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

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.

Kamloops Storm vs Summerland Sting

Game Pictures by Judi Dupont, Java Mountain News 14.12.08

Judi is a regular at the Storm Home games and she had her camera on hand for the weekend game against Summerland. Thanx Judi for your contribution. You are invited anytime.

Austin Goode ready to pounce

David Gore and Josh Mitchell in a faceoff scrum

James Friedel rushing the puck

"The Pose" by Manfredi

Taylor Stuart gettin' in done

A Rare whiff by Manfredi

Scott Kirkham facing off

Shae Naka on the move

Dancing to the Music - Josh Caron and
Caron and Dinsmore do the Shuffle

Storm Gathering Strength

Despite Dwindling Bench

The Kamloops Storm continue to create distance between them and the pack in the KIJHL Okanagan-Shuswap division. After 3 divisional games, gathering 5 of a possible 6 points, the Storm is poised to enter the New Year in first place despite the depletion of the roster.

The only blip on the radar this weekend was a 5-4 OT loss to the Posse on Friday night in Princeton. After a convincing 4-0 win over the Revelstoke Grizzlies at home on Saturday, the Storm followed up with a high scoring win, 7-4 over the visiting Summerland Sting.

Kamloops came into the year with a deep roster at all positions. As the year has progressed there have been a number of trades, deletions and injuries that have cut back on critical manpower but to the credit of the management and coaches, the team just keeps rolling along.

Austin Goode (5), Jose Reyes (7), David Gore(6), and Jamie Galbraith(5) all had big point weekends, Galbraith being the most consistent of the bunch as he had goals in every game.

Despite the success, the Storm have had to dip into the AP pool because of various injuries and illnesses. Kyle Graham has gone from AP to a signed back-up goaltender as Christian Pedersen continues to rehabilitate from a knee injury. With the departure of Sheldon McDonald and illness to Mike McCance (mono), James Friedel has filled in one spot temporaily while Logan Hawgood (AP) and Daniel Buchanan (AP) played alternately at home this weekend.

The forward too, have been shorthanded. Players like Duncan Shultz (AP), Rylan Willoughby(AP), Cody Jules (AP) and Ryan Clark (AP) have done an adequate job while Ryan Hanes (ankle) and Tyler Jackson (knee) recover from their injuries. It's unlikely that either of these guys will be back before Christmas.

So, despite the dent in the depth chart, the Storm keep rolling. Let's hope that the New Year brings them health and a full roster.
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The back-to-back games against Chase this coming weekend have more on the line than points and pride.




It's the Men-in-Pink weekend where the Storm will be wearing pink jersys in support for Breast Cancer. H.I.S. Ventures has purchased the pink jersys and helmets for the referees. The jersys will then be auctioned off and the money donated to the Breast Cancer Foundation. You can also purchase T-shirts at the game where $5 from each sale goes to the cause. The T-Shirts sell for $15. If you where pink to the game in Kamloops, $1 will be donated.

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Princeton Gets a Break... Lose only 7 Points for an ineligible player

The Posse caught a break from the league who only assessed a 7 point penalty for having an ineligible player on the roster since Oct 5. They could have lost as many as 22 points if the league stayed with the letter of the law. However that kind of penalty may have had enough negative effect on the team that they would have had to fold, considering they probably would have been eliminated from playoff contention in December, fan support would dwindle and team sponsorships could dry up. A compassionate but necessary decision by the league to help keep a long time franchise above water. As it is the Coach/GM's job to ensure that the rosters are in order, the responsibility falls on them. Therefore, coach and gm, Dale Hladun will be suspended for a total of 9 games for his oversight.

A fair ending to a complicated piece of league legislation.
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Enter the Kamloops Storm Crazy Captions Contest and win discount certificates from our sponsor, Dolson's Source for Sports.
Enter a picture, crazy caption and a short story to become eligible for $10 discount coupons from Dolson's. Go here to find out more.

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By the way...
Answer to the Survey Question... Felix Potvin

thanks for participating

2 Wins Last Weekend

Keep Kamloops Storm Atop the Division

Two key wins last weekend, against division rivals Revelstoke Grizzlies (4-1) and cross-divisional rivals the Castlegar Rebels (4-0) has put more distance between the Storm and the rest of the Okanagan-Shuswap division as Kamloops is starting to run away with the division.

Taylor Stuart had 2 goals in Friday's win against the Grizz and picked up 1 assist in Saturday's tilt for a 3 point weekend. Stuart has been playing well at both ends of the ice and has added another skating gear as his speed has significantly improved thru the month of November. The coaching staff have also taken note and have used him in both penalty kill and power play situations. Keep up the good work Taylor.

Jamie Galbraith has made his presence known since he returned from his groin injury. He scored in Revelstoke and was a real physical force in the game against Castlegar. His tilt with Taylor Anderson was the fight of the day of which Jamie was the clear winner. James Friedel also had a fight, duking it out with Jerris Gregory. James did ok but found himself on the bottom of the pile at the end of the skirmish.

Goaltender, Kyle Graham (I believe that he is now signed instead of an AP) won on Friday in Revelstoke. Anthony Manfredi posted the shutout win against Castlegar, however Graham finished the last 5 minutes of the game as Manfredi appeared to re-injure his knee. Graham's signing was necessitated by the extended injury to Christian Pederson who is on the mend at home in Calgary.

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Earlier this week we saw the departure of defenseman, Sheldon McDonald. He has been traded to Campbell River for future considerations. Kamloops as well as other KIJHL teams are considering trimming their rosters to make room for any Junior A cuts that may become available before the roster deadline. We wish Sheldon good luck on the Island.

Ryan Hanes was to have his ankle operation this week. I don't have that confirmed but I do believe he was booked in for Thursday. Expect him to be back in February. His electric presence will be missed.

I also expect that Ty Jackson should be ready to be back in the lineup this weekend but that is also not confirmed.

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This Weekend:

The Storm have a full weekend with 3 games. Divisional rivals Summerland Sting and Princeton Posse are on tap with the Summerland game being on the road Friday. Princeton visits on Saturday night and Spokane pays a visit to Mac Park for a Sunday afternoon contest. Spokane are currently 3rd in the Eddie Mountain Division, just 3 points behind 2nd place Castlegar.

I would expect that the game in Summerland could get physical and I suspect that the game with Princeton on Saturday will be another "swing party" as the Posse are always in the mood to dance.

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.

Mann to Man

Ouch! Sting Get Stung - Storm Wins 8-2

It took all of 12 minutes for Darren Mann to show his coaches and his fans that he is all growed up now. Mann, on a lightening fast line with Kamloops Blazer product Ryan Hanes and Californian speedster, Shawn Menton left the opposition Summerland Sting swarmed and stung early.

Mann was everywhere, scoring 3 goals in 3 distinct manners. First, he took advantage of a juicy rebound on a howitzer by Hanes. His second goal was a converted opportunity on a loose puck. And his third goal was the result of constant pressure and a pretty passing play between the speedy linemates.

If it weren't for poor positioning by the referee, it could have been 4 goals in the first period, but the goal was disallowed as the official had lost site of the puck.

Mann played for the Storm 2 years ago when he stuck with the team as a 17 year old tenacious, hard checking speedster. He has returned with all the qualities he possessed back then but with a little more size and lot more smarts. The Storm, who haven't shown a lot of offensive savvy so far this season have now found an important piece of the puzzle.

Last night's game was played without the benefit of 2 other speedsters, short-handed specialist Brandon Long (separated shoulder) and Travis Cech (suspension-3 games). With those 2 guys in the lineup Kamloops could be the team to beat this year.

And this was only the first half of the game.

The second period saw much of the same pressure as the first when Jose Reyes, David Gore and Mick Ludvig caught fire. Having Mann, Menton and Hanes attracting a lot of the attention, tihis was the perfect catalyst for a wake up call for this line as they struck for 2 more quick goals in the first half of the 2nd period.

In the middle of the second period, up 6-0, the Storm relaxed a little and found themselves in the penalty box. Summerland, needing to dig deep, turned up the pressure and fired 2 goals of their own, only 1 min-9 seconds apart and carried the play for the rest of the period.

Then Kamloops put it away in the 3rd, again, 2 goals by the Reyes line. David Gore had 2 goals (one in the second period and one in the 3rd, Ludvig one goals and Reyes finished with 1 goal and 3 assists, the line's biggest offensive output of the year.

Daniel Medland Marchen also scored in the first period. Marchen has a very solid game, stepping up into the offensive play, driving the net and hustling back to defend. He is looking more comfortable each time out and will be a steadying force on the blueline.

With the great performances on the evening it's almost a tragedy that we haven't mentioned the Kamloops starting goaltender last night, Christian Pedersen. The 18 year old native from Calgary got his first start of the season and did not disappoint. He moved well and was able to see most of the pucks coming his way. We look forward to seeing him more although the 3 goaltender situation in Kamloops is likely to get broken up shortly with someone being traded. Count on Tory Caldwell finding another home in the future as he is ready to step up into a "starters role".

The love extends to David McIvor and the Fernie Ghostriders tonight at the Mac Island Sports Centre. Fernie took it on the chin, losing 3-2 to a solid Chase Chiefs team in Chase last night. Fernie, still a force in the league will face a team as talented as they were the last 2 years when they won the league championship, disposing of the Storm both times in the final.

Game time tonight - 7pm

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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.