelstoke to steal the headlines of the game. I don't know about you but I have yet to attend a hockey game where the crowd has come to see the referees. Only their mommas. And with their performance last night in the Revelstoke arena, their daddies would hide in shame.

From the opening buzzer to the end of the game the officials made more calls than commodity broker and much like a broker, half of their calls were duds. And to make matters worse, the bad calls made against one team seemed to be alternated soon afterwards to balance the injustices. It was a fiasco at best and resembled the recent television commercial where the referee makes an announcement that he blew the call and that he would for "no good reason" penalize the other team to even things out. Only the crowd never got the courtesy of the announcement.

The Grizzlies got into penalty trouble less than one minute into the game and from there on the officials made it clear that it was their game, not the teams. Poor judgement, missed calls, phantom calls and even changed calls sucked the life out of the crowd, players, coaches and even the announcers of the game. Everyone went home shaking their heads wondering what the heck happened.

Oh yes, Kamloops won 6-1 and now has a stranglehold on the series which could end tonight if Revelstoke can't battle their demons in dealing with the refereeing situation. You could see the Grizzlies frustration building between the questionable calls against them and their inability to crack the Kamloops defensive wall and put the puck in the net when they had the chance. Kamloops on the other hand, although also frustrated, made good on a few of their chances and pulled away steadily, scoring 2 goals in each period to win the game.

As of this writing (10:15 AM - Friday), the boxscores have not been posted so the amount of penaties and the goal scoring summary is not available. Probably overloaded the KIJHL boxscore program. We can tell you that Kamloops got a natural hat trick from Ryan Bullock and singles from Anthony Collins, Darren Mann and supposedly Lundy Trenaman. It was Justin Giroux who fired the shot that seemed to go off of goaltender Colin Stebner's glove. That call was all part and parcel of one of the most poorly managed games we have seen.

Revelstoke had the parade to the box in the first period while Kamloops seem to take the brunt of the calls in the second. When Kamloops went up 3-0 in the 2nd, Grizzlies coach Brad Fox changed up his goaltenders, substituting Jordan Barry in for Stebner. The Grizzlies seemed to regroup for awhile, scoring one goal on the power play but reverted back to their black hole of frustration when Bullock scored his first goal late in the second period to put Kamloops up 4-1.

With the game seemingly out of reach, the Grizzlies frustration seemed to overflow in the 3rd period and again the boxes were full. At one time Revelstoke had 4 men in the penalty box and Kamloops had 2 resulting in a Storm 5 on 3 power play. One could only feel that the referee was just looking to penalize the players. He blew a number of other calls too like when the puck clearly hit an overhead beam and rebounded back to the ice. Instead of calling the play dead, he let it go, giving Revelstoke a 2 on 1 break when Cody Kightley took a penalty for hauling down the Grizzlie puck carrier. The ensuing power play resulted in Revelstoke's only goal by Brent Madlung. If the right call had been made, the power play doesn't happen and Manfredi keeps his shutout.

The shutout is a mute point. Both coaches were frustrated. In the end Kamloops ended up taking a late time out and replaced goaltender Anthony Manfredi with back-up Brennan Jones with about 3 minutes to go as Revelstoke looked prepared to take their frustrations out on the Storm players. Good move by coach Bryant Perrier.

There was only one fight in the game with Brent Meissinger duking it out with Justin Giroux (I think... gosh I need those box scores). Without knowing the final count, there must have been at least 40 penalty calls during the game. There was very little flow and very little even strength play.

Your guess is as good as mine as to what game 4 will bring tonight. Revelstoke will be fighting for their playoff lives and had better bring their work ethic and a huge dose of discipline. If Kamloops manages to start pulling away in this one it may end up as this weeks version of Friday Night Fights as revenge and a reminder for next season is all that the Grizzlies will have left to compete for.

Having the opportunity to see this series played in both rinks, I would have to say that I was impressed as much with Kamloops ability to adjust their game on the smaller ice surface as I was with Revelstoke and how they played at the Mac Island Sports Centre on an olympic-sized surface. Kamloops was able to block dozens of shots and showed poise and skill in making successful defensive zone transitions, getting themselve out of trouble time after time.

Our 3 stars of the game were:

1) Ryan Bullock - 3 goals
2) Darren Mann - speed, persistence and a goal made him a solid choice
3) Derik Yuskiw - Revelstoke's brightest light- blocked shots, punishing body checks and solid forechecking

In other action:

Fernie takes a 3-0 lead in their series defeating Creston 7-2 in Creston.

In Beaver Valley it was the NiteHawks taking a 2-1 series lead over favoured Nelson with a 4-3 win.

All series resume tonight so get out and cheer your favorite team.

Kamloops Storm Pulls one out of the Bag

Grizzlies Frustrated with OT Penalties

The Revelstoke Grizzlies outplayed the Kamloops Storm for most of the game but in the end they did themselves in. Lack of discipline resulted in 2 consecutive penalties in the first OT period and Ryan Bullock notched his 3rd goal of the playoffs to sneak the Storm to a Game 1 win.

The Grizzlies gave the Storm a whole different look on the ice as compared to the Sicamous Eagles who employed an aggressive 2 man forecheck which forced the Kamloops defensemen to hurry their play. Revelstoke for the most part played a neutral zone trap, allowing the Kamloops d-men to carry the puck but also taking the outlet pass away. This resulted in a game with alot of turnovers but very little sustained action in the offensive zones.

When there was pressure, it was the Grizzlies that excelled and Kamloops goaltender Anthony Manfredi was forced to make big saves to keep his team in it.

As much as the 2 consecutive penalties led to their demise, it was a couple of other questionable calls earlier that stirred the Grizzlies frustration.

In the 3rd period, Paul Riddell was sent to the box for hauling down Riley Weatherhead and sent him crashing into the net. A minor melee occurred and referee Cory Halford called coincidental minors on Jacob Young (Kam) and Kurt Torbolm (Rev). Instead of having the faceoff in the Kamloops zone, the faceoff was outside the blueline. Revelstoke gained possesion of the puck and tried a D to D pass that went bad. Darren Mann picked up the loose puck, swooped in on goaltender Colin Stebner and stuffed it in for short-handed goal and a 2-1 lead. The point of contention was why was the faceoff outside the Kamloops zone when it was clear that Riddell forced Weatherhead to dislodge the net? In the end, the ref said that he felt that the Revelstoke defensemen encroched during the melee causing the faceoff to move outside.

Kurt Torbolm, although he played well was victim of a poor judgement call (certainly our opinion) when he flatten Darren Mann at centre ice with what seemed to be a clean check in our opinion. It's a case of David vs Goliath. It doesn't take much for a hit like this to look dirty just because of the sheer size differential. The ref saw the hit as an elbow and threw him into the sin bin for 2 minutes. Kamloops didn't score on this power play but you could see the frustration level of the Grizzlies mounting.

Then, late in the OT period Calib Roy (Rev) led a great rush up the ice that nearly resulted in a score. Instead of getting back into position, Roy decided to get involved with a Kamloops player in front of Manfredi and ended up taking a minor penalty for interference. Then, 25 seconds later, Kurt Torbolm took his 3rd penalty of the game for holding a Kamloops player behind the net creating a 5-3 powerplay. The Storm set it up with Jassi Sangha drawing two defenders to him at the side of the net leaving Ryan Bullock alone in the slot. After missing the mark a couple of times earlier Bullock sent a laser beam to the top corner to finish it off.

It was a lesson in how to deal with frustration. Revelstoke was clearly the best team over the evening. They beat Manfredi an additional four other times only to hear the hollow clank of iron as the posts became Kamloops best friend throughout the contest.

Bullock had a goal and 2 assists. Paul Riddell scored Kamloops first goal and his first goal of the playoffs on a nice powerplay feed from Joel Leonard. The line of Leonard / Sangha / Bullock looked sluggish most of the evening, struggling to get any solid puck position and when they did, they took shots from far out, usually missing the mark.

Austin Goode picked it up substantially from his effort in the Sicamous series. He was a threat all night.

Darren Mann probably had the best effort of the evening, next to Manfredi, scoring his shorthanded goal and generally being a thorn in the sides of the Grizzlies defense as he forechecked relentlessly.

Brent Madlung, Chad Fenner, Scott Karwandy and Riley Weatherhead seemed to be the strength of the Revelstoke forwards with solid defensive performances coming from Calib Roy and big Mason Regier. Colin Stebner was solid in the net and was unlucky not to claim the win.

Game 2 goes Tuesday night back in Kamloops. Both teams need an injection of something. Obviously discipline has to be on the minds of Revelstoke and the Storm needs a serious dose of giddy-up as they appeared sluggish most of the evening.

The game starts at 7:30. If you are in town, come on out a watch the game or listen to us on the internet at www.kijhl.com .

Kamloops Storm Poised to take Series at Home

Split in Sicamous Leaves Storm up 3-1 on Eagles

After a lack lustre performance on Sunday night in Sicamous, losing 6-3 to the Eagles, the Kamloops Storm upped their standards and got back to their winning ways with a convincing 8-2 thrashing of their opponents on Monday night in KIJHL playoff action.

The Storm, obviously embarrassed by the shelacking they took at the hands of the Eagles took matters into its own hands and showed why they were first in the division during the regular season. Joel Leonard, who has been Kamloops most prolific scorer in the playoffs scored his 6th and 7th goals to lead the charge. As the big line of Leonard, Jassi Sangha and Ryan Bullock accounted for 4 of the 8 goals, it was the 3rd and 4th liners that accounted for 3 of the 8 goals.

Jamie Galbraith, Todd Kennedy and Scott Kirkham supplemented their hard hat style of play with a goal scoring touch that solidified the depth of the team. Coach Bryant Perrier now knows that he's got more scoring depth than just the first two lines.

Speaking of top two lines, the combination of Anthony Collins, Lundy Trenaman and Austin Goode were very quiet on the scoring sheet Monday as they accounted for only one Lundy Trenaman tally. Collins and Trenaman have been pretty steady in this playoff so far but Austin Goode is nowhere to be found. With no goals and no assists, the Storm's Rookie of the Year has been a bit of a disappointment thus far. Perhaps he can find his touch back at home tonight. If not, look for the Kamloops coaching staff to insert someone more deserving of 2nd line status as the playoffs progress. Austin has ridden this roller coaster all season and usually pulls out just when they need him most so look for a strong performance from him tonight.

In other action, Fernie Ghostriders won it's series handily against Columbia Valley 4 games to nil.

Nelson Maple Leafs, leading team in the KIJHL regular season, also turned in a strong performance in eliminating Spokane Braves in 4 straight.

Kimberley has a 3-2 lead on Creston in a high scoring affair.

The Beaver Valley Nitehawks and the Castlegar Rebels are locked in winning 2 games apiece in a series that is expected to go all the way to 7 games.

In Okanagan Shuswap action the Revelstoke Grizzlies and the Summerland Sting are locked in a 2-2 series tie. This could also be a long series as both teams were evenly matched throughout the season series. The winner of this round will take on the winner of Kamloops-Sicamous in the next playoff series.

See you tonight at the game.