Kalan Anglos
Special to the Record
Attention VIJHL: The Comox Valley Glacier Kings are heating up.
Thanks in large part to dominating performances from their top line, as well as overall gritty performance throughout the roster, the Kings have put together an impressive Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League win streak. In their previous four games, the Icemen have gone 4-0 and have outscored their opponents 24-14. Leading the charge has been the impressive top line of (captain) Jackson Garret, Myles Powell and Garrett Brandsma.
On Friday night, the big guns displayed their offensive prowess once again in Saanich, helping the Kings down the Braves 6-4 at the George Pearkes Arena. Braves' Sheldon Trees did his best to fend off the big three, tallying a hat-trick by the end of the second period. However, Garrett (two goals, one assist), Powell (one goal, two assists) and Brandsma (one goal, one assist) were too much to handle on this night. New addition Coltin Ruthven pitched in with a goal and an assist for the Kings as well.
"These guys have been so huge for us," said Kings' defenceman Desmond Bast, who sat out Saturday night's game with a concussion. "They always seem to come up with the big goal, or just a big shift. They've been huge."
On Saturday night, the dominance continued for the torrid trio as the Glacier Kings hosted the Oceanside Generals in a game that featured 27 penalties and a total of 76 penalty minutes.
Kyle Yamasaki got Oceanside on the board with the only goal in the first period, but in the second the Glacier Kings showed what their forcible offence can do. Jordan Kamprath got the Kings on the board, receiving a perfect pass from Michael Scobie, before the top line went to work.
Garrett (one goal, three assists) scored the second goal on the power play, with good puck control by line mates Brandsma and Powell. Garrett then returned the favour for Powell, who made it 3-1 to close out the second period.
After completing the trio in the third, with Brandsma (one goal, two assists) scoring to start the period, Oceanside made things interesting by answering back with two goals of their own to make it 4-3. With the Generals pressuring, and a put-away goal needed, coach Jordan Butcher sent out his stalwarts and was rewarded when Powell (two goals, one assist) buried a chance set up by Garrett and Ruthven to secure a 5-3 victory. Shots in the game were 34-33 in favour of the Kings.
With the two weekend victories, the Glacier Kings improved their record to 6-1 and remain in first place in the North Division. They trail the undefeated Victoria Cougars (8-0) for first place overall.
Comox Valley and Oceanside will battle again this Friday, Oct. 7 at the Comox Valley Sports Centre. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m.
ICE CHIPS Powell earned VIJHL Player of the Week honours by exploding for six points on Sept. 23 against the Campbell River Storm .. the Yetis' rookie centre scored four times while adding two assists to help lead Comox Valley to an 8-4 victory ... Powell (9g, 7a) is third in league scoring while Garratt (12g, 9a) is first and leads the way in goals scored ... the Yetis visit Kerry Park this Saturday...their first meeting with the Cougars is Oct. 20 in Victoria ...