Storm Hosts Fundraiser for Juvenile Diabetes Research

The Kamloops Storm will be wearing blue uniforms this weekend in honor of Juvenile Diabetes Research. This fundraiser being done in conjunction with Mohawk and Husky Energy is the second annual event. The purpose of the event is to raise awareness of this terrible disease and also to raise funds for research to find a cure.

The fundraiser is set up as a 2 night event, matching the home-home series between the Chase Chiefs and the Kamloops Storm. It started in Chase last night and follows up in Kamloops tonight.

See you there.

Tough Weekend for the Storm

3 Straight Loses Have Fans Shaking Their Heads

The Kamloops Storm struck out this weekend as they failed to collect a single point this weekend as they failed to collect a single point during a three game in three nights weekend.
The Storm started the weekend off Friday in Sicamous where they dropped a 5-2 decision to the Eagles. On Saturday the Storm hosted the Eagles and lost 2-1. The loss put the Storm into a tie for second place with the Eagles.

On Sunday it looked like the Storm’s fortunes were going to change with Tyler Jackson scoring twice in the first 6:11 of the game, giving the Storm a 2-0 lead, over the Creston Valley Thunder Cats but it wasn’t meant to be.
The Cats scored once in the first, twice in the second and once in the third to take a 4-2 lead.
Jason Alessio would put the Storm within one but that was as close as they would come.

The Storm head to Penticton on Thursday, to take on the Lakers. Next home game is Nov. 14 when they host the Castlegar Rebels.
On Nov. 20 and Nov. 21, the Storm and the Chase Chiefs team up once against off the ice to raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.


Harpreet Sidhu
Kamloops Storm Hockey
Public Relations and Communications coordinator

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Grizzlies Maul the Kamloops Storm

Embarrassing 11-2 Home Ice Loss Leaves Bench all but Empty

Official game Notes:

The Grizzlies opened the scoring at 2:30 of the first period, on the power play, and never relinquished the lead.
The Grizzlies would score five more times with the extra man, as the Storm had trouble staying out of the sin bin. By the end of the night the Storm had 124 minutes in the box while the Grizzlies had 42.
The Storm had goals from Tyler Jackson (in the first period, on the power play) and Jason Alessio in the third period.
Riley Spraggs led the Grizzlies with two goals and two assists, while Caleb Roy had four assists.
Brand Irving, Jordan Bledsoe and Bruce Silvera each had two goals. Brandan Burge, Jakob Reichert and Dayton Martens had singles.
Andrew Parent was in net for the Grizzlies.
Anthony Manfredi started for the Storm but was pulled when the Grizzlies made it 6-1 at 14:39 of the second period. Will Frolek finished the game.
The Storm record falls to 5-2-0-2.

Editorial:

**What a Fiasco!

It was ugly right from the get-go. And as I have witnessed, over the last 25 years of hockey involvement... a Kamloops team never gets a break from a referee from Kelowna.

I don't think that there were ill intentions going into this game. Kamloops lost a close one the night before in Revelstoke and by all accounts, this should have been a good game. It never fails that when the officiating crew come in and try to set the tone to show that they are in charge, the game goes south. We have seen it time and time again. Inconsistent calls, scrums between the linesmen and the ref on a regular basis (usually because the ref doesn't see the infraction that they are calling and they allow the linesmen to make his mind up for him) and of course, always talking to the coaches because they sure as heck don't see the same game that these guys are calling. Seems like they want to reduce the game to Ringette.

My assessment, even before we get to the penalty stuff, is that a good measure of how competent the referee is reflected in their accuracy to hand out assists on goals. Many of these guys in this league either don't pay attention enough and/or they don't even bother to ask a player if he touched the puck or who they got the pass from. I'm sure that if team officials and the players themselves don't make a point of adjusting the score sheet (which they have a right to do) within a certain amount of time after the game, individual stats would suffer even more. Even though it is considered in bad taste to pad one's stats, it's just as bad miss them... especially when points are so vital in recognition to getting to the next level.

I have got news for them... NO ONE IN THE BUILDING COMES TO WATCH THE OFFICIALS REDUCE A GAME TO UTTER NONSENSE.

In my opinion, the officiating appears to be the catalyst to this deterioration of the game.

One crappy call here, another make-up call there, border-line calls that result in game suspensions or misconducts. They are ruining the friggin game... not only for the players but for the paying public. The linesmen are not any better. They can't seem to be consistent for icings and faceoffs are a joke. Drop the puck for god's sake. They fart around long enough to promote encroachment, toss someone, then half the time they don't even wait until the new centre-man is set. What is that? It happens to both teams until every one in the crowd wants to stick their fingers in their throats to offer their dinner to the officiating crew.

Case in point about the borderline calls.

Bevin Ollek of the Storm is 6ft 5inches tall. He's a big boy. His right to body check all but the biggest guys in the league has been virtually eliminated by the hitting to the head rule. These guys that are 5ft nothing, take liberties and then when they leave themselves open for a hit. Because of Bevin's height, of course a check comes in at the head, not purposely and usually not with a stick... What the hell is suppose to do with his arms... raise them so he leaves his mid-section open and give them a belly push? It's ridiculous... he has to either give up on the way the game is supposed to be played or expose himself to injury. There are a few other guys in the league that suffer this injustice too.

This season, the Storm seem to have received an inappropriate number of hitting from behind calls too. From my vantage point (and I have a pretty good one), the penalty on Brady Fuller on Friday night was inappropriately called. Perhaps a hit to the head but certainly not a bonafide hit from behind. So, instead of the misconduct... he's gone for the game.

We are seeing this kind of crap officiating game after game. These young men play hard (as they are supposed to) and the officials seem bound and determined to make it their game, not the players. The calls get so bad that when a player or coach questions the validity of the call, they get the boot. It appears that the officials are beyond approach.

Erring on the side of caution rather than letting the play flow and allowing the players to work things out seems to have gone by the wayside. I don't condone the lack of discipline that the Storm players showed at the end of the game, they got out of hand as the score ballooned. But 7 power-play goals? That makes the 5 on 5 time 3-0 for the Grizzlies which was really about what the score should have been.

Sorry for the rant but I call them like I see them.

**the opinions expressed above are strictly those of the author and in no way represent the views of the team, the Kamloops Storm or it's management/coaching team.

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Next game is Oct. 10 in Armstrong as the Storm visit the North Okanagan Knights. Game time is 7 p.m. Don't expect Tyler Jackson to be there or even coach Greg Hawgood. Jackson got a double game misconduct near the end of the game and Hawgood is subject to the league fighting rules that has him suspended when the fight total in a game reaches more than 3. This game, they had 4. It seems odd that Hawgood would get suspended for the actions of the team near the end of the game since he was banished from the bench (arguing a questionable call... perhaps with some superlatives for good measure) and was no longer in control of the team. I guess we will have to see what shakes out on this one.

Injuries are now becoming a concern. 2 more players went down with injuries on Sunday. Fulton got a puck in the foot and Skinner looked like he had a serious lower body injure, either foot, ankle or knee. In any case, he wasn't putting any weight on one of his legs as he was helped off the ice by his teammates.


Next home game at McArthur Island Sports Centre is Oct. 11 when they Storm host the Chase Chiefs at 2 p.m.

Real Playoffs Start Tonight

Okanagan-Shuswap Division Finally Gets Serious

It's a good thing that Armstrong has been accepted into the KIJHL for next year. Their presence and participation should help make sense of the post-season.

For the most part, the first round of Okanangan-Shuswap Division has been a marathon of nonsense. An 8 game-double-round-robin to eliminate one team almost sounds like it was something dreamed up by the the BC Teachers Federation in fast forward. And playing 8 games in 10 or 11 days is a grueling exercise for players, coaches, fans and officials.

Rant #1

For teams like the Kamloops Storm, who have a wealth of AP players, this first round offered a valuable rest for their top players after they knew that they were into the next round. That amounted to 3 totally meaningless games. Perhaps the losers in all this though, are the fans. Without taking away from the effort of the players that did play those games, the paying fans got to watch an enhanced major midget team, without a lot of warning. I don't blame the teams that used their AP players to take advantage of this situation however one has to ask that whether fielding replacement players for half the line-up for 3 games puts the term "playoffs" on to the comic page rather than the sports page.

Rant #2

In addition, the amount of games played also taxed the quality of officiating that we saw. I know that it is a developmental league however, if I was an owner, which is my business, I would be extremely vocal about the quality of officials used in the games. When you have "boys", as young or younger than the players playing, holding the balance of power in a game, you know that their is going to be trouble. It is unfair to the official, unfair to the players and again, unfair to the fans to see a kid out there 3 miles over his head try to manage a game. Let's hope there is a lesson learned here. People don't pay money to watch a referee become the centre of attention in the game because they lack experience. That's what minor hockey is for.

Now, the playoffs begin.

The Kamloops Storm have dominated the Princeton Posse all season. Princeton is known for its physical, almost intimidating play against other teams with success but it hasn't really seemed to work against the Storm. I might say though, the one game that we saw Princeton in Kamloops during the last round, the Posse decided to play hockey rather than WWE. It was almost refreshing. However, I believe that their fate will be the same. Now that the Kamloops vets are now well rested, I think the Posse will be blown out of the playoffs. At best, this series will go 5 games.

The Sicamous Eagles - Chase Chiefs series should be more interesting. The teams are evenly matched and should go 6 or 7 games. Sicamous certainly had the upper hand in the first round, winning both games however if Chase goaltender, Riley Wall can perform at the level that he is capable, he could steal the series for the Chiefs. But somehow, I'm not sure that this will happen. At this point in time, I would have to guess that Sicamous will prevail in 7.

In the Kootenay Conference, look for the Nelson Leafs to emerge to play the Fernie Ghostriders in the final. Nelson was far and away the best team in the league throughout the regular season and Fernie has the playoff experience to move on. I can't make a more detailed prediction than that as I really haven't seen enough of the teams in that conference to know what makes each team click.

See you tonight and tomorrow night at the Mac Park Sports Centre in Kamloops for the showdown with the Posse. If you can't make it, pick us up on the internet for the game and play-by-play yours truly.

(note: the opinions expressed above are strictly the views of this writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Kamloops Storm Hockey Team)

Your Comments are welcome!

Storm on Cruise Control in Playoffs

One Win and Two Ties Keeps Kamloops in Hunt

The Kamloops Storm seem content to cruise through the first round of the first round of this year's playoffs. With one win and 2 ties they are comfortably in the mix to move on to the next round but face a tough test tonight against their nemesis, the Chase Chiefs.

It matters not where the Storm find themselves in the round robin as long as it is not in last place. With their dominating, runaway first place showing in the regular season, the Storm are guaranteed home ice advantage in the next 2 rounds... as long as they win.

Somehow, I'm still waiting for them to turn it up a notch. 2 ties in Revelstoke and Princeton show that the Storm have not exactly exhibited the "fire in the belly" attitude that it takes to go all the way. However, I also know that the playoffs in this league are a marathon. We hope that coach Ed Patterson knows how to press that magic button at the appropriate time to kick the team into high gear.

Meanwhile, as Kamloops saunters through this round, the other teams that are playing them close are gaining a level of confidence that seems to peak when they play the Storm. Good thing they are beating the crap out of each other for the opportunity to take the Storm out.

Look for Kamloops to be strong at home over the next 3 games and then cruise through the final 2 road games to set up a semi-final showdown with the gritty and always tough, Princeton Posse.

Nothing like counting your chickens before they hatch. I can... they can't.

In the Neil Murdoch division, Nelson, as expected are 2-0 against the Spokane Braves while Castlegar is leading Beaver Valley 2-1 in the series.

The Eddie Mountain division as a potential upset in the making as first place Creston finds itself behind 1-2 in their series against the Kimberley Dynamiters. The Fernie Ghostriders are in tough but lead the Golden Rockets 2 games to one. There is only one goal separating the two teams after 3 games.

That's it for now... check back mid-week when we wrap up the Storm's 3 game home stand and take a look at the progress of the rest of the playoff runs.

Storm Battle to a 1-1 Weekend

Leaders by Expectation Finally Step It Up

After a rather unenthusiastic effort in a 4-2 loss to the Golden Rockets, the expected leaders on the team took it up a notch and contributed big time in a 5-4 Saturday night tilt in Revelstoke.

I can quite imagine that coach Ed Patterson was aging rapidly waiting for some production from his designated first line of Mik Ludvig, Dave Gore and Jose Reyes. It took until game 4 to start hitting the scoreboard and I was wondering how long they were going to retain their status.
Through in some lackluster play from vets Austin Goode and Taylor Stuart and a knee injury to rookie speedster Sean Menton, things were not looking too good for offense.

On the bright side 3rd year Storm player, Scott Kirkham, has put on some more size and weight over the summer. His improved speed, strength and much improved shot have made him the team's leading scorer.

Also on the bright side, the young defensive corps have stood up very well. They seem to have mastered the art of d-to-d passing and limiting the low percentage stretch pass that turns too often into icing and disrupts the flow of the game. Doug Orr and Sheldon McDonald have been solid contributors and newcomer, Danie Medland Marchan was steady in his Storm debut on Friday's game against Golden.

Nice to see Darren Mann back. With Brandon Long, Kirkham and Tyler Jackson the Storm should rank very well in the PK by season's end.

The Storm is blessed with a lot of talent. Let's hope that the boys can start gelling before the Xmas break this year.

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Just some business to clean up...

I have been getting comments on the blog that would be more appropriate in an email. Unfortunately, I did not know that my kamloopsstormhockey address had been de-activated. I apologize to anyone who has tried to contact me in that manner. The email is again ACTIVE so please send your email comments or questions through the blog (there is a little "envelope" at the bottom of the post). The email is then sent directly to my inbox and I will be contacted that it is there.

The comment block on each posting is designated for comment on the recent games or topics written in recent blog entries. Sorry if this has caused any challenges.

To the listener that was requesting "highlight tape", I'm sorry, you will have to contact Barry Dewar. I just yak and write on the blog. The cameras and tape are in his hands. However, I might add, the cameras that bring you the game are stationary (mounted on the beams of the arena) and don't produce any better footage than what you are getting. We lost our game recording parent, Bruce Trenaman, who had tackled that task for the last 2 years.
Any takers? contact Barry Dewar.

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Funny Thing happened at the game against Golden...

Jose Reyes lost a skate blade near the end of the first period. I had not heard whether he could dig up another pair of skates or not. Near the end of the first intermission I looked along the concourse at the Mac Park centre and saw Jose dressed in street clothes talking to his Dad. At this point I'm wanting to get back on the air for the second period with some news. I asked Joe Cocco, who was sitting in the booth as the camera operator, if that was Jose. He said yes so I enthusiastically approched him and said "so Jose, what's the scoop, your not dressed anymore and your Fans want to know?" At this point I got the queerest look from the kid and I started asking again. He finally said to me, who do you think I am? I am not Jose, I'm his brother.

Well you coulda fooled me... we all had a laugh and when the period started the real Joses Reyes was on the ice as usual.