Young guns fire blanks at the Pearkes

As a Storm fan, you knew goals would be hard to come by going into the game against the Saanich Braves when you found out that Steven Schmidt had been called up to the Nanaimo Clippers and Jesse Bachmeier was unavailable. The Storm would missing two guys that had scored 14 of their 24 goals in the first 6 games. They would also be facing a physical Braves team that might not score a whole bunch, but also don't give up many. That was definitely the case wednesday night. Matt Chester shut the door on any opportunities the Storm generated with their 25 shots, and the Braves defense did a nice job of not allowing many chances off of rebounds. They also capitalized on two of their power-play chances, while the Storm did little to generate much offense when they had the man advantage. The result was a 3-0 loss at the George Pearkes arena. There were some positives to take from the game. Danny Hall and Jesse Spooner received praise from Coach Jim Revenberg after the game for the solid games they played. Also, Tyler Bachmeier made his return to the net after missing the last 5 with an injury. He says it was good to get back between the pipes.
The Storm to a man need to take a look in the mirror and ask themselves if taking an unnecessary penalty at key times is helping their team out. It's been prevalent since the Victoria loss 3 games ago, incidentally the beginnings of this 3 game slide they are on. It won't get much easier the next two games. They host Kerry Park tomorrow before facing the ever improving Oceanside Generals in Parksville saturday.

Storm hoping for a Brave start to busy week

The Storm play the first of four games in six nights tomorrow at venerable George Pearkes arena in Saanich. They will face a team standings-wise that mirrors them. Both teams at 2-4, both teams trying to prove something in a big game early on. For the Storm, they'll look to snap out of a 2 game slide and grab their first win away from the Brindy this season. For the Braves, they'll try to show they can beat someone other than the Westshore Stingers.

It seems apart from the standings, these two teams are very different. The Storm have shown in at least half of the games, they are capable of scoring with anyone. The biggest problem might be a lack of discipline at key times, and the eery ability of their opponent to capitalize on every minuscule mistake they make, while showing an inability to do the same.

In the Braves case, it seems that getting someone other than captain Trevor Yee on the score sheet with any consistency has been a big challenge under first year coach Robin Gomez. A hard-nosed, gritty veteran of 6 seasons in the ECHL, including a season with the Victoria Salmon Kings, it's been a transition from playing just last season with the Bloomington Prairie Thunder to mentoring a group of teenagers. I spoke with Robin today about that transition, along with his thoughts on this year's Braves team.

As you also heard, I also had a chance to catch up with one of the unsung heroes on this year's Storm team, Ryan Fairgray. I think that he's shown improvement every game and has made some very big saves this season. When Tyler Bachmeier returns from his injury, goaltending should be one of the areas of strength for the boys in green, gold and red.





The game time has changed from what was posted on the vijhl.com website. It's a 7:30 start, not 6:30, so Joe and I will have the pregame for you at 7:15 on http://www.997theriver.ca/page.php?pageID=174&parentID=173

Yeti freeze out the Storm at the Brindy

The Storm wrapped up a tough 4 game set against the 3 best teams in the VIJHL Friday with a 3-2 loss to the Comox Valley Glacier Kings. The Storm were missing Jordan Suzuki, who was nursing an injury, so it would fall on some of the young defenseman to shoulder the load and log some extra ice time.

Before the game started, the Storm honoured last year's captain Gavin Bergey with a surprise ceremony, presenting him with a jersey and a framed picture of him and his team mates. I spoke with him during the intermission and he said he had a suspicion that something was up when he saw all of his family at the game, along with some of his former team mates from last year's squad. Gavin was slated to rejoin the Storm this year before he got a call from the RCMP, letting him know he was accepted and would head to Regina for training late September. I thought last night was a nice gesture to a classy captain that represented the Storm well both on and off the ice.

From the opening faceoff on it was a tentative start for the Storm, who seemed to be struggling with their passes in the first period, which was magnified by an aggressive Kings forecheck.

There was no score until midway through the opening frame, when at 11:55 CMX’s Kelin Hrycuik scored on a terrific solo rush, driving around the defense wide left, then cutting to the net and beating Storm goalie Ryan Fairgray on a back-hand glove side to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. Fast forward less than 2 minutes, with the Kings on the power-play, rookie Max Mois tipped a Brian Rideout point shot and Comox Valley would hold a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission, also out-shooting the Storm 6-5.

In the second, the Storm got on the board early in the period. Steven Schmidt on the power play at 4:55 wristed a shot from the right boards just inside the Kings blueline, fooling Cam Waddington short-side and pulling the Storm to with-in 1. Corey MacLachlan the lone assist.
The jubilation inside Rod Brind’Amour arena would be short-lived. At 6:50, Kelin Hrycuik on the power-play scored his second of the game, restoring the Kings two goal lead after 40 minutes. Comox out-shot the Storm 17-10 in the middle frame.

Only one goal in the third. Corey MacLachlan with 5 minutes remaining tipped a puck past Waddington on the power play to score his second goal this year. Brandon Tidy and Steven Schmidt with the helpers, 3-2 Comox Valley.
Jim Revenberg would pull Ryan Fairgray, and the Storm would press, but couldn’t find the equalizer. The Storm with the 11-5 edge in shots in the third.

Despite the loss, there were once again some positives. Andrew Gaiga and Mat Tilton did a nice job forechecking for the Storm, while on the blueline, Jordie Eliason and Kiefer Rivington rewarded Coach Revvy's decision to give them more minutes by playing solid games. Post game I caught up with both of them, along with Steven Schmidt. He credits King's keeper Cam Waddington, who made some terrific saves in the 3rd and 26 overall, in helping the visitors win, along with the Kings ability to stick to their game plan.



It's been a tough 4 game stretch, where the Storm have faced the team with maybe the most talent in the league in the Peninsula Panthers, the team with the best defensive corps in the Victoria Cougars, and perhaps the team who play their system better than any other in the league in the Comox Valley Glacier Kings. Each game, we've seen growth from this young Storm team, as they learn what it takes to compete at this level and should benefit them later in the season, when it's most critical.

The Storm now off until Wednesday, when they face the Saanich Braves for the first time this year. The Braves blanked Westshore 2-0, Connor Stephens with a goal and an assist, Eric Brabander 26 saves in recording the shutout. Both Braves wins this year have come over the Stingers.
The other game last night a bit of an upset, as the Peninsula Panthers lost their second straight, 3-1 at home to Oceanside.

Nice to see former Tyee Josh Caron ink a 3 year deal with the Minnesota Wild. A 6'2'', 200 lb heavyweight with the WHL Kamloops Blazers, from all accounts more than held his own at the Wild's prospects camp.
Here he is taking on Cameron Abney of the Edmonton Oil Kings last year.


Bob McKenzie of TSN tweeted: “Kamloops D Josh Caron is heavyweight, trying out for MIN. Curious to see if Wild sign. Toughness is duly noted. Takes punches, throws bombs.”
Caron did play a handful of games for the Storm in 2008.

Tough night at the Arch

Coming into the season, there were those who were of the mind that the Peninsula Panthers were the team to beat in the VIJHL, while others held the Victoria Cougars in high regard. After seeing both teams first hand this past week, I give a slight edge to the boys from Esquimalt.

The Storm fell 4-1 tonight to a Cougars team loaded on the blueline. Despite not scoring in 9 chances on the man advantage, the Cougars quite ofter kept the Storm hemmed in their zone for extended periods of time, thanks to great work by point men such as Jusin Sotkowy and Adam Seenbergen.

The Cougars jumped in front 2-0 in the first off of goals by Clark Anderson and Trevor McNeill. Shots were pretty even, 11-8 in favour of the Cougars. Jesse Bachmeier created a breakaway with some great speed in the first, but young Corey Koop in net made a brilliant save on the deek to preserve the goose-egg after 20 minutes.

In the second, the Cougars would widen the gap to 4 goals after Josh Wyatt and Adam Steenbergen on a wonderful shorthanded effort, before Rob Iszak scored on the power play, putting one in short side on the back hand past Koop. 4-1 after 40 minutes, with Fairgary making 14 saves, Koop with 5.

In the third no goals, but the Cougars put the clamp down defensively, along with the Storm taking some undisciplined penalties to snuff out any comeback thoughts. Credit the Cougars for sticking with their game plan and chalk this up as a learning experience for this young Storm team.

I thought Jordie Eliason had his best game on the blueline, logging a lot of ice time and deserving every minute of it with a simple hardnosed game.

Up front, Danny Hall and Andrew Gaiga had solid efforts and maybe generated the most opportunities for the Bolts.

Not much time to rest, as the boys host the North division leading Comox Valley Glacier Kings tomorrow (friday) at 7:30. Pregame show at 7:15 on 99.7 the River.

Giving back

Yesterday was one of those special days for myself as a broadcaster. The Tour de Rock rolled in to Campbell River Common in the afternoon, with bagpipes playing in front of the Tour Riders all clad in red, as a jam-packed section of the mall cheered on these remarkable RCMP members that were biking 1,000 km to raise money for Camp Goodtimes. I was honored to do part of my afternoon show from right behind the stage.

It was a festive atmosphere complete with a Bounce-a-rama for the kids, manned by none other than some of the Storm players. About a dozen of the boys took part in a variety of ways, including 4 of them that shaved their heads to honour the young,brave cancer patients that Camp Goodtimes benefits. Among them was Danny Hall, who's family has been impacted by Cancer, and Steven Schmidt, who joined me on my show along with a very special young man named Trevor, as you'll hear on this clip.




So far, Campbell River has raised over $70,000 dollars this year. Amazing.Great to see Revvy's boys there giving back to the community. Yet another reason I bleed green, gold and red.

As for the Storm on the ice, two more tough games in two nights. First up is a showdown at the Arch against one of the best teams in the 'V' the past 7 years, the Victoria Cougars, who are loaded at the backend and are riding a 4 game winning streak. Then friday, they face the Comox Valley Glacier Kings at the Brindy. That's a game you need to buy tickets for, as they are always intense.

The Storm will look to use the momentum they gained in the home and home against the Peninsula Panthers, where they proved they could play with the defending champions. The Panthers didn't have an answer for Jesse Bachmeier, who scored 7 goals in 2 games.

#9 Jesse Bachmeier and # 21 Brandon Tidy

Here's Jim Revenberg's thoughts on sunday's win, along with comments from Andrew Gaiga, who scored his first goal as a member of the Storm.

If you want a preview of the Storm and Cougars game thursday, Peter Kung has done a nice job on the Cougars website. Here's a link to that story.
http://www.victoriacougars.com/2010/09/game-preview-campbell-river-storm-victoria-cougars/#more-1412

We have the pregame show on 99.7 the River
http://www.997theriver.ca/page.php?pageID=174&parentID=173

It begins at 7. Rob Iszak will be featured first period, and we'll also be joined by a member of the Cougars play-by-play team in the second.

Captain Clutch scores 5 as the Storm claw the Panthers



Storm captain Jesse Bachmeier



If you only looked at the scoresheet from the Storm's 8-6 win over the Peninsula Panthers, you would have seen Jesse Bachmeier and Steven Schmidt combine for 7 goals and 13 points.

You would have also seen that goalie Ryan Fairgray made 50 saves in getting his second win of the season. But you wouldn't know the whole story.

What the stats don't tell you is that Dylan Budgell quietly went about his business breaking up 2 on 1s, clearing pucks from in front of the net and winning battles in the corners.

You would have missed the fact that while Jordan Suzuki, Brendan Enns and Boston McNeill were jumping up in the rush, Jesse Spooner and Corey MacLauchlan were back on the blueline covering for their team mates.

You wouldn't know that the Danny Hall-Andrew Gaiga-Rob Izsak line did a magnificent job of wearing down the Panthers defense with an aggressive forecheck.

 In fact, it was an entire team effort to saw the Storm jump out to an 8-3 lead before holding on as the Panthers scored three in the last three minutes.

Granted, we'd be remiss to not talk about the scoring clinic put on by Jesse Bachmeier. He scored a variety of ways, and to prove it, here's the call on all 5.

After the game, Steven Schmidt talked about playing along-side of Captain Clutch.




Only one game tonight in the VIJHL, as the Stingers will look to avoid allowing double digits against for the third straight game. They're coming off of 14-2 and 10-1 losses. They host the Oceanside Generals.

The Storm are off until thursday, when they face the red-hot Victoria Cougars at the Archie Browning Arena. The Cougars have won 4 straight.

All that was missing from this win was 2 pts

As a broadcaster, friday's game between the Storm and Peninsula Panthers was one of those games that was a ton of fun to call. With goaltender Tyler Bachmeier on the injured reserve with a broken finger, the Storm switched their goalies up in the first period more frequently than Van Halen changes it's lead singer.
We'll get to that in a moment. Let me set the stage first. With Tyler out,  the Storm signed a new goalie the night before the game in Dom Travaloina, and he would play a big role in this game in his brief appearance. There were more changes to the line-up at forward, too. The Storm finally secured the rights to forward Brandon Tidy from Alberta hockey, and he too would play a significant role in this game with 3 points, along with fellow newcomer Mat Tilton.

It was one of those games that started with a bang. The Storm got a power-play 17 seconds in, and Rob Iszak scored his first goal in green, gold and red for River City a minute 45 in.

Corey MacLauchlan

From there, the Panthers scored a pair on starter Ryan Fairgray, who got hooked a'la the Gong Show. That seemed to temporarily spark the team, as Tidy scored on the power-play just 2 minutes later and it was all tied at deuces a piece.
Two minutes after that, Travaloina would see his first shot on net. Or should I say not see. Panthers Ryan Bradley scored to give his team the lead. The next shot Travaloina faced, once again 2 minutes later, had the same result with Porteous giving the Panthers a 4-2 lead, and that also spelt the end of the night for Travaloina, who was playing his first game in a year, due to an injury last year.
So Fairgray got another chance, and he settled down after that and made some big saves, especially in the third. Corey MacLauchlan would score for the Storm 4-3 after 20 minutes.

The Storm played with purpose in the second. Starting with a Jesse Bachmeier goal, then one from Mat Tilton and suddenly the Storm had a lead, if only for just under 5 minutes. Cole Peterson tied the game at 5 after 40 minutes.

In the third, the Panthers woke up and pinned the Storm for long periods of time in their own end. Players like Evan Campbell, Joe Densmore and Michael Scarborough seemed to own the puck at times, and it resulted in the Panthers striking twice courtesy of Corey Allen  to open up a two goal lead. I have to admit, it did not look promising. That is, until the Captain pulled his team to with in one. Here's the call on the goal.




Late in the game, with the Storm net empty, and the boys up high on the forecheck, a careless penalty by Andrew Gaiga snuffed out any chance of a come back for CR and also resulted in Allen's 3rd of the third period, into an empty net. 8-6 Panthers, who move to 4 and 0.

After the game, coach Jim Revenberg said they may not have won, but a lot of good came out of this moral victory.




These two teams hook up 7:30 tomorrow (sunday) at the Brindy. Come out and support your team. You can also catch all the action on 99.7 the River, with the pregame show at 7:15. Brought to you by Work World in the Tyee Plaza.

The three main ingredients to a successful hockey team

There are so many factors that can help a team be successful. Creating turnovers on the ice and then capitalizing on those chances is something that often separates the good teams from the bad, or unlucky ones. Goaltending is always paramount. Just ask the Buffalo Sabres who made the playoffs many years that they probably shouldn't have because number #39 was guarding the crease.

Another big factor is leadership, which can manifest it self in a variety of ways on a team. There a vocal, bigger-than-life leaders like Mark Messier, who have that look in their eyes that gives confidence to their team mates and puts fear in the opposition. There are quiet leaders, like Joe Sakic, who let their play on the ice do the talking for them. Sometimes, it's a guy that isn't the most talented on the team, but he's the one who plays with his heart on his sleeve and will do whatever is necessary to guide his team through the highs and lows. I don't know if one type of leadership is better than the other, but I do know it's an integral part of any team that hopes to achieve great things.

This friday, there will be some good leaders on the ice for both the Storm and Panthers. Campbell River's new captain, #9 Jesse Bachmeier is a guy that could just let his play on the ice do the talking for him, but according to his team mates, he isn't afraid to hold them accountable in the dressing room.

The Panthers have a guy very similar it seems in #11 Evan Campbell. After a pair of seasons in the KIJHL with the Nelson Leafs and Creston Valley Thundercats, where he put up 90 points in 99 games, last season the speedy forward took his game to another level, leading the team in assists, while posting 65 points in 46 games. His attention to both ends of the ice, though, is what had new Coach Jackson Penny anoint him captain of the reigning league champs.

I talked with Evan today about the pressure of leading a team that every other team is gunning for. I also wanted to know, as a player that's played in both the KIJHL and VIJHL, along with facing the PIJHL champions in last year's Cyclone Taylor Cup, where does he think the VIJHL ranks in comparison to the other two.

#28 Jordan Suzuki (L), with #15 Robert Eliason

The Storm have more than just Jesse Bachmeier as their new leader. For the second straight year, Steven Schmidt wears an 'A'. As a clutch player that seemingly does it all, it's a no-brainer.

Another is Jordan Suzuki.
A smooth skater that can play forward and defense equally well, I asked him about adapting to his new role as mentor to a young Storm blueline, and how he's been able to help quarterback the powerplay, which was a weakness last season.



You can listen to full length interviews with both players during the broadcast friday night during the intermissions. The pre-game show with myself and Joe O'Shea gets underway around 7:15.

How fan friendly are each of the VIJHLs 8 teams?

I was lucky growing up in Kamloops as a hockey fan. In addition to the Blazers being a terrific team on the ice, from the time I began cheering for them with the likes of Rob Brown and Greg Hawgood, to the dynasty years of the mid 90s where they captured the Memorial Cup 3 times in 4 years, following the team as a fan was easy. Radio NL covered play-by-play of all the games, the Daily News always had stories about the players like Jarome Iginla, Shane Doan and Scott Niedermayer and the team, and you felt really connected to them. That translated to an amazing time at the rink as a fan, where you got behind them because you felt you really knew them, they were YOUR team!
It made me think about our league, the VIJHL. Granted, it's Junior B and I know a lot of teams don't have the resources. Or maybe it's just the communities aren't as sold on making their local team THEIR team!

As a broadcaster, I'm constantly searching the web to find stories about the teams the Storm are about to face, to give you the fan a better listening experience. Sometimes it's easy, with a few teams regularily updating their websites and solid coverage in their local newspapers. Other times, I'm having to facebook players from the opposition or phone the coaches to find out anything about that team. That in mind, I gathered up Scooby, Shaggy and the Mystery Machine to do some investigative reporting.

I've decided to grade each of the 8 VIJHL teams, based on what they give their fans outside of game day. I admit I'm a little biased when it comes to the Storm, as I cover them as part of my job. But I'll do my best to be objective.

Let's start with the South division, where it's tough because they are also competing with the BCHL Grizzlies and ECHL Salmon Kings.

VICTORIA COUGARS
Website: A  probably the best maintained in the league, thanks to game previews and post game wrap ups written by Peter Kung.
Newspapers: C  Island sports news recycles stories from the Cougars website, and occasionally the Esquimalt paper has an article or recap of the week.
Play-by-play: B  Matt Williams and Tom Arlidge cover all home games here:

http://www.victoriacougars.com/

SAANICH BRAVES
Website: B Regularly updated with post game reports, along with stories on their players.
Newspapers: C+ The Saanich News does a weekly recap, along with previewing the team this year .
Play-by-play: B  Bryan Kelly and former Brave Jordan Caldwell cover all home games here:

http://www.saanichbraves.ca/

PENINSULA PANTHERS
Website: D Information about last year and off season, but no updates about anything since the season started
Newspapers: C Peninsula News Review does a weekly recap of the week
Play-by-play: D They have a link set up from their website, but all 3 games we did there last year, no one was doing p-b-p. If It's changed this year, I'll change this grade.

WESTSHORE STINGERS
Website: D- They have a website, but last year they stopped updating it about 3/4 of the way through the year. Supposedly working on a new one.
Newspapers: F Stinger stories are non-existant in the Goldstream News, which covers Langford.
Play-by-play: F It's a shame, because last year they were in Bear Mountain arena, which has the best venue to broadcast a game in. I will miss it this year.

Let's head to the North division, where teams are generally better supported fan-wise and covered.

CAMPBELL RIVER STORM
Website: C- Asthetically, it looks good. Very little meat in terms of stories or events.
Newspapers: C+ Courier Islander and Mirror generally post weekly recaps with the occasional story on a player
Play-by-play: A+  I think Joe and I do a nice job covering the team. We have intermission features with interviews from around the league and past players, regular updates on the other leagues in Junior B in BC and regular radio coverage on 99.7 the River leading up to the games, along with this blog. Catch games here.

http://www.997theriver.ca/

OCEANSIDE GENERALS
Website: C+ Last year they did a nice job on regular coverage, and apparently a new website is in the works.
Newspapers: B Parksville Qualicum News covers the team with weekly recaps and players stories
Play-by-play: A Ian Holmes is in his 5th year, and does an excellent job on 88.5 the Beach. Has a half hour pre-game show and post game wrap-up. Games can be heard here.

http://www.885thebeach.com/

COMOX VALLEY GLACIER KINGS
Website: C- The basics are covered in terms of roster, but not many stories or post game recaps.
Newspapers: C+ Comox Valley Record has been covering the early success of the team.
Play-by-play: B+ Brand new broadcaster Blair Iles does the home games and a few away ones.
Here's the link to listen to their games.

http://www.members.shaw.ca/glacierkings/

KERRY PARK ISLANDERS
Website: C- Much like Comox, the basics are covered in terms of roster, but not many stories or post game recaps.
Newspapers: C+ Cowichan Newspaper covers the team with weekly recaps and players stories
Play-by-play: F Non-existant. But a nice closed off booth to call games in.

There you go. Disagree? Leave me a comment to tell me why.