Hanes and Goode Dominate Score Sheet

Tory Caldwell Wins 2 Between the Pipes!

With a 2 game sweep of weekend games, the Kamloops Storm are only 1 point out of first place in the division with 2 games in hand. Currently tied with the Chase Chiefs and only 1 point behind the Sicamous Eagles, the Storm are starting to make some noise in the division.

Rookie Ryan Hanes and 3rd year vet Austin Goode dominated on the score sheet this past weekend, scoring 6 of the 7 goals by the Storm, while Travis Cech scored a game-opening, short handed goal in Sicamous on Friday.

Tory Caldwell was impressive, stopping 28/29 on Friday night and 29/30 on Saturday's game for a weekend GAA of 1.00 and Save Percentage of 0.9661... rather stellar I might say and certainly putting a little pressure on regular starter and past MVP, Anthony Manfredi.

On the weak side, the power play was a miserable 0 for 7 while they still managed to score one short-handed marker by Cech. To date the team has 4 Power Play goals and 3 Short-Handed goals, an interesting ratio, would you agree?

Coach Patterson has been putting an awful lot of faith in the inherant first line of Reyes, Gore and Ludvig, who for some reason can't seem to hit the broad side of a barn door these days. You gotta wonder if there is a little shake up in the offering, noting that this line had a total of ZERO POINTS for the weekend. A bit of an underachievement to say the least.

Stay tuned for this weekend's home stand as the Storm hosts division rivals Summerland Sting on Friday and perennial league powerhouse, the Fernie Ghostriders on Saturday.

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What are your comments on the past weekend games?
(click comments below - your views and opinions are welcome - keep it civil - thanx... DaveO)

Only in Canada you Say???

Hockey Night in Sheffield...England

Recently, a friend of mine who is visiting jolly old England needed to get his hockey fix. It was opening night for the local pro hockey team and ... I'll let him tell the story...

I just gotta share this with you - on Saturday night I decided to go see the Sheffield Steelers Ice Hockey team play in their home opener against Coventry Blaze - a bitter rival from 60 miles down the M1.

It's the first time I've been since I was here back in 2004 and I was quite looking forward to getting my hockey fix. When I arrived it was very obvious that they had gone to great efforts to promote the fact that their product is a Family Affair as they want to fill the seats with whole families to negate the soccer hooligan mentality that permeates sporting events over here. They were handing out pom poms to all the little girls and little boys who came in with their Mom & Dads and they had clowns and mascots all over the place - competitions for the kids - I was really quite impressed - they really had gone all out to promote a family atmosphere.

I guess at game time there was about 6000 in attendance, many of them young families - even the cheerleaders were all under 12 and the little boys and girls were dancing and copying the cheerleaders who were showcased on the big screen - the kids were in their element.

The teams came on and the kids went wild as they lined up for the face off - right off the bat prior to the drop of the puck the Coventry left winger lifts his stick up and tries to castrate his opposite number - you guessed it - 5 on 5 (brawl). I couldn't believe my luck (Ha Ha), the atmosphere changed in an instant - all the fathers resorted to their football mentality and began shouting and screaming obscenities - the little kids stood there with pom poms at their side not knowing what to do - one little girls burst into tears and others where comforted by their mothers shielding their eyes from the mayhem that was ensuing.

It was one of the most surreal sights I have seen in hockey - all these kids brought in at great effort by the club only to be exposed to the most brutal violence sport can offer - I just sat there and watched the reactions of the families around me - it was hilarious - how ironic - some Moms were giving their husbands shit for jumping up and down and swearing, serving to frighten their children as there was blood all over the ice - it was great. It was 20 minutes before sanity was restored and all 12 players were ejected as both goalies were battling.

Sheffield won 5-1 - but I didn't care - all the entertainment was before the first puck was dropped - I'll be going next Sunday.

Only in Canada they say... what a hoot!

Later... DaveO

Storm Battle to a 1-1 Weekend

Leaders by Expectation Finally Step It Up

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Just some business to clean up...

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

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

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

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Funny Thing happened at the game against Golden...

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

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

Storm Steal One from the Posse

Newcomers Show Some Dazzle

It was opening night and the Kamloops Storm and the Princeton Posse were meeting for the 4th time in less than 2 weeks.

The game started out a-blazing as the Storm scored an early short-handed goal by Brandon Long, a nice 2-on-1 with 3rd year vet, Scott Kirkham.
Princeton came back 3 minutes later when Nick Ceccone slipped a lost puck past Kamloops goaltender Anthony Manfredi who had just taken the puck in the facemask on a hard wrister from Spencer Brooks.

Princeton tallied the only goal in the 2nd period, on the power play when Brooks Christensen finished off a nice 2 on 1 with a nice feed from Wade Masch.

Both goaltenders stepped it up until late in the 3rd period. The Storm's Manfredi and Craig Stewart for the Posse came up with a number of big saves to keep the game close. However, late in the 3rd period, Travis Cech was awarded a penalty shot when he was hauled down on a breakaway. Cech, who had been showing some nice hands throughout the game, made a nice deke on Stewart and tied the game with 4 minutes left. Neither team seemed to want the 2 points as they traded marginal penalties through the end of the period and into the overtime period.

It was Sean Menton who stole the show with a highlight reel, end-t0-end rush that pulled the fans off their seats and settled the score at 3-2 for an opening game win. Menton and Cech, both newcomers, displayed some nice chemistry as well as individual talents that earned them #1 and #2 stars of the game respectively. Wade Masch, for the Posse, was the 3rd star.

The Storm play again, Sunday, Sept 14 at 2pm

Ghostriders Conquer the Storm

Jordan Reid Does it All for Fernie in KIJHL Road Win

Jordan Reid, a 20 yr old forward from Prince George imposed his will on the Kamloops Storm early in the game and scored all three goals for the Fernie Ghostriders in a 3-1 win at the MacPark Sportscentre in North Kamloops last evening.

And... he did it with variety.

His first goal, at 9:35 of the 1st period was a short-handed tally that had Kamloops captain, Jassi Sangha's head spinning. In Sangha's defense, he was kind of hung out to dry. While on the power play, Sangha was playing his usual point position and received a pass at the middle of the blueline with Reid pressuring. With Reid in his face, Jassi tried to get rid of the puck through his legs. Low percentage, no support. The puck bounced off of Reid's shinpads past Sangha and he had a clear breakaway from the Fernie blueline to Storm goaltender Brennan Jones. Reid chose to shoot from between the circles and beat Jones through the five-hole to put the score up 1-0.

Just over a minute later with Scott Kirkam in the box for kneeing, Reid capitalized on the PP with a lovely 3 way passing play between him, David McIvor and Scott Traverse.

Kamloops came out flying in the second period and at 5:26, Devon Gannon popped his 3rd goal of the season with some hard work from linemates David Gore and Jose Reyes.

Around the middle of the 2nd period, the whole game took a shift for the worse as referee Tom Henetiuk started blowing his whistle to command a parade to the penalty box. There were no less than 14 penalties called in the last 11 minutes of the period and he spent most of his time explaining his point of view to the coaches. It looked like he was having an ongoing feud with Storm bench boss, Ed Patterson regarding line changes and he put on a command performance to steal the show. Completely ruined the flow of the game.

The third period was a little tighter with Fernie holding the edge in play. Brennan Jones did his part for Kamloops, keeping them in the game making save after spectacular save. Reid finally got his chance to complete his hat-trick with an empty net tally just after Jones left the net for an extra attacker.

Fernie has always given Kamloops a tough time, with Kamloops winless against them over the last 2 seasons (4 regular season games and 4 straight in the playoffs last year). Although the Storm were seriously shorthanded with Lundy Treneman still out with an ankle injury and Jake Young leaving the game late in the first period from a blow to the head. The team put in a good effort, particularly in the 2nd period before the melee and some of the young guys got some valuable playing time.

With the win, Fernie now moves into first place in their division with a one point lead over the Creston Thundercats who took it on the chin (5-2) courtesy of the Chase Cheifs last night. The visiting teams will change places tonight with Creston in Kamloops and Fernie wandering down the road to Creston.

Player notes:

Great effort from Brennan Jones, his best home game of the season.
Devon Gannon is steadily improving as is Tod Stephenson who's skating and physical play has come up a notch or two in the last 3 weeks.
Payden Wongstedt and Shea Naka are progressing well on D.
Brock Backus, a recent newcomer is starting to find his place and Jose Reyes was probably the most consistent forward on the evening.

On the downside:

I've seen this before at many levels in hockey and I'm not sure how coach Patterson is going to break the habit. The team is having a tough time scoring goals and part of it is finding a way to capitalize on the deep cycle. There seems to be a lot of work down low in the offensive corners but the puck just isn't getting out for quality scoring chances. In fact, it seems that many times it is the only option (cycling) that the forwards have on their minds as they penetrate the offensive zone.
A little creativity and foot movement may go a long ways in beating this rap.

See you at tonight's game against Creston or listen up for free while it lasts on the streaming video broadcast provided by the Kamloops Storm and the KIJHL.

Your comments are welcome but keep it clean.

Limping Home

October Skid Gives Kamloops Storm Severe Road Rash

It's been 7 games (6 road games) and just over 2 weeks since the Kamloops Storm tasted victory and with a game at home against local rivals, the Chase Chiefs (8-5-3), a win couldn't come at a better time.

It has been a disasterous month with the Storm firmly entrenched in last place (did I say that?) in the Eddie Mountain Conference. Coach Ed Patterson must be shaking his head wondering what he can do to bring out the perceived talent that this team brings to the rink. Over the last 7 games they have scored all but 15 goals, just over 2 goals a game while allowing almost 4 goals/game against. But they have come so close. Of the 7 straight losses, 4 have been one goal games while last night's tilt against Castlegar was a 2 goal loss with an empty netter.

The loss of Jassi Sangha to the Merritt Centennials (temporary or permanent... I guess we will find out) is obviously a blow however this is the time that the rest of the team needs to step it up a notch. Much like last year at this time, the coach has got to be wondering who his leaders are going to be and those players must learn to lead. They need to take them over the threshold to win those one goal games rather than lose them.

Today would be a good time to change the direction of this team.

Without pointing fingers, the 19 and 20 year olds must be held accountable and the young guys need to show that they want more. There were a lot of guys hanging around for a few weeks and when the rosters were trimmed it seems that the competitive spirit has waned with the satisfaction of having made the team. Not exactly what the coach had in mind.

So rather than go out there and show reckless aggression that will keep them shorthanded, a little discipline and an unparalleled desire to win will eventually pay dividends. Let's hope that the worthy coach and owner won't have to make some drastic moves to shake out the dead wood.

Without having seen the team play since Oct 13, I will reserve further comment for a post-game analysis.

Kamloops Storm Grounds Golden Rockets

Jake Young Scores Hatrick in Lopsided Win!

After a sloppy and boring first period where both teams and the crowd needed a wake-up call, the Kamloops Storm scored 5 goals in the 2nd period of last night's game to bury the Golden Rockets.

The first period may have been the sloppiest period of hockey we have seen all season with both teams showing very little in continuity, crispness and accuracy. One of the people in the crowd observed that Kamloops completed two passes in a row only twice in the opening frame. Never the less, the game was tied 2-2 going into the 2nd.
Cody Cringan scored both Golden goals in the first period, the first goal coming at only 0:55 sec of the period. The puck was shot in along the glass when the puck caremed off a glass support to the crease where Kamloops goaltender, Tory Caldwell attempted to cover up the puck. Apparently, the puck was still visible and a sharp and persistent Cringan poked at it until it slipped quietly into the net.
A few minutes later, with Scott Kirkam in the the box for hooking, Lundy Treneman worked his penalty killing magic by stripping the puck from a Rocket defender and went in on a 2-on-0 breakaway with... the hottest sniper in the league right now, Jassi Sangha... fed him the puck and Sangha had no problem burying the biscuit to tie the scored at one.
At 16:53 with Golden on the power play, Cringan scored his second of the period with a quick blast from the left side circle, beating Caldwell cleanly.
Golden forward Luke Rasmussen took a penalty for tripping with only 5 seconds left with the faceoff in the Golden end. This ended up being the "TSN turning point" of the evening as Sangha stepped into the circle, won the faceoff back to Cody Lockwood who fed Jamie Galbraith who let the quick shot go. Sangha, drifting back toward the net took Galbraith's shot in his body or off his stick and the puck went into the net with literally no time left on the clock to tie the score at 2.
From then on, it was all Kamloops, particularly in the 2nd period.
Jake Young started his assault on the evening on a nice feed from Jose Reyes with a laser beam over the shoulder of Rockets goaltender Edwin Weightman. A minute later, Todd Stephenson, the Australian National Team junior benefited from some hard work by David Gore and a sweet pass from Sangha to quickly put Kamloops up 4-2.
The buzz was starting.
Then it was Young getting his second of the evening at 6:28 of the 2nd period on the power play, assisted by Treneman and Lockwood.
Josh Caron scored his first goal of the season when he took advantage of some sloppy play by Golden in their own zone by driving the net and finishing off another sweet feed by Sangha at 14:35. David Gore completed the 2nd period assault by the Storm on the power play with assists from Treneman and Mike Hanes.

With the score under control Kamloops coach Ed Patterson started giving more ice time to his 3rd and 4th lines who matched up well with whatever Golden through at them and Tory Caldwell stood tall in the nets to stop some pretty good opportunities by the Rockets as they tried to make a game of it.
Young capped off his evening with his hat-trick goal at 7:55 on a 2 on 1 pass from Reyes, again a wristed laser beam over the shoulder of Weightman to make the score an unsurmountable 6 goal advantage.

Young ended up being 1st star with 3 goals and one assist.
Sangha had a 4 point game with 2 goals and 2 assists to garner 2nd star honours.
And Cody Cringan, with his 2 goals in the 1st period, captured the 3rd star position.

With the win, Kamloops ties Princeton for bottom spot in the competitive Eddy Mountain - West Division with 12 points on a 6-6 record, but only 4 points behind division leading Summerland who lost a squeaker to Revelostoke last night.

Be sure to tune in for tonight's game or make your way to the MacPark Sports Centre here in Kamloops for a showdown of last years Division finalists, the Revelstoke Grizzlies. Game time is 7pm and we will be broadcasting the game with play-by-play video streaming for your enjoyment.

Chase Chiefs take Kamloops by Storm

Lack of Intensity may cost more than 2 points for some Players

With an overflowing roster, some veterans temporarily on the sidelines and the possibility of more players being returned from Junior A, there has got to be some questions as to who gets to stay and who gets golden handshake.

The Storm, coming off a stellar opening night victory against the Kimberly Dynamiters of Friday, showed little after the middle of the first period against new South Thompson rivals, the Chase Chiefs.

Jassi Sanga scored early in the game, his 4th in 2 games and the team looked like they expected to cruise through this one too. Not so.

Although Kamloops looked great offensively (well, the Sangha, Trenaman, Gore combination in particular) on Friday night, their defensive play was sloppy and Kimberly just couldn't muster up the offense and take advantage. Sunday was a different story. Sloppy passing, poor pick-ups, and weak clearing attempts all but exposed some team weaknesses and unfortunately some player personell weaknesses. Not to mention the lack of ability to win key faceoffs or take advantage of one's that were won. And it really wasn't the defense as much as it was the forwards giving up odd man opportunities with errant passes and slow decision making.

Personally, I believe that the Storm is further ahead in terms of personell at this particular stage in the season but with the glut of players still in camp and the potential for the team to pick up some Jr A cuts, one has to wonder who's gotta go.

Veteran utility player, Jamie Galbraith is still on the sidelines. He hurt his ankle over the summer and has started skating. He is a good bet to grab a spot before long. Jose Reyes, another league vet, injured his ankle in game one and will likely be back between 2-4 weeks.
Australian National Junior standout, Todd Stephenson, who played some exhibition games here last season against the Storm is waiting for clearance from Hockey Canada. He is likely to crack the top 6 forwards.

So, who's likely to stay? Here's our guess on how the chips will fall over the next few weeks. Coach Patterson is heading out on a 2 week road trip where he will be able to find who can and will step up to the plate.

Keep in mind, this review is our own opinion without inside information.

Who Stays?

There are a lot of guys who haven't played yet. If the team is going to carry 4 lines, we see only 3-4 spots available after the dust settles.

Forwards:

Sangha, Trenaman, Gore, Stephenson, Kirkham, Nowick, Reyes, Long

Sangha and Trenaman are a lock. Stephenson, barring some unforeseen challenge should also be a lock because of his long distance commitment.
Scott Kirkam has grown and is looking much better that last year.
Reyes is a league vet and brings an honest effort and high intensity.
Gore can obviously put the puck in the net.
Nowick and Long had solid efforts and were able to create opportunities.

Defense:
This is a good nucleus. Big, strong and mobile the Storm is blessed with quality vets and talented youngsters.

Lockwood, Wongstedt, Naka, Henderson, Caron.

On the Bubble?

Forwards:

Mike Hanes - Defenseman gone to forward, Hanes has the ability to play either position in this league. His aggressiveness (although very crowd pleasing) puts him in the penalty box much too often. With special teams playing a big part of the game these days, Mike needs to decide whether he is going to help the team or hinder it. It is unfortunate that the rules of the game cramp his style but that is the reality. If he stays out of the box Hanes is talented enough to contribute in a big way.

Jamie Galbraith - although likely to grap a spot, he will be pushed by some of the younger players to keep his spot.

Dominc Alec - showed well in the game against Chase, this kid is young and wants a spot. Needs to improve on his skating but he hits like a Mac Truck.

Devon Gannon - didn't make much happen this past weekend, needs to pick it up and be a force

Mick Ludvig - lots of intensity but is small in stature and hasn't played much the last couple of years. Similar to last years' Darren Mann but not as quick or as solid on his feet. Perhaps a couple more weeks will allow him to return to a level that is indicitive of what is required.

Riley Marsh - Played ok this weekend but with limited spots available he also has to pick it up a bit to stay on this roster.

Keelan Edwards - Made the team last year, had a serious eye injury and has returned. Keelan hasn't shown that he has improved much, particularly his skating and didn't show a lot of intensity. Possible trade bait but in tough to stay on this roster.

Stefan Jensen, Randy Hanes, Keagan Hunter, Brock Mott and a few others still in camp haven't played and may or may not get their chance on the road trip.

Defense:

This is a pretty solid group. We listed our top 5 which leaves only one or two spots open. With both Galbraith and Hanes able to play defense also, the competition gets tighter.

Mike McCance - played ok this past weekend but had difficulty with the puck when pressured and struggled on the power play when given the chance. He may be in tough here but has the ability to play in the league.

Patrick Pinder - did not play this weekend. no report.

Goaltenders:

The Storm did not have the same goaltenders at the end of last season that they started with. Unfortunately this position can be a revolving door situation. Brennan Jones is capable of playing Junior A and Tory Caldwell is yet to be game tested. The Merrit Centennials have an extra goaltender in camp and will likely be sending one this way.

Jones is #1 for now and it appears that someone either has to take it from him or he goes elsewhere and opens up a spot. I'm sure that Caldwell will get his opportunity to shine while on the road.

We expect that a few cuts will be made in the next 24-48 hrs as the team gets ready to hit the road for the first time this season. We will try to keep you updated as things progress.

Next Home Game - Oct 5 - Summerland / Oct 6 - Princeton

Got a Comment? Please submit below. We do reserve the right to edit any vulgar or inappropriate material so keep it civilized. We look forward to hearing from you.

The Storm Report - by Barry Dewar

Game One of the 2007/08 season is in the books.

The Storm had a convincing 7-3 win over the Kimberley Dynamiters. The Storm scored all seven goals on special teams with 6 power play goals and one shorthanded goal.
Jassi Sangha lead the way with 6 points (3 goals and 3 assists) in another Domino Pizza give away for all the fans. Jassi playing on a line with Lundy Trenaman and David Gore on the power play were pretty much unstoppable. Jassi also scored one shorthanded goal and almost had more as he enjoyed the return to the Storm. Trenaman and Gore also had great nights with Gore getting one goal and 3 assists while Trenaman set up 4 goals for 4 assists.

Some other highlites of the night included our first video webcast. While we still have some technical glitches to fix overall it seems to be well received and word is the games will be archived for review should the need arise.

Other goal scorers for the Storm were Payden Wongstedt of Fort St. John who played a stellar game on defense, Jose Reyes from Kamloops and Dominic Alec also from Kamloops got the other goals. Wongstedt took a great pass from Scott Kirkham on a goal mouth pass while Alec and his line of Riley Marsh and Brandon Long were strong all night long. Reyes who came to the Storm after playing last season fit in nicely in his Storm debut but left the game late in the third period after a cheap shot by one of the Dynamiters injured him. Derek Henderson of Langley answered the bell for his teammate by pummeling the offender in his first fight of the season. Henderson also had a strong game on the blue line as did Cody Lockwood who will be one of the leaders on the defense.

Brennon Jones got the win in net making 33 of 36 saves. Jones was tested early and made a couple of big saves and played a strong game in net.

The win is the first for the coaching tandem of Ed Patterson, Gille Leberre and Chad Ferris who ran an excellent bench.

Storm Blasts Dynamiters at 2007 Home Opener

Vets Sangha and Trenaman Light it Up to Start the Season

It's been a long summer for Jassi Sangha and Lundy Trenaman. After falling 4 straight to eventual KIJHL winners, Fernie Ghostbusters last spring, the Kamloops Storm is setting their sites on a championship this season with Sangha and Trenaman expected to lead the way. This opening night they didn't disappoint.

In what seemed like mid-season form, Sangha had 3G - 3A and Treneman had 4 assists in 7-3 shellacking of Kimberly Dynamiters. Newcomer David Gore also had a great night as he was credited a goal and 4 assists.

Special teams played a big part in the win as the Storm scored 6 of the 7 goals on the power play and one spectacular short handed effort intiated by Trenaman and completed by Sangha. 2 of the 4 goals by Kimberly were also on the power play.

With a good mixture of vets, newcomers and rookies, Kamloops looked reasonably organized on the ice compared to Kimberly who couldn't seem to get it together or get a break until the 2nd period when they were already down 4-0. The Storm saw commendable efforts from league veterans Cody Lockwood (D), Jose Reyes(F), Mike Hanes(F), Devon Gannon(F), Scott Kirkam(F) and Brendan Jones(F). Newcomers Payden Wongstedt(D) and Shea Naka (D) showed poised and impressed on the back end, both getting lots of PP and PK time.

For Kimberly, vets Mike Whitequilles and Tommy Latouche-Gauvin were solid up front but couldn't seem to pull the trigger when they needed it most. Kimberly's biggest downfall was their lack of discipline that saw them parade to the penalty box time after time and Kamloops just seem to eat them up on the PP. Goaltender Mike Marino faced a number of quality opportunities and played pretty well despite the 7 goals.

There was one fight in the game. Jose Reyes had a knee taken out on a cheap shot late in the game by Matt Wilkins. Newcomer Derek Henderson would have nothing of that and proceeded to punish Wilkens for his dastardly deed. Both players were ejected from the game with the KIJHL's new one fight rule (more on this on another post).

All in all the 650 fans went home happy with a home team win and a Domino's pizza coupon for a free 10" pizza for the team scoring over 5 goals in a game. Thanks again Domino's!

The Storm's next game is this Sunday, 5pm, when they suit up against the new Chase Chiefs at the Mac Park Sports Centre here in Kamloops. Hope to see you there.