Chase Chiefs Take Series Over Kamloops Storm

Kamloops Storm Now Has 6 Weeks to Regroup for Keystone Cup

After looking like they were going to make a series of it, the Kamloops Storm struggled to stop the Chase Chiefs offense in the second half of game 4 and were sent to the showers after falling 6-3 and losing the series 3 games to one.

The Storm started off well, particularly AP Morgan Zulinick, who showed some real chemistry with line-mates Rylee Orr and Alessio Tomassetti, had posted a hat-trick (and all of the Storms goals for the evening) in the first half of the game. But it was the Chase Chiefs who wouldn't quit in the long run. They kept fighting back, not allowing Kamloops to gain more than a one goal advantage at any time during the game.

Jordan Wood, the Chiefs hero from Game 3 (tied the score late in the game to force overtime) led his team with a 2 goal effort. The other hero from Game 3, Ian Grant (overtime winner) also scored along with Tyson Bentley, Jordie Cool and Scott Renner.

There were some interesting scratches on both teams. Riley Wall, the starting goaltender for for the previous game, sat after Jordan Bytelaar came in and carried the team to the overtime win in Game 3. Bytelaar played very well in game 4 and deserved the win. Also for Chase, veteran Colten DeFrias was a healthy scratch. Colten missed most of the season with a broken arm and it looked like he was struggling to catch up on the skills end of the game. In game 3 he asserted himself as a pest but (and I am just guessing) I would assume the Chase coaching staff didn't want to risk the extra penalty factor that hemay have brought to the game. I'm sure that he will see more ice time in the next series.

The Kamloops Storm made Gary Rai a healthy scratch in Game 4, which was a significant surprise. Rai, a talented forward who can score goals has shown a tendency to lose interest during a game and show little effort in working both ways. Some games he's been very good in both ends. Perhaps the coaching staff thought that they could get through without Rai's offensive upside... they are possibly rethinking that since it was only an AP (Zulinick) that seemed to be able twitch the red light.

As was evident for a long time, the Storm simply just didn't have the horses. The defense was young, lacking a real quarterback on the power play. Mike McCance, the only real veteran on the back end did the best that he could but he needed a little more mature and skilled help to give goaltender Anthony Manfredi the support that was required to succeed on a regular basis. The young d-men, DeFrias, Hawgood and Skinner all improved immensely during the season but it really wasn't enough. They will be stalwarts for their teams next year as they gain strength, speed and mental maturity. The forwards were just as impotent. There are guys that give you 100% every game, win or lose and some that don't... they know who they are. The bottom line was that the team really didn't have the top end skill combined with a consistent work ethic like they have had in earlier years. No one emerged as a go-to guy or unit to score a goal when you really needed one.

Chase starts their next series tonight in Revelstoke against the overwhelming favorite Grizzlies. Revelstoke finished 20 points ahead of the Chiefs during the regular season.

The Storm now have a 6 week break before the start of the Keystone Cup. If everyone hangs around, there is plenty of time to work on things and plenty of time to get healthy... the only thing missing will be competition. Let's hope that the coaching staff and the players can get on the same page by that time so that they can give a commendable effort in the tournament. I don't think anyone is expecting any miracles but a solid effort would be a nice way to repay the fans who have supported the team, not only this year but for past years too.

We will be using the blog to give periodic updates from the league and perhaps from the other leagues and provinces competing for the Keystone.

I apologize for the the delay in getting this last report out as I took advantage of an opportunity to be in Vancouver for the olympic showdown between Russian and Canada.

I would also thank most of the people who contributed their comments. For the first time in 4 years we have had to censor one idiot who couldn't take the hint that slamming everyone within arms length isn't a sport and eventually is not worthy of publication. Your opinions are important and controversy is expected. It's what makes it all interesting however when the only goal is to drag everyone else into the shit pit then we are proud to exercise our right to flush.

Stay tuned, the hockey season isn't finished yet.

DaveO

Kamloops Storm Win Big At Home Finale

The Power Play Comes up BIG!!!

It was the Revelstoke Grizzlies who struck first but the Kamloops Storm, with new bench boss, Tyler Liebel, scoring 5 consecutive goals including 4 power play goals to defeat the division leaders 5-1 at the Mac Island Centre on Saturday night in Kamloops.

It was a spirited 1st period with the Grizzlies scoring one power-play goal by Brad Friedrich to lead 1-0 after one. Revelstoke held the play advantage and outshot Kamloops 13-9. Veteran Storm forward, Taylor Stuart was tossed early in the period for a hit-from-behind. It was one of those mistakes that didn't have to happen.

The second period played out a little differently. Although out-shot 12-9, the Storm played one of it's strongest periods of the year when the broke out scoring 4 goals including 3 consecutive power play goals to lead 4-1 after two. It was an impressive effort that saw Ryan Skinner score an even strength goal, putting the puck past Revelstoke goaltender Cole Buckley.
Then the power-play took over. Gary Rai scored his first of 2 for the evening on a deflection in front of the net then Bevin Ollek scored a similar goal less than 3 minutes later. Cory Huppe finished off the flurry with a pretty feed from Alessio Tomassetti.

In the 3rd period the Grizzlies flirted with danger again taking the first 2 penalties of the 3rd period and the Storm took advantage of the second infractions with the 2nd goal of the evening for Gary Rai when he let a rising wrist shot go above the glove of the Grizzlies goaltender.

It was definitely the best home ice performance by the Storm since about early November. They showed discipline when needed, worked hard and although their shots on goal totaled only 29, the team seemed to be shooting more often, rather than waiting for the perfect shot. It was refreshing to see the 'jump' back.

New co-coach Tyler Liebel didn't take long to get into things as he had a few jawing sessions with both the referee and Revelstoke coach, Troy Mick.

It was a pretty good crowd and everyone home with a free pizza coupon from Domino's.

Kamloops will end up in 5th spot and will meet arch-rival Chase Chiefs in the first round of the playoffs. It will be a short 3 out of 5 series with the first 2 games are in Chase, starting Friday Feb 19 and 20. Game 3 will be back in Kamloops on Monday Feb 22 and if required, Feb 23. The 5th game of the series, if required, will be back in Chase on Wed, Feb 24.

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Welcome Back Mike Hanes

StormFan found this for us in the archives... Kamloops vs Revelstoke - 2006/7 Playoffs

Although we don't condone hammering on the goaltenders like this, it sure was a thing of beauty... n'est pas! Mike did receive a suspension for this... the Storm won the series.



thanks Stormfan

Storm Loses Ground with Weekend Split

The Kamloops Storm and the Chase Chiefs split their home-home series this past weekend but they both ended up losing ground in the standings to the Sicamous Eagles.

After walking into the Chiefs barn and stealing a game Friday night (6-3), the Chiefs returned the favour on Saturday night at the Mac Island Sports and Events Centre with 5-3 triumph over the Kamloops Storm.

In Saturday's game, the Chiefs came out flying in the first period and put Storm goaltender Anthony Manfredi and the whole Storm defense on their heels. The Chiefs took advantage of 2 power play opportunities (Jordie Cool & David Harrison) early on and then the Storm replied with one of their own by Bevan Ollek. Then the Storm, with less than 2 minutes remaining in the period, had a tremendous... brain fart. In a matter of 36 seconds (somehow we gotta check to see if this is a league record) in the 2nd last minute of the period, the Storm imploded and gave up 3 goals to go from a 2-1 deficit in a close game, to a 5-1 laugher. It was incredible. Their defensive game literally fell apart with everyone scrambling on the ice, flopping around like seals and giving away the puck like it was a Christmas gift exchange. You could feel their embarrassment up in the stands as that ugly period came to an end. Chase ended up out shooting the Storm 23-12, just in the first period.

In the 2nd period the Storm replaced a shaken Anthony Manfredi with steady back-up tender, Will Frolek and unleashed a barrage of shots on Jordan Byteelar, out shooting the Chiefs, 25-6. All the Storm ended up with was a single short handed effort by Rylee Orr (who has definitely picked up his game of late).

The 3rd period was much the same with the Storm dominating the play but in-effective from the shooting gallery. Again the highlight for Kamloops was one short handed goal, this time by Chase Edwards.

This was a game that Kamloops should have won but that 2 minute collapse put them on a course that they couldn't come back from. The Chiefs stole their confidence early and rode it on the shoulders of their goaltender for the rest of the game. Unfortunately, coach Greg Hawgood was not on the bench (serving a one game suspension) to motivate his crew. Instead, he was up in the stands pulling his hair out, particularly during that 3 goal explosion by Chase in the first period and the 2-man-advantage the Storm had in the 2nd period where they mustered very little up in the way of offense.

This coming week sees the Storm stepping from the frying pan into the fire. On Friday night they visit the league and division leader, Revelstoke Grizzlies (who are also in a bit of a slump right now losing 4 in a row) and then they host last year's league and provincial champions, the Nelson Leafs. With the standings tightening up and Chase, Sicamous and Princeton all playing to their potential, the Storm could find themselves in 5th place after the weekend if they don't muster up any points against 2 of the toughest teams in the league.

note: it appears that Kamloops has signed former Storm player, Mike Hanes. Hanes played for the Storm 2 and 3 years ago and was a physical and agitating force on the ice. His controversial hit on the Revelstoke goaltender in the playoffs was a YouTube sensation. I can't seem to find it any more on the internet or else I would post the link. If anyone still has access to it please let us know.

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.

Storm Wind Up Season on a High Note

Playoffs Starting Tuesday Night Against Sicamous

The Kamloops Storm wound down their regular season Saturday night with a convincing 4-2 win over the 2nd place Sicamous Eagles. Kamloops took an early 2-0 lead on goals from the blueline crew as Daniel Medlan-Marchen and Doug Orr scored in the first period.

Sicamous came out flying in the 2nd period and Kamloops looked a little lax in their own end. Just past the half-way mark the Eagles scored 2 quick ones to tie the game at 2. However, no sooner had Sicamous tied it up, Mike Collins took a crossing-checking penalty and flashy Sean Menton wristed a laser beam under the x-bar, putting Kamloops ahead.

Sicamous then took another penalty (Ivan Hartling) at the end of the 2nd and it took only 19 seconds into the 3rd period for Devon Gannon to score on the PP to make it 4-2. There was no more scoring after that.

Alex Christiansen started his first home game for the Storm and looked real good. Kyle Graham came in half way through the 3rd to get a little action before the playoffs. With Anthony Manfredi on top of his game, neither is likely to see any action outside of possible first round action where 4 of 5 teams move to the 2nd round. I am only guessing but if Kamloops can win 4 of the first 5 games, the back-ups may get a chance to limber up while finishing the round robin.

As predicted by yours truly, Summerland is the team that is designated to the golf course. They won their final game against Chase and tied Revelstoke in points (42) but the Grizzlies advance on more wins.

So... What are Your Playoff Predictions?

It's always fun to predict so here are mine.

1) No surprises in the round robin. Revelstoke is going to have to dig deep to get out of this alive and I don't think that they have the guns to do it. Princeton and Chase will hold their own. Sicamous on the other hand may find the going tough too. They recently lost Curtis Summerfelt, a promising young 18 year old that appeared to lost interest. He was a good part of their offense and without him there is a lot less depth to their lineup.

2a) It's too bad that Princeton finished 4th as they will most likely be the team that meets Kamloops in Round Two. Kamloops is just too skilled and fast for the Posse. And Kamloops won't be intimidated.
Prediction: Kamloops in five

2b) Chase vs Sicamous - this is where the depth factor is going to start to show on Sicamous. Chase has got to keep their eye on the immediate competition as they will be truly motivated to move on to the divisional final against a probable Kamloops Storm.
Prediction: Chase in 6

3) Chase vs Kamloops Division Final - absolutely should be the best series in the divisional playoffs. There is a lot of emotion out there and with convincing back-to-back wins against the Storm late in the season... Chase has belief and confidence. The stands will be packed to the rafters in both buildings and the coaches of both teams (both ex-Kamlooops Blazers) will have their guys on a mission. It will be a little different Kamloops team in this round though. They have 4 line depth with plenty of capable recruits in the wings. Give an ever-so-slight edge to them also for goaltending. Riley Wall has had a great year and was spectacular against Kamloops during the season but Manfredi has been on this road before. He didn't win 2 division and 1 league MVP's for nothing.
Prediction: It's a short series (3 out of 5) so momentum is going to be crucial.
Kamloops in 5. I can see the smoldering already.

4) It looks like Nelson is the team to beat in the other half of the tournament but again, the playoffs are a marathon. Look for Castlegar to give them a run for their money in their division with Creston and Fernie fighting it out for a berth in the conferance final.

You are welcome to tell everyone your predictions on this blog. Just add your preditions using the "comments" button at the bottom of this post.

Photos from the Sicamous game below were forwarded by Judi Dupont, Java Mountain News. Some of photos were taken by her 10 year-old grandson, Josh Edgar.

It All Comes Down to This...

The Complete 2009 KIJHL Playoff Scenario
by Barry Dewar


With only one week to go in the regular season and after a combination of over 800 games, of the KIJHL season, it all comes down to the final few games. What a league.

There are only 2 teams eliminated from playoffs at this date. By the time the Storm take to the ice it could be decided but with a week to go only Columbia Valley in the Eddie Mountain Division and Grand Forks in the Neil Murdoch know they are going golfing, and only Nelson, Sicamous and Kamloops know where they will finish. Nelson has been the runaway leader in the Neil Murdoch Division and will capture first overall. Kamloops have long ago clinched first in the Okanagan Shuswap Division and will finish second overall. Sicamous has guaranteed themselves second in the Okanagan but after that it is anyone's guess.

In the Eddie Mountain Division which the Storm were champions of last season, before returning to the Okanagan Shuswap, Creston sits in first place and can control their destiny as they have a five point lead on Fernie. If they are unable to win their last two games this week they could finish as low as third and lose that first round home ice advantage.
Golden who sits in third place cannot finish any higher than second but could easily finish fourth as only 3 points separate second and fourth place all with 3 games to go.
Fernie is to play Kimberley twice and Columbia Valley once. They have probably the easiest schedule statistically as they play all their games against a team lower in the standings. Kimberley plays its other game against Golden, while Golden plays Columbia Valley and Nelson. Creston with a win in either of its last two games will clinch first place.

In the Neil Murdoch, it is no different.
First and last were decided a long time ago. Nelson has been great all year. Grand Forks has struggled. But in between it has been a battle all year. Beaver Valley can catch Castlegar for second place and had they not had points taken away due to an illegal carding of a player they would be in the drivers seat.
Spokane is destined for fourth and a first round meeting with Nelson, while Castlegar and Beaver Valley will meet each other but not sure who will have home ice advantage. The two teams play each other in the last two games which will be a test for the playoffs but right now it looks like Castlegar will have the first tie breaker as they have the most wins in the regular season.

Hold on, the intrigue begins. That might change. Twice this year teams had illegal players play and the league has ruled differently both times and I am sure a protest would be considered, if Beaver Valley beats Castlegar in the last two games. In the first case with Beaver Valley the points and wins were taken away. In the second case the Princeton Posse had the points taken away but not the wins. Interesting developments could make for another league decision to be needed which would have huge impacts on revenue as home ice advantage can sway a series.

The Okanagan Shuswap is very tightly contested and again only Kamloops and Sicamous are secured their position. Chase and Princeton are also into the round robin marathon but Princeton can still catch Chase. Princeton is behind the Chiefs by 5 points with 3 games remaining. Chase plays Princeton and Columbia Valley in their last two games. They need to beat Princeton to ensure third place. Why? ...because of the wins.

Princeton is the spoiler also for Summerland and Revelstoke and could determine the last qualifier for the round robin. If Princeton wins out it will be very interesting as Summerland will need to beat Sicamous in both teams final game of the year. Summerland has 2 games left and are tied with Revelstoke for the final playoff spot with one game in hand. Sicamous has lost its last two games although one was in a shootout.

Sicamous has been playing well but had a line brawl with Princeton in a 4-2 loss Sunday and there could be some suspensions. Coach Duner will likely get one game to increase his league lead in that category but it is questionable whether any other suspensions will be levied. Revelstoke has only one game remaining against Princeton and while Revelstoke has only had 3 wins in its last 10 it is conceivable that the last game of the year on Saturday will be a mean nothing game for Princeton and they may not play their best lineup.

It is very interesting with many twists and turns, so hold onto your hats it could be a wild and crazy finish. The only thing I know for sure is that game one of the roundrobin will start for the Storm on February 24 in Kamloops against the Sicamous Eagles. Game time 7pm. See you at the game

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 Goes Up 2 -0 in Series

Big Hit By Hanes on Revelstoke Goaltender Sets Tone for Games 3 & 4

For the 2nd night in a row the Revelstoke Grizzlies employed the defensive minded neutral zone trap and again the Kamloops Storm fought through it and came away with a 1 goal win. Now with a 2-0 lead in the series they move to the smaller surface of the Revelstoke arena.

It will be interesting to see if the trap works better on the smaller surface. It should as there is less room for error when coming out of your own zone and a lot more opportunity for the defenders to lay the body on the attackers. Keeping this in mind, the series could get a lot more physical. This will put a lot more emphasis on both team's discipline factor.

Things started to heat up in the physical department when Revelstoke goaltender Jordan Barry rushed to the side boards near the top end of the faceoff circle to play the puck and was hammered by the Storm's Mike Hanes who was also pursuing the puck. When Hanes figured that Barry was going to beat him there he took it upon himself to make Barry fair game and leveled him with a big hit. This got the blood pressure rising on both teams. Barry was down for a minute and continued the game while Hanes got a 5 minute major for charging and a game misconduct.

Which brings up a whole different issue about goaltenders playing the puck away from their net area that we may revisit at a later time. The feeling with some of the people in the crowd was that if a goaltender roams that far, he should be prepared to mix it up. That being said, Hanes made no attempt to play the puck and should have been penalized for interferance. It was a harsh penalty that luckily, the Storm survived.

It was a strange game in the goal scoring department too. Of the 3 goals scored, all were started by turnovers at or near the defensive blueline and a total of only one assist was credited, that being to Lundy Trenaman on the first goal scored by Jassi Sangha.

Brandon Colonna's goal for Revelstoke as off a Kamloops turn over in the 2nd period and Trenaman capitalized in the 3rd period again by picking up a loose puck on a giveaway at the Revelstoke blueline.

The series resumes tonight at 7:30 and game 4 will go tomorrow night at the same time.

In other KIJHL playoff action Fernie went up 2-0 in their series against Creston 2-0 with a 5-3 effort in Fernie on Tuesday night. Also, in a shocker (at least to the rest of the league) Beaver Valley tuned the favored Nelson Maple Leaf's in their own barn with an impressive 3-0 shutout. That series is tied 1-1 and moves to Beaver Valley tonight.

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 .

KIJHL - Playoff Preview

Playoffs Start this Week

The start of the second season starts and within less than 2 weeks, 6 teams will be moving on and 6 teams will be packing their bags. It's been a competitive year with the strength of the league emerging from the Neil Murdock division with the likes of Nelson, Beaver Valley, Spokane and Castlegar beating up on the rest of the league. Now they have to play amongst themselves and look to the winner here to take it all if they don't bang the heck out of each other trying to emerge from their division.

Fernie was a clear-cut winner in the Eddie Mountain Division and is not likely to receive a big challenge there unless they self-destruct.

The Kamloops Storm emerged as the strength in the Okanagan - Shuswap division but this was the closest division from top to bottom and very few games were blowouts. Princeton was eliminated in the last week of play.

So, lets take a look at the first round match-ups and see what our predictions are.


Eddy Mountain Division:

A. Fernie vs. Columbia Valley

Columbia Valley has some big kids but they won't be able to handle the speed of Martin Croteau and the rest of the Ghostriders. Fernie's defensive game is superior with almost a full goal against/game better than Columbia Valley. Fernie won the season series convincingly, 6-2.
Look for Fernie to be one of the contenders for the KIJHL title.

Fernie in 4.

B. Kimberley vs. Creston

This one is too close to call. The teams split the season series 4-4. I'm going to go with the team that has the big guns. The scoring power of Kimberley's Jeremy Moccasin-Weasel and Mike Whitequills will be the difference.

Kimberley in 7.

Neil Murdock Division

The rest of the league has got to hope that these guys beat the living ka-ka out of each other over the course of the first couple rounds so that they can be had later on. Keep wishing.

A. Nelson vs. Spokane

Despite Spokane's ability to play sound, technical hockey, Nelson has too much speed and power to let them get in their way. Spokane will be better in the playoff series than they were in the regular season against Nelson but they will probably will be golfing early.

Nelson in 6.

B. Castlegar vs Beaver Valley

Another close one if you look at the standings but Castlegar had their way with Beaver Valley this year winning the season 6-2. Beaver Valley looked like a finely tuned machine when they visited Kamloops in Dec. and look like they could put up a better fight than their record against Castlegar shows.

Beaver Valley in an upset - 7 games

Okanagan-Shuswap Division:

This was the tightest division in the league so upsets are possible, especially in series B.

A. Kamloops vs Sicamous

The teams split their season series where Sicamous dominated in the first half of the season and Kamloops was stronger in the second half. I don't think Sicamous has the guns that Kamloops has with 2 strong scoring lines and the strong goaltending of Manfredi and Brennan.
Look for Kamloops to be a contender for the big prize.

Kamloops in 5.

B. Summerland vs Revelstoke

This could be the best match-up in the entire 1st round of the playoffs. The teams split their regular season meetings. Both teams have tough guys, strong leaders and good goaltending. My feeling is that Revelstoke has the better top-end and with all else being equal, they should be able to steal a game from Summerland and emerge victorious.

Revelstoke in 7.

We are looking forward to the playoffs and hope to update you on the Kamloops-Sicamous series as it unfolds. Let's see how we do in our predictions and we will revisit them at the end of all the first-round series.

Go Storm.