It was a pivotal game for Beaver Valley as they could take over top spot in the KIJHL with a win over Nelson and a Kamloops loss to Princeton. I admit, I was a bit skeptical given the recent lackadaisical play. My worries were for naught as the boys pulled off their 12th straight win with a 4-3 decision over home town Nelson Leafs.
Mason Spear scored the lone goal in the first period at a crowd silencing :38 seconds with Christian Johnson getting the only assist. Nelson outshot BV 9-5, but the Nitehawks escaped the first with the lead.
The score remained 1-0 for Beaver Valley throughout the second with play going back and forth and a smattering of penalties on both sides. Nitehawks controlled the shot counter in that period 11-6 but still lead where it really mattered after 40.
The first 12 minutes of the third were relatively uneventful with BV killing off a couple of penalties. Craig "candybag" Martin got things going again at 12:29 from Ryan Edwards to put BV up 2-0. And then the wheels fell off....well....almost. BV receives 2 penalties :44 secs apart to put Nelson on a 2-man advantage. James Sorrey made them "sorry" with just :04 left in the 2-man and pulled Nelson to within 1 with just under 5 to go. Still shorthanded, Mason Spear answered right back :18 secs later with his 2nd of the night to restore the 2 goal BV lead. Dallas Calvin added some insurance :35 seconds later after exiting the penalty box and taking a pass from Jake Boyzcuk to put BV up 4-1 with under 4 minutes left. But wait.....we arent done....! Once again, BV gets into penalty trouble as Brantley Schapansky gets 2 and a game for Checking From Behind. Nelson wastes no time and pots their 2nd ppg of the period and bits into the lead and on the ensuing face-off, march down and rip another home just :15 secs later to cut the lead to 1 with 1:26 remaining!! In the words of a fellow tweeter.... too "little too late" as BV hangs on for the 4-3 win.
Game Stars:
BV - Mike Vlanich (19/22)
BV - Mason Spear 2G
NL - Nik Newman 1G 1A
The second half of the home-and-home takes place on Sunday, Dec. 18 at the Beaver Valley Arena in Fruitvale. I wont be able to attend the game myself but will try and get some updates out of the arena as best i can.
Around the KIJHL
Well, as hoped, the Penticton Posse pulled off the upset and defeated the Kamloops Storm. For all of you that are keeping track, yes....that means the Beaver Valley Nitehawks are currently the leaders of the KIJHL!!! BV is awarded first place with 2 more wins than Kamloops and 3 games in hand. We tracked down and passed the previous Neil Murdoch Division leaders, now we have tracked down and are soon to pass the previous KIJHL leaders. Next stop? League Champs??....ambitious? sure... but most definitely attainable and gives the boys something to shoot for.
Elsewhere, it was a busy night. NO Knights 4-3 over Summerland, Castlegar scalped the Chiefs 7-5, Sicamous defeated Golden 4-2, Creston Valley upset the Nitros 7-5, Fernie destroyed Columbia Valley 14-2, Spokane squeaked past GF 8-5 and Osoyoos drowns the Lakers 8-4.
Saturday 17 December 2011
Wednesday 14 December 2011
Postgame: Bruins 4 Nitehawks 6
Well! That was a game I dont wish to revisit anytime soon! Ever heard of Dylan Quinn?? The name has passed my ears once or twice without so much as a second thought, until tonight. Quite simply, he was the MAIN (notice i said "main") reason the score was not at least 10-4! One of the reasons I cant, in good conscience, rant about, but there are some who will just KNOW what it is that of which I speak....or hint at....or whatever!! Another reason? Poor finish.....lack of motivation......maybe getting too fancy......yes these boys were guilty of most if not all the above. If this had have been against a more solid opponent, it would have been ugly. But after all, a win.....is a win!!
Grand Forks got it going a mere 1:21 into the game on a goal from Bryan Read to surprise the crowd in Beaver Valley Arena. I truly believe it surprised the Nitehawks players too as they stepped it up somewhat after that. Then, GF scored again. This time at 8:05 on a roof job from Nathan Cory who had a semi-break and BV was at a loss only to be fully stunned, along with the entire KIJHL I'm sure, when just :39 seconds after that GF got its 3rd of the period and took a 3-0 lead into the intermission. Starting goalie Mike Vlanich was upset about the circumstance of the 3rd goal and removed himself for the remainder of the period only to return for the 2nd. Bruins players were elated and ecstatic leaving the ice after 20 minutes in which they really only played about 5 minutes of the period but lead where it counts.
What was said in the dressing room can only be left to the imagination of those not present, but BV came out skating! Josh Peters got the Hawks on the board with a bullet from the point on the pp. Dominant play continued and 3 mins later, Justin Niminiken made not 1...not 2...but 3 moves to leave the GF defense playing tiddlywinks with themselves while he squeezed the puck through a well positioned Quinn who looked to have the shot stopped but it trickled through for BV's 2nd goal. Grand Forks looked to be taking a 3-2 lead into the 3rd but a scramble on a BV rush lead to a Nick Perez goal with 4 ticks left on the clock. The arena went nuts as the boys vacated the sheet after 40 with the score all tied up.
Make or break!....3rd period started off with BV pushing HARD. After playing close to an entire 7 mins in the GF end, D-Man Arie Postmus ripped a point shot past Quinn to put BV into the lead for the first time. Who would have ever thought that almost any team in the league, given the current standings, would be getting its first lead of a game against Grand Forks close to the midpoint of the 3rd period?? Dallas Calvin would add a little insurance at 9:44 that would prove to be key as BV literally took their foot off the throttle again and coasted towards the final buzzer. Sure, they kept GF hemmed into their zone, but there was no semblance of team work and with 1:09 left, Cody Robertson grabbed hold of some sloppy defensive play in the BV zone and slipped one past Vlanich to pull GF within 1. A Postmus INT. penalty 30 secs later and GF pulls their goalie for a 6-on-4 attack with :29 left in the game. After several close scrambles, Christian Johnson grabs a loose puck and, without hesitation, spins and fires the puck down the ice.....dead center of the net!!
Game Stars:
GF - Dylan Quinn 53 saves on 59 shots!!
BV - Justin Niminiken 1G...and it was a highlite reel candidate!!
BV - Mason Spear 1A
In closing, the BV coaching staff was "displeased" with the effort of the boys tonight. Look for a more disciplined team in Nelson on friday against the Leafs. On a side note, during the game, I received a veritable explosion of followers on the teams @BVNitehawks account so I say "Thank You" to whomever has put the name out there for us!!!
In the only other game in the KIJHL tonight, Castlegar hosted the Spokane Braves and came out with a 6-0 win. Jordan Gluck getting his 2nd career shutout.
Grand Forks got it going a mere 1:21 into the game on a goal from Bryan Read to surprise the crowd in Beaver Valley Arena. I truly believe it surprised the Nitehawks players too as they stepped it up somewhat after that. Then, GF scored again. This time at 8:05 on a roof job from Nathan Cory who had a semi-break and BV was at a loss only to be fully stunned, along with the entire KIJHL I'm sure, when just :39 seconds after that GF got its 3rd of the period and took a 3-0 lead into the intermission. Starting goalie Mike Vlanich was upset about the circumstance of the 3rd goal and removed himself for the remainder of the period only to return for the 2nd. Bruins players were elated and ecstatic leaving the ice after 20 minutes in which they really only played about 5 minutes of the period but lead where it counts.
What was said in the dressing room can only be left to the imagination of those not present, but BV came out skating! Josh Peters got the Hawks on the board with a bullet from the point on the pp. Dominant play continued and 3 mins later, Justin Niminiken made not 1...not 2...but 3 moves to leave the GF defense playing tiddlywinks with themselves while he squeezed the puck through a well positioned Quinn who looked to have the shot stopped but it trickled through for BV's 2nd goal. Grand Forks looked to be taking a 3-2 lead into the 3rd but a scramble on a BV rush lead to a Nick Perez goal with 4 ticks left on the clock. The arena went nuts as the boys vacated the sheet after 40 with the score all tied up.
Make or break!....3rd period started off with BV pushing HARD. After playing close to an entire 7 mins in the GF end, D-Man Arie Postmus ripped a point shot past Quinn to put BV into the lead for the first time. Who would have ever thought that almost any team in the league, given the current standings, would be getting its first lead of a game against Grand Forks close to the midpoint of the 3rd period?? Dallas Calvin would add a little insurance at 9:44 that would prove to be key as BV literally took their foot off the throttle again and coasted towards the final buzzer. Sure, they kept GF hemmed into their zone, but there was no semblance of team work and with 1:09 left, Cody Robertson grabbed hold of some sloppy defensive play in the BV zone and slipped one past Vlanich to pull GF within 1. A Postmus INT. penalty 30 secs later and GF pulls their goalie for a 6-on-4 attack with :29 left in the game. After several close scrambles, Christian Johnson grabs a loose puck and, without hesitation, spins and fires the puck down the ice.....dead center of the net!!
Game Stars:
GF - Dylan Quinn 53 saves on 59 shots!!
BV - Justin Niminiken 1G...and it was a highlite reel candidate!!
BV - Mason Spear 1A
In closing, the BV coaching staff was "displeased" with the effort of the boys tonight. Look for a more disciplined team in Nelson on friday against the Leafs. On a side note, during the game, I received a veritable explosion of followers on the teams @BVNitehawks account so I say "Thank You" to whomever has put the name out there for us!!!
In the only other game in the KIJHL tonight, Castlegar hosted the Spokane Braves and came out with a 6-0 win. Jordan Gluck getting his 2nd career shutout.
Tuesday 13 December 2011
Postgame: Braves - 1 Nitehawks - 5
Better late than never I guess. On Dec 9th, Beaver Valley hosted our cross-border rivals the Spokane Braves. The Nitehawks came out and showed them why they are in the position they are in by playing physical and dominating play. Tyler Collins got the scoring underway just under 7 mins in. Christian Johnson continued his scoring streak by getting 2 more to round out the period. Thats 6 goals for Johnson in the last 2 games and 8 in his last 7 racking up 12 total points in that same period. BV went into the intermission up 3-0.
Jacob Boyzcuk made it 4-0 quickly and it stayed that way till 16:56 when Spokanes Matt Thurston ruined the shut-out bid for Perehudoff with a PPG. With BV outshooting and outplaying the Braves, that would be the only offense Spokane could muster and the Hawks would hold a 4-1 lead after 40.
Mason Spear added another for BV in the third to put them up 5-1. It seemed to put the Nitehawks into "cruise" mode as the chances evened up in that period somewhat and the killer instinct faded to a whimper with skirmishes after most whistles.
Game Stars:
BV - Archie McKinnon 1A
BV - Mason Spear 1G 1A
BV - Christian Johnson 2G
In the Community
Beaver Valley Nitehawks held their annual Pot-Luck on Sunday, Dec 11th at the Fruitvale Memorial Hall. I was unable to attend but reports say it was a very well put on event with more food than could be consumed.
Around the KIJHL
With the win against Spokane, BV has extended their win streak to 10 games and pulled to within 4 points of league leader Kamloops Storm. Nitehawks, however, hold an ever important 3 games in hand so potential could be leading shortly!! Kamloops have experienced several losses as of late with the loss of their star goalie to Trail. This has opened the door for the rest of the league to put them back into perspective and realize they arent really as unbeatable as they appeared. Tonights game against Grand Forks "should" put BV into striking range of Kamloops and the fight for the league lead with each having 3 games before christmas break.
Tonights game is at 7pm in the BV Arena.
Jacob Boyzcuk made it 4-0 quickly and it stayed that way till 16:56 when Spokanes Matt Thurston ruined the shut-out bid for Perehudoff with a PPG. With BV outshooting and outplaying the Braves, that would be the only offense Spokane could muster and the Hawks would hold a 4-1 lead after 40.
Mason Spear added another for BV in the third to put them up 5-1. It seemed to put the Nitehawks into "cruise" mode as the chances evened up in that period somewhat and the killer instinct faded to a whimper with skirmishes after most whistles.
Game Stars:
BV - Archie McKinnon 1A
BV - Mason Spear 1G 1A
BV - Christian Johnson 2G
In the Community
Beaver Valley Nitehawks held their annual Pot-Luck on Sunday, Dec 11th at the Fruitvale Memorial Hall. I was unable to attend but reports say it was a very well put on event with more food than could be consumed.
Around the KIJHL
With the win against Spokane, BV has extended their win streak to 10 games and pulled to within 4 points of league leader Kamloops Storm. Nitehawks, however, hold an ever important 3 games in hand so potential could be leading shortly!! Kamloops have experienced several losses as of late with the loss of their star goalie to Trail. This has opened the door for the rest of the league to put them back into perspective and realize they arent really as unbeatable as they appeared. Tonights game against Grand Forks "should" put BV into striking range of Kamloops and the fight for the league lead with each having 3 games before christmas break.
Tonights game is at 7pm in the BV Arena.
Sunday 4 December 2011
Nitehawks/Ghostriders Dec 2nd and 3rd Home and Home
Beaver Valley and Fernie opened the month of December with a quick home-and-home series that had pretty much everything.
Fridays game was of the back and forth type that saw Fernie jump out to an early lead :31 seconds in on a goal by Derek Georgopoulos. The score would remain 1-0 until Tyler Collins nets a ppg to tie it with just under 5 mins left in period 1. Unfortunately, Georgopoulos would get a ppg of his own and 2nd of the period just 2 mins later to give Fernie the 2-1 lead into the intermission.
Alex Milhouse gets the Riders 3rd goal 3 mins into the 2nd on another powerplay and it stayed that way till late when Ryan Edwards scores with 1:14 left to once again pull BV within 1 at the break.
The third period was up and down, full of emotion. Dallas Calvin, with his 3rd point of the night, scores to tie the game at 7:03 and give the Nitehawks hope for a victory. That hope is quickly dashed as just past the halfway mark, Zach Traverse and Milhouse score :53 seconds apart to retake Fernies 2 goal lead. Hopes were once again re-kindled :14 seconds after that as 'Mr.Reliable' Ryan Edwards scores his second and most importantly, pulls BV to within 1 with 8 mins to go. As luck would have it, Ty Morton would take a cross-check penalty at 14:19 and the Nitehawks wasted no time tying it up on Collins 2nd goal taking just :23 seconds to do so. Despite attempts at both ends, it was off to OT we go!
The first OT of 4-on-4 was undecided and so on to double-OT and a wide open 3-on-3. And from stories told, wide open is just what happened as just :51 seconds in, Chris Derochie split the....everyone?....and went roof-daddy on Fernie goalie Chris Solecki to win a thriller 6-5!
Game Stars:
BV - Chris Derochie 1G, 2A - OT GWG
FG - Alex Milhouse 2G
FG - Derek Georgeopoulos 2G
On saturday Dec, 3 in the backhalf of the home-and-home, Fernie was here in BV. Now THIS game I got to see and partly wished for a similar game as fridays, but alas, it was a wash. Both teams looked tired out of the gate with BV getting a slight edge through most of the period. Christian Johnson opened the scoring (first time since Nov 12 that BV scored first) at 13:16 and then added a goal on the power play with :35 left in the first to stake the Nitehawks to a 2-0 lead after 20.
The 2nd period started just like the 1st ended, with a goal by Johnson. Less than 2 mins in on the power play and BV has a commanding 3 goal lead on the natural hat-trick by Christian Johnson. Quite a big change from the night before, but as the game went on, the Hawks started to get their legs back and skate while Fernie still seemed sluggish. Andrew White got the Riders on the board at 5:31 but it was absolutely the only bit of hard offence that Fernie could create. The first of 3 fights featured Fraser Stang and Dylan Robertson in a tilt that seemed even with Robertson getting the takedown. BV extended their lead at 8:30 on a snipe by Dallas Calvin. Justin Niminiken puts the period on ice with a shorthanded breakaway beauty as the Nitehawks take a 5-1 lead into the 3rd.
Fight #2 starts unofficially at the end of the 2nd, but officially gets underway at :01 of period 3. Brantley Schapansky took on Evan Burgess and gets the take-down as well as the decision in my eyes. A hit in the Riders zone got tempers hot and Tyler Collins took it into his own hands, in the form of Zach Traverse, and results in fight #3. Now THAT was a fight!! Both players swinging wildly which caused them both to loss their helmets. Collins got the take down and, once again, gets my nod for the decision(biased much?). Things remain back and forth-ish( I say ish as BV had the majority of chances and controlled the puck very well while Fernie would just dump-chase-lose the puck and back out it would go) until the 11 min mark when guess who.... ya him..... Christian Johnson scores...AGAIN!! Yes, 4 goals tonight for Johnson and that puts the home team up by 5, and the game firmly out of Fernies reach. Just to make sure, or maybe to rub a little salt into the gaping wound, Jacob Boyczuk added another with just under 2 mins remaining.
I caught up with Fernie head coach, Will Verner, and asked him about his thoughts on the game. "They(BV) are a good team and were relentless on the puck. They finished their checks and played tough. They played like we wanted to play."
Game Stars:
BV - Christian Johnson 4G
BV - Josh Peters 1A
BV - Brantley Schapansky 1A
The 2 hard fought wins over Fernie leapfrogged them into 2nd in the league and only 3 pts behind leading Kamloops while holding 2 games in hand. They also served to extend the win streak which currently sits at 9 games.....and counting! Keep up the good work boys!!
In the Community
In the last post, I had mentioned that select Nitehawks would be volunteering at the Breakfast with Santa. In fact, the entire team was there to help out!! It was a great turnout and the place was packed solid the entire time. The boys did a great job and when it was all said and done, got the chance to sit down and enjoy a breakfast of their own.
Fridays game was of the back and forth type that saw Fernie jump out to an early lead :31 seconds in on a goal by Derek Georgopoulos. The score would remain 1-0 until Tyler Collins nets a ppg to tie it with just under 5 mins left in period 1. Unfortunately, Georgopoulos would get a ppg of his own and 2nd of the period just 2 mins later to give Fernie the 2-1 lead into the intermission.
Alex Milhouse gets the Riders 3rd goal 3 mins into the 2nd on another powerplay and it stayed that way till late when Ryan Edwards scores with 1:14 left to once again pull BV within 1 at the break.
The third period was up and down, full of emotion. Dallas Calvin, with his 3rd point of the night, scores to tie the game at 7:03 and give the Nitehawks hope for a victory. That hope is quickly dashed as just past the halfway mark, Zach Traverse and Milhouse score :53 seconds apart to retake Fernies 2 goal lead. Hopes were once again re-kindled :14 seconds after that as 'Mr.Reliable' Ryan Edwards scores his second and most importantly, pulls BV to within 1 with 8 mins to go. As luck would have it, Ty Morton would take a cross-check penalty at 14:19 and the Nitehawks wasted no time tying it up on Collins 2nd goal taking just :23 seconds to do so. Despite attempts at both ends, it was off to OT we go!
The first OT of 4-on-4 was undecided and so on to double-OT and a wide open 3-on-3. And from stories told, wide open is just what happened as just :51 seconds in, Chris Derochie split the....everyone?....and went roof-daddy on Fernie goalie Chris Solecki to win a thriller 6-5!
Game Stars:
BV - Chris Derochie 1G, 2A - OT GWG
FG - Alex Milhouse 2G
FG - Derek Georgeopoulos 2G
On saturday Dec, 3 in the backhalf of the home-and-home, Fernie was here in BV. Now THIS game I got to see and partly wished for a similar game as fridays, but alas, it was a wash. Both teams looked tired out of the gate with BV getting a slight edge through most of the period. Christian Johnson opened the scoring (first time since Nov 12 that BV scored first) at 13:16 and then added a goal on the power play with :35 left in the first to stake the Nitehawks to a 2-0 lead after 20.
The 2nd period started just like the 1st ended, with a goal by Johnson. Less than 2 mins in on the power play and BV has a commanding 3 goal lead on the natural hat-trick by Christian Johnson. Quite a big change from the night before, but as the game went on, the Hawks started to get their legs back and skate while Fernie still seemed sluggish. Andrew White got the Riders on the board at 5:31 but it was absolutely the only bit of hard offence that Fernie could create. The first of 3 fights featured Fraser Stang and Dylan Robertson in a tilt that seemed even with Robertson getting the takedown. BV extended their lead at 8:30 on a snipe by Dallas Calvin. Justin Niminiken puts the period on ice with a shorthanded breakaway beauty as the Nitehawks take a 5-1 lead into the 3rd.
Fight #2 starts unofficially at the end of the 2nd, but officially gets underway at :01 of period 3. Brantley Schapansky took on Evan Burgess and gets the take-down as well as the decision in my eyes. A hit in the Riders zone got tempers hot and Tyler Collins took it into his own hands, in the form of Zach Traverse, and results in fight #3. Now THAT was a fight!! Both players swinging wildly which caused them both to loss their helmets. Collins got the take down and, once again, gets my nod for the decision(biased much?). Things remain back and forth-ish( I say ish as BV had the majority of chances and controlled the puck very well while Fernie would just dump-chase-lose the puck and back out it would go) until the 11 min mark when guess who.... ya him..... Christian Johnson scores...AGAIN!! Yes, 4 goals tonight for Johnson and that puts the home team up by 5, and the game firmly out of Fernies reach. Just to make sure, or maybe to rub a little salt into the gaping wound, Jacob Boyczuk added another with just under 2 mins remaining.
I caught up with Fernie head coach, Will Verner, and asked him about his thoughts on the game. "They(BV) are a good team and were relentless on the puck. They finished their checks and played tough. They played like we wanted to play."
Game Stars:
BV - Christian Johnson 4G
BV - Josh Peters 1A
BV - Brantley Schapansky 1A
The 2 hard fought wins over Fernie leapfrogged them into 2nd in the league and only 3 pts behind leading Kamloops while holding 2 games in hand. They also served to extend the win streak which currently sits at 9 games.....and counting! Keep up the good work boys!!
In the Community
In the last post, I had mentioned that select Nitehawks would be volunteering at the Breakfast with Santa. In fact, the entire team was there to help out!! It was a great turnout and the place was packed solid the entire time. The boys did a great job and when it was all said and done, got the chance to sit down and enjoy a breakfast of their own.
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