Kamloops Storm Slide in New Year

Charity Continues Through Holiday Season

The Kamloops Storm just can't seem to gain any momentum and as long as they keep handing out gifts like Santa at Christmas they are getting what they deserve.

It was a long night at the Mac Island Sports Centre where the 2nd place Sicamous Eagles made the first visit to Kamloops in the new year. And the Storm were perfect hosts.

After taking a 5-2 pounding in Chase on Friday, the Storm came out with some zing at home on Saturday night at home. The first and 2nd periods were close with Sicamous goaltender Tyler Steel and Storm tender, Anthony Manfredi both displaying their talents. The Eagles held a 1-0 first period lead on a power play goal by Quinn Rempel, his first of 2 for the evening.

In the 2nd period, Kamloops came out flying but could not bury the biscuit until they found themselves down 2-0, courtesy of a give-away beside the Kamloops net where Andrew Nunn jumped on a loose puck and stuffed it under Manfredi on the short side. Jason Alessio cut the lead to 2-1 when he buried the puck close in on Steel but it was Bob Turnbull of the Eagles who picked up his own rebound in the Kamloops zone and chipped it past a sprawling Manfredi to make it 3-1.
The last 3.5 minutes of the period were a little frantic. Bevin Ollek buried a rebound on the power-play to make the score 3-2. Then, Jordan Wilkens, who probably played the worst game of his life, took a holding penalty and Quinn Rempel scored his 2nd power play goal of the evening. Finally, with 1:10 left in the period, Alessio popped his 2nd goal of the game and 3rd point of the period to make the score 4-3 going into the 2nd intermission. The Storm ended up out shooting the Eagles in the period 19-13.

It was the 3rd period that proved to be the demise of the Storm. The Eagles came out flying while Storm goaltender Anthony stood on his ear trying to keep the team in the game. Enter the "Big Giveaway". While Kamloops were on the power play, Wilken's was the last man, carrying the puck in his own zone when he got stripped of the puck by Cain Franson who promptly put a move on Manfredi to notch the short-handed goal. Less than 3 minutes later, Wilkens, who didn't learn the first time, committed the same sin again and Daryl Devries of the Eagles slipped another puck by Manfredi to complete the scoring. In both cases, Manfredi was caught sitting in deep in his net trusting his d-man. With both giveaways occurring in the middle slot, Fredi had little time to react and got beaten on a couple of real skilled dekes.

Sitting solidly in 5th spot, if the playoffs were to start today, Kamloops would be playing Chase in the first round.

MacDonald's 3 Stars:

#1 - Cain Franson-Eagles (1G 3A)
#2 - Jason Alessio - Storm (2G 1A)
#3 - Quinn Rempl - Eagles ( 2G)

scoreboard

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The Storm started the new year out pretty well. They lost an overtime thriller 4-3 in Princeton on Jan 2 to salvage 1 point and then on Jan 3 they laid a lick'n on the first place Grizzlies, in Revelstoke.
This past Friday night they took a 5-2 pounding at the hands of the Chase Chiefs (who now have Kamloops native Colten Defrias back in the lineup after a long injury recovery).

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The All-Star Game is being held in Beaver Valley this coming Tues. Kamloops had 3 players selected to play in the game however only Bevin Ollek and Mike McCance will make the trip to represent the Storm. Centreman Tyler Jackson also had an invite but cannot make the trip for undisclosed reasons. Good luck guys, enjoy the experience.

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Kamloops Storm Ends 2 Game Winning Streak

Lose Ground to Opponents After Loss to the Sicamous Eagles

Things were looking brighter after Friday nights' win over the Chase Chiefs but the Sicamous Eagles made sure that a little piece of Grinch was left on the minds of the Storm players after they handed Kamloops a Merry Xmas loss on home ice last night.

The Storm started off well, capitalizing on their first power play in the 1st period. It was Rylee Orr who capitalized with a sharp angled shot while Eagles goaltender was down and scrambling. Assists went to Duncan Schultz and Gary Rai.

The Eagles, sporting a balanced line-up were not fazed by the early Kamloops goal as they slowly but surely took control of puck possession. On their 2nd power play attempt, late in the the period, it was Cain Franson who scored to tie the game. Shortly after, Kamloops clutch goaltender, Anthony Manfredi, got crossed up behind his own net and ended up giving up the puck to a dangerous Derek Huisman who got it back to the point where Julius Krolik fired a rocket. Manfredi, scrambling to get back into position, made the first save but the Eagles Daryl Devries was their to bury the rebound and take a 2-1 lead going into the 2nd period. Sicamous outshot Kamloops 21-7 in the first period.

The Storm, although a little deflated after the sloppy goal in the 1st period, came out buzzing to start the 2nd and took advantage of an early power play opportunity. It was Gary Rai setting up Taylor Stuart from the behind the net with Stuart finishing it off with a quick shot to beat Eagles goaltender, Tyler Steel. With the game tied at 2, the two teams played back and forth hockey, the kind that was indicative of the score. But it was late in the period when it looked like Kamloops had "hit the wall" so to speak, floundering around in their own end. With numerous chances to get the puck out of the zone the Storm players on the ice looked exhausted and couldn't clear the biscuit. Finally with a costly turnover in front of the net and some slick maneuvering by Daryl Devries and the slick Derek Huisman , Jordan Hynes scored with 10.5 seconds left on the clock to take a 3-2 lead into the 2nd intermission. This appeared to be the "TSN turning point" of the game.

The 3rd period produced only one goal, that from the stick of captain Aaron Buat on a 3-way precision passing play with linemates Scott Fellnermeyer and Jared Tenvaanholt. The Storm pressured occasionally but goaltender Tyler Steel held the fort and the Eagles got their Xmas cheer with a 4-2 road win at the Mac Island Sport Centre.

On the injury front... Duncan Schultz left after the first period with a lower body injury. He did not return the game.

The loss leaves the Storm 2 points behind Chase and Princeton (teams the defeated in the past week) and all alone in 5th spot in the division. Chase shut out Penticton 4-0 while Princeton man-handles the Grand Forks Border Bruins, 5-1.

The Christmas Break is now upon us and the Storm will be on the road to start the new year taking on Princeton, Revelstoke and Chase before returning home to face the Sicamous Eagles again on January 9th.

Have a Happy Holiday Season where ever you are and we will see you in the New Year.

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Peter and Leanne wish all the fans of the Kamloops Storm

a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season!

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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storm over eagles

Kamloops Youngsters Shine as Key Veterans Come Up Ill.

Last night in Sicamous, the Kamloops Storm skated to a 6-3 win.

With Anthony Manfredi and Mike McCance home sick, Will Frolek(G) and the boys played extremely well for 45 minutes of hockey and than sat back and watched Sicamous score 2 quick goals in the third period before Will Frolek had to make a couple huge saves to keep the 3 goal margin.

Scoring in the 1st period for the Storm were AP Josh Rasmussen assisted by Chase Edwards with 9:10 to go in the period. That goal was followed by a Jason Alessio marker, assisted by Ryan Skinner and Duncan Schultz with 1:51 left in the period. Then, with 42 seconds left in the period, Ryan Skinner scored his first ever KIJHL goal, assisted by Justin Fulton. After 1 period the score was Kamloops 3 and Sicamous 0.

Kamloops would score with 15:15 to play in the 2nd period on a goal by Bevin Ollek assisted by Duncan Schultz. With 13:00 minutes left in the period Jason Alessio would score his second of the game assisted by Bevin Ollek and Chase Edwards. At 7:28 remaining in the 2nd period Taylor Stuart would score for the Storm assisted by Cody Jules to go up 6-0. With 3:00 remaining in the period, Sicamous would get on the score board on a goal by Scott Fellnermayr assisted by Jean-Luc Fournier and Derek Huisman.
After 2 periods the score was Kamloops 6 and Sicamous 1.

In the 3rd period Sicamous would score with 15:55 remaining in regulation time on a goal by Jarryd Tenvaanholt assisted by Aaron Buat and rounding out the scoring was Jarryd Tenvaanholt with his second of the game assisted by Andy Milne and Jordan Hynes with 8:36 remaining.

Final score was Kamloops 6 and Sicamous 3.

The 3 stars

1. Jason Alessio

2. Jarryd Tenvaanholt

3. Ryan Skinner


Next action for the Storm is Friday Oct.30th when the North Okanoagan Knights visit the Mac Island Sports Center. Game time is 7:00pm.

Storm Humbled by Eagles

Veteran Sicamous Team Looks Like Class of the Division... so far

The Sicamous Eagles rolled into the Mac Park Sports Centre about an hour late (broken down bus) but there was nothing late about their performance.

The Eagles veteran starting line of Aaron Buat, Jarryd Tenvaanholt and Jordan Hynes quickly showed their superiority by out-skating and out-checking the Storm's starting line of Duncan Schulz, Tyler Jackson and Taylor Stuart . The depth of the Eagles, who have at least 12 returnee's from last year's divisional finalists, was apparent all evening.

Derek Husiman led Sicamous with 2 goals, one on the power play and one just as the power play ended. Scott Fellnermayr notched his first goal of the season.

The Storm welcomed 2 new 16 year old players, Logan Hawgood and Brent Defrias, both defensemen, to the line-up. They were put under fire early and often. Defrias was paired with team captain, Mike McCance, while Hawgood spent most of the evening paired with Dylan Becker. Although both players are good skaters and understand the game well, their size may be a difficult obstacle during the season. Add Mike McCance and the Storm have 3 starting d-men at 5'7" or less.

The bright spot of the evening for the Storm was the play of all-star goaltender, Anthony Manfredi. The young and inexperienced defensive corps gave up break-away after break-away with Manfredi coming up big on the save every time. There was a short spell in the 2nd period where Manfredi couldn't keep the puck out when the Eagles were dominating down low, picking up a rebound and a couple of deflections.

Spencer Donaldson scored the only goal for the Storm. Normally a defenseman, Donaldson played as a forward this game.

Forward Bevin Ollek picked up his 2nd major infraction in 2 home games as he was nailed with a 5 minute hit-to-the-head major and a game misconduct. It was our opinion that the penalty should have been a 2 min. minor and a 10 min misconduct but referee, Nick Swain didn't see it that way. It's pretty hard for a guy that's 6'5" (Ollek) to make a hit on a smaller player without coming near his head... period. Obviously Ollek is going to have to adjust his style of play if he hopes to play a whole game at home this year.

The Storm have a chance to redeem themselves tonight as the Penticton Lakers are in town tonight for a 7 pm start.
See you there!

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Our camera work has significantly improved this year. We have 3 young guys (Mike and Justin Potestio and Morgan Sidkey)taking turns on a moving camera and bringing you more shots by following the play and offering closeups of the benches, skirmishes, penalty box and of course, the goaltenders. Thanks guys.

KIJHL Final Starts Tonight

Kamloops Squeaks Out Wins In Game's 4 & 5
Against Sicamous to Take Okanagan-Shuswap Title

The Kamloops Storm face the Nelson Leafs this week in the KIJHL Final and fittingly it pits the top 2 teams from regular season play. Nelson swept through the playoffs, losing only one game in the first round to Spokane but the Kamloops Storm had a little different story getting there.

Because of the round-robin format the the Ok-Sh division in the first series, Kamloops ended up playing 8 games to Nelson's 5. Round 2 was similar as both teams swept their opponents in 4 straight. The conference finals saw Nelson dispose of last year's champion, the Fernie Ghostriders, in 3 games while the Storm were faced with the prospect of going out early when they found themselves down 2 games to 1 and trailing 2-1 half way throught the 2nd period in game 4. The prospects at that point looked a little grim.

And then... the leaders led. Gore, Reyes and Ludvig picked it up a notch. You could see Jose wasn't going to lose to his former team if he had anything to do with it. Scott Kirkham, who has trouble finishing earlier in the playoffs came alive. Justin Palazzo tightened up on his defense and wound up his booming shot to become a big part of the offense again.

Austin Goode may have been the most effective forward through the last couple of series. He picked up his intensity and was effective in all three situations that he was called upon. As well as playing his regular shift, Austin was tenacious on the PK and was sharp as the set-up man on the PP.

Anthony Manfredi rose to the challenge in the last 2 outings to put Sicamous away. His counterparts in the last 2 series were outstanding he refused to be outplayed.

Ryan Hanes has been a breath of fresh air with his work effort, quick shot and aggressive checking.
Taylor Stuart was another pleasant surprise. He and James Friedel are the 2 most improved forwards this year. I didn't pick either of them to make it into November.

The rest of the team also raised their games against Sicamous. I was proud of the effors of guys like Galbraith, McCance, Medlan-Marchen and Naka. And what can you say about Sean Menton and Ty Jackson, 2 guys that have given a great effort all year. And I don't think that any team in the KIJHL oculd compete with the quality of AP players that were able to contribute to the success throughout the season including the playoffs. It was a team effort and when they started to play with some fire in their belly, they looked like the Conference champions that was expected of them. Now it's time to keep that cohesiveness when they take on the powerful Nelson Leafs.

I'm sure that the Leafs are the prohibitive favorites and I can understand that. They should be. They beat Kamloops on both occassions that they met Kamlooops during the season. I suppose that the only advantage that the Storm will have is that they have been in the finals the last 2 seasons. If the Storm hope to avoid being the bridesmaid one more time, they need to raise their efforts to the next level to pull this one out.

My heart says Kamloops in 7 but head says Nelson in 5. All I know is that before the month is out, we will know.

Eagles Tie Series

Kamloops Creating Their Own Storm

I don't know where the Sicamous Eagles have found their energy but they just keep going on and on like the Energizer Bunny. Blessed with 2 capable goaltenders and more depth than I personally gave them credit for, Sicamous has been full value for their effort and particularly their win over the Storm in Game 2.

On the other hand... What's going on with the Storm? Granted, they hit a few crossbars and the Sicamous goaltending has been exceptional. However the lack of finish in the offensive zone and the absence of intensity in the defensive zone (which was observed and commented on late in the season as team went on cruise control), has come back to kick them in the butt. The perception that the team could come and play the last period and walk out with a win is delusional and can ultimately be their demise. It's an attitude of complacency that has been visible since the Christmas break but until now it has been of little consequence.

This is the playoffs. Time to kick it up a notch.

We will see how the Storm handles their personal adversity as Game 3 and 4 proceed tonight and tomorrow night in Sicamous. Let's hope that they bring their "A" game for the whole game. I selfishly hope that Monday night's OT loss to the Eagles wasn't our last broadcast of the season... I too am unprepared for an earlier exit than expected.

Your comments are welcome.

Storm Win Game 1 in Conference Final

Sicamous Eagles Running on Fumes
After Grueling 7 Game Series with Chase
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I don't think that I have ever seen a schedule like this year's KIJHL Okanagan-Shuswap Playoffs.
I can 't believe that the Sicamous Eagles played as well as they did because of the schedule.

It was a closed game last night in the opening game of the conference finals. Sicamous came out strong, as we expected in the first period and started to fade in the 2nd period as predicted. But it was their 3rd period that surprised this cowboy as the Eagles really stuck with the lack-lustre Kamloops Storm only to lose by one goal.

The Storm, lacing the skates up with a 5 day rest, again lacked finish in the offensive zone and can be accused a slack effort in their own zone. Their 2 power play goals helped save the day. Eagles goaltender, Chris Kingdon, again kept them in the game as he faced 44 shots to Anthony Manfredi's 28.

The Storm's big line of Jose Reyes, David Gore and Mick Ludvig were generally ineffective. They really struggled in every zone, especially their lack of production on the scoreboard. Not that they were not trying, they just were not clicking. If Kamloops hopes to win it all this year, that line has to pick it up a notch or two.

The best players on the ice for Kamloops were the tenacious twins, Devin Gannon and Ryan Hanes, and the skilled performances of Scott Kirkam and Sean Menton. The "D" was led by Shae Naka, Daniel Medland-Marchen and Mike McCance. Palazzo, Galbraith, Marr and Orr struggled in their own zone. Palazzo was certainly instrumental on the power play.

Game 2 goes tonight, 7pm at the Mac Island Sports Centre. The Eagles are playing their 5th game in 5 days and 9th game in 11 days and have got to be running on fumes. Luckily, their goaltending has held up and will need to continue to do so if they hope to win this series. The Storm need a 4 line effort. Their depth is their ace in the hole and should overpower the spent Sicamous Eagles. But that's why they play the game. On paper, it should be a no-brainer but extraordinary efforts can give extraordinary results. And super goaltending can make all the difference. Both teams have superb netminders. At the moment I give the Eagles the nod in this department, mostly because the Storm's Manfredi has seen very little action over the past 3 weeks. If he finds his "A" game it will be lights out for the Eagles. If not, the Eagles have a slim chance of pulling the rabbit out of the hat.

In other action, the Nelson Leafs have taken a 2-0 lead over defending champions, the Fernie GhostRiders. The series now moves to Fernie for games 3 and 4.

Catch us on the air about 5 minutes before game time tonight.

Your Comments are welcome.

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!

Teams Clinch Series to Move On

Okanagan-Shuswap Division have Only Meaningless Games Remaining

Even though every team that will be moving on to the 2nd round of the KIJHL playoffs there are still a few games to be played to finish the Okanagan-Shuswap Division double round robin marathon. With most teams playing 8 games in 11 days or less, this round has been extremely taxing on all teams.

The Revelstoke Grizzlies were eliminated from further contention last night with a 2-0 loss to the Chase Chiefs, which completes the 4 teams moving on. Kamloops will play Princeton (as they did last night) and Sicamous will do battle with the Chase Chiefs..

There were 2 upsets in the playoffs so far. The Kimberley Dynamiters took out the first place Creston Valley Thunder Cats in 6 games while Castlegar upset the Beaver Valley Nitehawks in 6 games.

The Nelson Leafs has moved on by easily eliminating Spokane 4 games to 1. They still remain the favorite to win the league. They will be battling with Castlegar for the Neil Murdoch Division final.

The Fernie Ghostriders are looking solid as usual at this time of year . They will play Kimberley in the Eddie Mountain Division final.

At the time of this writing the complete 2nd round schedule has yet to posted however most series are due to start Friday, Mar 6.

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

The MAGIC NUMBER is down to 2

For Kamloops Storm to Clinch First Spot in the Division
by Barry Dewar

Any combination of 2 wins by the Storm or 2 losses by the Sicamous Eagles will ensure first place for the Storm. With our destiny in our own hands we head to Princeton this weekend for a game against the Posse.

The Storm will still likely be without Daniel Medland Marchen, Ryan Hanes, Brock Backus and Jamie Galbraith. Galbraith did skate this week and is a possibility but outside chance at best. Hanes and Medland Marchen are both expected to dress for the Kamloops Blazers this weekend, so the Storm will be looking to fill the void with some affiliate player call ups. We expect 15 year old Brett De Frias, 15 year old Josh Rasmussen, 17 year old Alex Marr and maybe 17 year old Spencer Donaldson in the lineup. All players are from the Thompson Blazers Major Midget team which has a bye this weekend.

De Frias will be playing his third game for the club, while Rasmussen will be playing his second game. Alex Marr who is the captain of the major midget team will be playing his 5th game. Donaldson if he suits up will be in his first game as a Storm Player. Donaldson is third on the major midget team for goals and tied for the lead in points with 10 goals and 12 assists. Marr has 2 goals and 10 assists with 50 pims while Rasmussen is 3-3 and 54 pims and De Frias is 5 goals 5 assists with 34 penalty minutes.

Backus has not yet decided if he wants to play since returning to Kamloops from university.

It is expected that a couple of regular players could be seeing action in the BC Hockey League over the next few weeks. Merritt made several trades at the January 10th deadline and have been going with a short bench as they complete their season. Several players have been affiliated to various Junior A teams including Anthony Manfredi, Daniel Medland Marchen, Scott Kirkham, Sean Menton, David Gore, Jose Reyes, Mick Ludvig, Mike McCance and Kyle Graham.

This weekend the Kamloops Storm visit Princeton for the 6th and final meeting until playoffs. Kamloops won the first game in September 3-2 in overtime,. The second meeting was a 9-2 Domino Pizza night with Anthony Manfredi, Mick Ludvig and Peter Soroka as the stars. The third meeting in November was a 6-2 win by the Storm. Ryan Hanes had a hat trick in that game and Josh Caron had a pair of goals. December saw the teams play twice. The first was a 4-1 win for the Storm while the second game was a 5-4 shoot out win for the Posse. Taylor Stuart had 2 goals in the first meeting and 1 in the second meeting against his old team. In the shootout they had 12 shooters each with only John Minot of Princeton and Kyle L'Arrivee beating Kyle Graham who was in the net for the Storm while only Austin Goode scored for the Storm.

The Storm needs to play close attention to Wade Masch and Jason Allessio to earn the victory this weekend. The Storm won both of their games last weekend while Chase lost 4 games last week starting with a loss to the Chase Chiefs in Princeton, followed by a grueling road trip to Fernie, Kimberley and Creston. Next home action for the Storm will be February 7th against Chase for the Juvenile Diabetes fundraiser and on February 8th when Tory Caldwell and the Kimberley Dynamiters come to town.

Kamloops Witnessing Their Own Storm

Indifferent Performances Cost 3 Points

For most teams, a win, a loss and an overtime loss producing 3 of 6 points is acceptable. I don't believe that this applies to the Kamloops Storm.

I wasn't able to see them on Friday night when they won a close game against the Sting in their barn. It was obviously the Justin Palazzo show as he contributed a hat-trick + 1 assist in his first KIJHL game.

However, the indifferent play on Saturday against the Sicamous Eagles and lackluster performance against the Summerland Sting on Sunday, both at home in the Mac Park centre, has one wondering whether they can hold their substantial lead atop the Okanagan-Shuswap Division.

The loss of key players (injury or call ups) is going to play an important part of the psyche of the remaining players and they have to know that each and every one has to step up and fill the gap.

The biggest losses for the team are Josh Caron and Scott Kirkham. Scott played this weekend but he will be lost for at least a month, if not the rest of the regular season to the Merritt Centennials. I would suspect that he will be back for the playoffs as Merritt has little chance to see post-season action.
Josh Caron has been endorsed by the Kamloops Blazers and will remain there for the rest of the season. Josh was our most poised defenseman, particularly defensively, and his presence will be missed.
Ryan Hanes has also been spending time with the Blazers however he was only listed as an Associate Player which restricts him to a maximum of 10 games for the rest of the year. He did not play with the Storm this weekend and the energy void his absence created was noticed. Expect him back soon, possibly this week.

As previously mentioned, Justin Palazzo, a new recruit with significant WHL experience has joined the team on defence. His offensive abilities shone through this weekend as he was in on 9 of the 10 goals that the Storm scored this weekend. His defensive play was definitly suspect however as he coughed up the puck many times in his own end and was on the ice for quite a few goals against. In fairness, he hasn't played in 10 months and he's coming into the season with everyone else in mid-season shape. Let's hope he can pick that part of his game up and be the real asset to the team that the coaches and management expect of him. I'm sure he will.

Goaltending was a bit scary. Both Anthony Manfredi and Kyle Graham played sub-par at the 2 home games. Manfredi got the hook after the second period against Sicamous after 4 goals and Graham promptly let in the first shot he faced. On Sunday, Graham got the start and looked shaky all game, missing with the glove hand, giving up generous rebounds and sitting way too deep in his net where he got burnt early against Summerland.

Both Sicamous and Summerland outworked them.

Sicamous bottled up the middle and the Storm players were not sharp enough to find their way around them. Passes were slow and inaccurate which caused turnover after turnover. The stretch pass was working like a square wheel. There were more 1 on 3's than I have seen all year.
Against Summerland on Sunday, it was much the same until the 3rd period where the Storm took over and scored 3 consecutive goals to take the lead on to turn the puck over late in the game and allow the Sting to tie it up and force a shoot out where the 4 Storm shooters were impotent and Graham struggled, letting in 2 of 4 shots.

It's mid-January and the party is over. Let's get back to some crisp, disciplined hockey get ready for the playoffs. There are only 5 regular season home games left.

So, who played well. Jamie Galbraith (who celebrated his 20th birthday on Sunday) was a workhorse. Shawn Menton was steady as was Tyler Jackson. But it was James Friedel who stood out in my mind as a character player this weekend. He was asked to play both forward and defense and did well in both. James has made great strides in his game in the last month and consistently contributes to the good fortunes of the team.

Good luck to all participants in next week's KIJHL All-Star Game and Prospects Game in Chase.

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The Crazy Caption Contest is still on however so far it has been a bust. There either is no interest or the process appears too complicated. Dolson's has committed to handing out discount coupons to participants and a prize to the player with the most comments by the end of the year.

Please send me an email at kamlooopsstormwriter@yahoo.ca and let me know if you are having problems uploading or if it's just a waste of time.

Any other participation ideas are welcome.
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I rarely enter into any of the draws during the game but this past weekend I submitted my name to the Sun Peaks booth and won one of the prizes. Unfortunately, I can't use it so I am going to put it up for dibs.

The Prize:

Ski and Board Terrain Park Clinic for Two (2) at Sun Peaks - Feb 7-8, 2009.

Learn the Fundementals of Jumps, Boxes and Rails and Free Ride Skiing Skills.
Available to kids age 10-18 years old with a strong intermediate ability level.
Value 2x $150 = $300
Mandatory Equipment: Helmets and skiers need twin tips.

The Draw:

Enter your:
name:

city:

telephone #

in an email to:

bfsh@page1performance.com

Subject: Ski Terrain Clinic

We will make the draw during the Jan 24th home game against the Revelstoke Grizzlies. Anyone can enter however keep in mind that the prize is restricted to 10-18yr old kids. I will announce the winner on the air and publish the the winner's name in this blog.

This draw is only available from this blog so your chances of winning are pretty good.
Only email entries will be accepted. Thanx.

3 Game Sweep Extends Storm Lead Atop Standings

Captain David Gore on a Tear!

It was a near perfect weekend for the Kamloops Storm as they played 3 days in a row and came away with 3 victories. Every game was tight, especially the Sunday game against Creston, where the Storm got a lucky bounce off the butt of the referee when David Gore capitalized scoring the game tying goal with 34 seconds left on the clock.


Gore had a tremendous weekend scoring 5 goals and adding 2 helpers. Previously David had been playing well and getting assists but this weekend he was gold on the goal scoring trail and has now moved up into a tie with Scott Kirkham, leading the team in points with 25.

On Friday night the Sicamous Eagles were in town trying to make amends for the poddy-kicking (8-1) they received from the Storm the previous week, on home ice no less. The game was a close affair with both goaltenders posting big save after big save. It was an Italian standoff as Storm goaltender Anthony Manfredi out duelled the Eagles stopper, Delaney Minichiello.
Gore had the hat-trick, including an empty netter to seal the win at 4-1. It was a good game, with both teams playing hard. Kamloops really didn't shake the Eagles until late in the 3rd period when it was still tied at 1-1.

Saturday night in Summerland saw Jose Reyes as the dominant player on the ice as Kamloops rolled to a 4-2 win over the Sting. Kirkham, McCance and Brandon Long (just back from injury) scored the other goals. Gore has a lone assist.

Then of course, there was Sunday's tilt against the Creston Thunder Cats. Loaded with past Kamloops Minor hockey products in Silverston, Miller and the Moen brothers (Kolton, Brodie), the Thunder Cats proved a tough opponent. Creston is in 4th place in a tough division but has a few games in hand on the divisional leaders (Fernie, Columbia Valley, Golden). Goaltender Wade Waters was stellar however Kamloops goalie, Anthony Manfredi was equal to the task and then out duelled Waters in the shootout.

The Storm's next home game doesn't get any easier as the league's best record in the Nelson Maple Leafs comes to town. It should be an epic battle.
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Quick Notes:

Darren Mann is back in town and expects to start skating this week after rolling over on his ankle on Thanksgiving weekend.

Jamie Galbraith is day-to-day (groin).

Daniel Medland-Marchen is also day-to-day with a strained glutimus-maximus.

Christian Pedersen may be done for awhile. He is in Calgary getting an MRI done on his knee and may need arthroscopic surgery. We will hear more this week.

James Friedel remains snake bitten in the goal scoring department. He missed a wide open net on Friday night's game against the Eagles. Friedel has been playing hard and coaches Patterson and Passmore have rewarded him, Tyler Jackson and Taylor Stuart with more ice time recently because of their dependable play. On Sunday, Friedel was moved back to defence to replace Medland-Marchen and played pretty well. I don't think he wants to stay there though.

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Watch for the Kamloops Storm Profiles to start here on the blog. Along with the profiles, the Storm will be running an ongoing fan & player participation contest (of sorts). Contributing fans will be able to secure discount coupons from our profile sponsor... Dolson's Source for Sports and the players will be competing for a prize, also contributed by Dolson's... the only thing holding us up are the delinquent profiles required from a few...ahem... star players.
It will be fun and everyone is encouraged to participate. In the end, we would like to also create the largest team profile website in the province... Stay Tuned.

here's a hint... dig up some old or recent photos of your favorite Storm player, we are gonna need them.

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Thanks to Barry Dewar for the Volunteer Appreciation pizza-fest after Sunday afternoon's game.

Sicamous Eagles Grounded

:Kamloops Storm Blows through to 2nd Round

For 3 straight games on Kamloops ice, the Sicamous Eagles almost pulled one out. For the 2nd time in the series the Storm and the Eagles needed double overtime to settle things and the result was the same.

Austin Goode, coming into the game 0-0-0 in the playoffs snuck off the bench, picked up a big rebound from the the back boards on a shot by Jassi Sangha and popped the series winning goal at 10:44 of the 2nd OT. The final score was 3-2. It's been a tough series for Goode but he came up big when the team needed him most, not unlike many times during the season.

It was a tight checking affair all evening with both Anthony Manfredi and particularly Riley Wall making their share of spectacular saves. Wall stood on his ear time after time to stop point blank Kamloops gunners. Kamloops outshot Sicamous 71 -36.

Sicamous got the upper hand early when Brock Backus showed some hustle by stealing the puck from the 3 Storm players behind the Storm net and set up an opportunistic Jay Stuart for a howitzer over the glove of Manfredi to make the score 1-0.

Anthony Collins popped his second goal of the season on a nice set up by Lundy Trenaman and gritty Tod Kennedy.

There was a melee near the end of the 1st period after Jassi Sangha retaliated on a Sicamous defenseman and took an 2 min. penalty for a hit to the head and an automatic 10 min misconduct. Only 14 seconds into the second period Cody Lockwood blasted a rocket from the blueline on the powerplay and Sicamous took a 2-1 lead.

Again with Wall standing tall in the net and the Sicamous penalty killers showing outstanding discipline the scored stayed 2-1 until late in the 3rd period when Ryan Bullock buried the game tieing goal with 3:13 remaining in the 3rd. Manfredi was called upon late in the game to come up with a few big saves to keep Kamloops in the mix. Wall got involved in a collision in his crease and looked like he hurt his knee. He finished the period in pain and one wondered if he was going to make to the overtime period.

Wall didn't disappoint. The first 10 min overtime solved nothing with Wall and Manfredi looking pretty sharp.

The second overtime seemed to be going Sicamous's way early but Kamloops started coming on when finally Goode got his opportunity to bang home the winner. Sicamous goes home early in the playoffs knowing that they were only a hair away from making an upset in the series twice on Kamloops ice.

A couple of players for Kamloops that had particularly sparkling efforts were Mike Hanes (#2) and Tod Kennedy (#16). Kennedy stepped up to play with 2nd line Collins and Trenaman and Hanes moved up to play forward on the third line. Kennedy got an assist on the first Kamloops goal while Hanes was a wrecking ball, taking on anything he could catch. And he caught alot. Not knowing the official count on hits but I would bet that he had 8 solid hits himself. The kid was like a pitbull on a pant leg. Coach Bryant Perrier and team owner Barry Dewar where both impressed with the play of the two players.

Kamloops will now take on the winner of the Revelstoke - Summerland war. Game 5 goes tonight in Summerland with the series tied at 2. The series opener is not likely to start until Monday or Tuesday of next week.

See you then

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.

Anthony Collins Grounds the Eagles

Sicamous Now Behind the Eight-Ball

It started to look much the like the night before when the Kamloops Storm had to go into double-overtime to nix the Sicamous Eagles 4-3.

The first period was a quiet, tight checking affair with both teams displaying discipline and tenacity. Aggressive forechecking by both teams, forcing the defensemen to rush their passing created a lot of scrambled play in the neutral zone. Both goaltenders were tested but not to their capacity, with Sicamous starter, Derrick Westlund possibly being tested more than counterpart Anthony Manfredi. It was until the last minute of the period that Joel Leonard broke the ice with the game's first goal. It was the fourth straight goal for Leonard and the Storm.

It was the 2nd period where the game started to take on a familiar flavour and the goals started coming. Sicamous tied it at 1-1 with a goal from Mike Iorio, who again had a strong performance.
Play kind of lulled again, tight checking but near the middle of the period Sicamous started getting into penalty trouble when Kamloops notched 2 power play goals to make the game 3-1.

First it was Jake Young on a nice feed from Anthony Colins and solid work by Lundy Trenaman making it 2-1. Then, less than 3 minutes later, Trenaman put a bulge in the old onion bag for his first playoff marker to make it 3 to 1. Again Collins made the play with the extra helper coming from Jassi Sangha.

In a strange move, I thought, Sicamous made a goaltender change. I don't think that it was the play of Westlund as much as the coach may have felt that the team need a lift so in went Riley Wall. And the coach must have been pleased with what he saw. The team rallied effectively for the rest of the period, scoring 2 goals in a 25 second span to knot the contest once more at 3-3 going into the 3rd. Mike Iorio scored his second of the evening on a power play with 3:21 remaining in the period to close the gap to 3-2. Shortly after, on a CSM (Confused Storm Moment) it was Aaron Buat blasting one in from the high slot, beating Manfredi and tieing the score. Things were still looking awful familiar going into the 3rd period, tied at 3.

The teams played cautiously for the first 7 minutes when Anthony Collins took matters into his own hands. Collins picked up the puck in his own end, did a tight circle, surveyed his options and bolted up the ice. He hit his own blueline in the middle of the ice with speed. Following blocks like a running back in football, he bobbed left, weaved right, eluded a couple of checkers, slid wide around another defender and attacked the net from the left side. With a seemingly effortless flick he flew the puck high over the shoulder of goaltender Wall into the roof of the net, where his momma keeps the cookies. Brilliant. The crowd went nuts. Play of the game.

Five minutes later Collins and Trenaman were at it again setting up David Osborne for a big blast from the blueline that just blew by everyone making the score 5-3. Just over a minute later, Joel Leonard put the game out of reach with his 5th goal in 2 nights to put the Storm up 6-3.

Sicamous was down but not out as they scored their 4th goal immediatly after the centre ice faceoff. Shane Lightfoot, who was kept under closer checking this evening took advantage of another CSM, broke in after getting the puck from Eric Holzschuh and quickly blasted it by a surprised Anthony Manfredi.

In the end, Kamloops showed its superiority on home ice (even though game 2 was played on the NHL rink instead of the Olympic rink). Sicamous mustered up a pretty serious challenge in both games and one wonders if that was the best that they had to offer.

Collins ended up as first star with a 4 point night, 1-3 while Lundy Trenaman was second star with a goal and 2 helpers. Sicamous star Mike Iorio captured 3rd star with a 2 goal performance. Special mention to Joel Leonard who also had 2 goals to complete his 5 goal weekend outburst and Jose Reyes who was relentless in his checking and tenacity for the Eagles.

I guess we will see part of the answer tonight as the series moves to Sicamous for a game 3 and 4 showdown. Kamloops shutout Sicamous 4-0 in the final game of the season last weekend and they hope to continue that habit tonight. The game will be broadcast on the KIJHL website by the Sicamous contingent.

May the Storm be with You!!!

• Box Score

Eagles Succumb to Storm

Goaltenders Duel takes it to Double OT

It was the first game of the 2007 KIJHL playoffs and the teams did not disappoint.

In a real goaltenders duel between Kamloops Storm's, Anthony Manfredi and Sicamous Eagle's Derrick Westlund and Manfredi took round 1 of the best of 7 series in a 3-2 double overtime win at the Mac Island Sports Complex.

The big gun on the evening was Joel Leonard of the Kamloops Storm who scored all three goals including the OT winner with a deflection on a hard blast by David Osborne.

The game was a see-saw battle, perhaps even a little conservative in the 1st period which ended up scoreless. Both teams were pinning the other in their own zone with an aggressive 2 man forecheck that pressured the defensemen into rushing their play.

Sicamous got on the board first with a hard-working goal late in the 2nd period.

After having to kill a Ryan Bullock penalty that carried over to the 3rd period, Leonard scored his first goal on a nice passing play between him, Jassi Sangha and Bullock. Only 1:26 later the same trio combined again, this time Leonard made a particularly pretty tip in front of the net that total fooled Westund.

The Eagles, not to be out done, scored short handed, a 2 man breakaway no less, on sloppy Kamloops turnover at center ice when Trevor Torbolm came out of the penalty box, putting the Storm in a man-advantage situation. Jay Stuart got the goal from Brock Backus and Cody Lockwood.

The first OT period went scoreless with Kamloops almost putting it away with 1.6 seconds left on the clock on scramble at the side of the Sicamous net.

Sicamous got into penalty trouble early in the 2nd OT with an elbowing call at 2:49. On the ensuing power play, David Osborne got two wacks at it from the blue line, with the second blast deflecting off of a well positioned Leonard and past a helpless Westlund.

The Storm outshot the Eagles 56-35.

Other than Westlund, Sicamous got very good efforts particularly from Shane Lightfoot who seemed to be dangerous all night and 16 year old Curtis Summerfelt who created a number of scoring chances.

Other solid performances from Kamloops were Darren Mann, Lundy Trenaman and Tod Kennedy who's forecheck kept Sicamous off balance all night. Austin Goode and Anthony Collins both could have stolen the show if any of their efforts paid off but when it came to shooting it was like someone melted the bottom of their stick blades as everything they shot appeared to be a bit of a whiff.

Former assistant coach turned defenseman, Justin Giroux was particularly aggressive in the neutral zone trying to pick off passes and made some great plays but one wonders if a on another evening the opposition may be able to take advantage of that and create a number of odd man rushes.

It all goes again 7:30 tonight at the Mac Island Sport Centre only this time it will be on the regulation ice sheet. It could be a very different game. Games 3 and 4 will be in Sicamous Sunday and Monday.

Check out the boxscores on the KIJHL site here.

In other action, the Kimberley Dynamiters edge out the Creston Valley Thunder 5-4, also in overtime.

See you at the rink or catch us on the air.
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Divisional Awards handed to Key Kamloops Storm Players

A few Okanagan - Shuswap Division awards were handed out prior to the game as Anthony Manfredi garnered both the Division MVP and top Goaltender Award. Jassi Sangha won as Top Scorer and Lundy Trenaman took the Most Sportsmanlike Player.

Congratulations Gentleman, your mammas are proud of you.

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.