Home ice proved no advantage to the Comox Valley Glacier Kings on the weekend as they split a pair of Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League games.
Friday night in Campbell River, the Icemen knocked off the Storm 7-4 while Saturday night in Courtenay the Yetis were edged 5-4 in a shootout by the Peninsula Panthers.
On Nov. 2, Mitch Ball banged in two goals and added two assists to lead the Glacier Kings past the Storm. Sasha Hahn tallied two goals while Garrett Halls added a goal and two assists. VIJHL Player of the Week Jack Kennelly chipped in with a goal and an assist.
Newcomer Michael Hails made 22 saves in his Glacier Kings debut to pick up the win while Curtis Bagnall took the loss. Final shots on goal were 49-26 in favour of the Glacier Kings, who went 3-for-6 on the power play. It was the Storm’s 13th straight loss.
Back home on Nov. 3, the Yetis and Panthers put on a show for the fans, many of whom left the Comox Valley Sports Centre with well-chewed fingernails. Peninsula battled back from a 4-2 deficit with two unanswered goals in the third to force overtime.
They outshot Comox Valley 5-0 in the five-minute extra frame but could not beat Josh Round. And it wasn’t until their sixth shooter Will Finlay launched a rocket over Round’s glove that the outcome was decided.
Finlay earned game third star for his heroics while first star Josh Adkins had four assists for the visitors. Wade Bartlett had one goal and one assist for the Yetis and was the second star. Kennely, Hahn and Steven Garcia had the other Comox Valley markers.
Peninsula outshot Comox Valley 31-29 with Stephen Heslop picking up the win. The Panthers were 2-for-8 on the power play and the Glacier Kings went 2-for-7.
The Icemen play three games in four days this week. On Nov. 8 they are in Nanaimo, on Nov. 9 they host Westshore (7:15 p.m. Sports Centre #1) and on Nov. 11 they are in Campbell River.
The Glacier Kings announced on Oct. 30 that they had acquired goaltender Michael Hails from the Creston Valley Thunder Cats of the KIJHL. Hails, from Coldstream, spent the past two seasons starting for the Thunder Cats. This season, Hails has put up an impressive 2.70 GAA and .930 save percentage.
Head coach Bill Rotheisler notes on the team website that, “Hails is really excited to be here. His tremendous character, ability and work ethic provides too much to not bring into the fold here in CV. To be able to bring an already established and elite goaltender at this level brings depth and some welcomed competativeness to the room as well.”
ICE CHIPS Kennelly was named Player of the Week for his four points (2g, 2a) including the game-winner against Campbell River … the latest B.C. Jr. B rankings (KIJHL, PJHL and VIJHL as of Oct. 28) show Victoria Cougars (15-0-0-1) first, Saanich Braves (12-3-0-0) fourth and Comox Valley (10-5-0-1) 10th out of 39 teams …
