Robyn Nicholson
Special to the Record
Day one of the Cyclone Taylor Cup didn’t fare to well for VIJHL
Teams. The VIJHL champion Victoria Cougars fell 5-2 to the PIJHL champions the
Richmond Sockeyes and the Castlegar Rebels, KIJHL champions, defeated hosts
Comox Valley Glacier Kings 3-1.
The Victoria Cougars and Richmond Sockeyes faced off Thursday
afternoon to open the 2013 Cyclone Taylor Cup Junior B Provincial hockey
championship tournament at the Comox Valley Sports Centre. The Cougars opened
the scoring at 11:54 of the first, after an unsuccessful power play. Richmond responded a
minute and a half later, on the power play, to tie the game at one. With 1:14
remaining in the first frame, Richmond’s
Daniel Tait pushed the puck past net-minder Evan Roch for the go-ahead goal.
The second period’s scoring was all Richmond as they took a commanding 5-2 lead
that carried until the end of the game.
The second game of the day saw the host Comox Valley Glacier Kings
battle the Castlegar Rebels, champions of the Kootenay International Hockey
League. The first period was end-to-end action with no score for the first 14
minutes. At 14:18 of the first, the Rebel’s Bryan Lubin scored his first goal
of the tournament on a pass from Travis Wellman and Stuart Walton. Less than
three minutes later, the same line would make the score 2-0 in favour of
Castlegar as Lubin banked his second of the game.
The Glacier Kings came out stronger in the second, however it was
the Rebels who drew first blood when Jeremy Mcgregor pushed the puck past
Michael Hails on a pass from Darren Medeiros at 12:59. In the third and on last
penalty of the game, the Glacier Kings found themselves on the power play.
Steven Garcia parked himself in front of the net on the power play and banked a
rebound from Rylan Ball, putting the G-Kings on the board with seven seconds
remaining in the period. The Glacier Kings left the ice trailing 3-1.
The third period would prove exciting, with scoring chances for
both sides that had fans jumping out of their seats, gasping and scratching
their heads as both goaltenders were brick walls. Both netminders earned
shutouts in the third as the final score was 3-1. The ‘Kings were outshot 34-24
by the Rebels.
The schedule for Friday, April 12:
3:30 p.m. Castlegar Rebels vs. Victoria Cougars
7:30 p.m. Richmond Sockeyes vs. Comox Valley
Glacier Kings
All games are played at the Comox Valley Sports Centre.
Robyn Nicholson is the media relations director for the Comox Valley Glacier Kings.