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Wow what a time to be Canadian I have never felt positive energy like this in my lifetime, it has been so amazing to watch great athletes perform on the biggest stage in the world. We watched the Gold medal hockey game as a team at the Parksville Community Centre along with about 250 other people and all I can say is WOW what a game and what a result. We had a great pre game meal at the Community Centre before getting on the bus to travel to our game in Comox ( thank you Beverly, Jen, Janet, Kyra and Anne for all your help} we knew going into the series against Comox it wasn't going to be easy, they have played hard every game. Our biggest issue all year has been consistency from game to game and that has continued into the playoffs. We played a very solid 60 minute game last night and were rewarded with a 3-1victory to tie the series up at 2-2. I hope that we finally have the snowball running downhill building momentum, it is now down to a best of 3. We will practise Monday night focus on some critical areas and have some fun, we will take Tuesday off and prepare to go ahead in this series on Wednesday night. Remember Cyclone Taylor Cup tickets are now available, get them early to avoid disappointment. Yours in hockey, Dave Johnston |
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2010 is here and the momentum starts as we prepare for the march to the Cyclone Taylor Cup. We are starting off the new year with great news, Ty Johns has re joined the team. Ty is arguably one of the best defencemen in the Province at the Junior B level. Ty will have a significant impact on our team in allot of ways. Firstly, He brings so many dimensions as a player, he will be a big part of getting our specialty teams on track, and is so solid both offensively and defensively. He will be a great role model for our younger players, he works so hard in practice and is such a natural leader. We started off the 2010 with a very solid effort against the much improved Campbell River Storm only to find a way to loose a close 4-3 game. We were very happy with the effort we put forth but couldn't capitalize on our chances early. We are very focused on having the entire organization surround itself with positive energy and for every one involved to embrace what we have in front of us. There are 35 Junior B teams in the Province of BC and only one gets to host the Provincial Championship. We have talked to our players about how fortunate they are to get this opportunity and that we expect them to respect the position they are in. We have a very tough weekend in front us with a home and home with the Saanich Braves who are as good as anyone in the VIJHL. We had a great week of practise in preparation and feel confident that our guys are ready to be a good team this weekend. I hope that everyone enjoyed the holidays and we wish you all the best in 2010. Yours in hockey Dave Johnston |
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Final Coaches Corner of 2009 As we approach the Christmas Break we have passed the half way point of our regular season and sit with a record of 16-13-2. And it gives us the Coaching staff the opportunity to identify the areas of concern and continue the process of teaching our players what it takes to be Champions. I will sit down with the coaching staff this week with my General Manager hat on and we will break the team down and identify our biggest areas of concern. It is then my job to find the players that will fill those voids, I have 4 player cards left and we must ensure that any players we add going forward will have significant impact on our team. Overall we are very pleased with the progress of our players, our veteran players have taken great steps in their development and are providing the leadership both on and off the ice that we need. Our group of rookies have shown great improvement over the last month and we look forward to seeing that continue on the run to the Cyclone Taylor Cup. We are all looking forward to the Christmas break and will stress to our players, coaches and volunteers to get rested and refocused because when we get back we have a very small time in which to prepare for one of the biggest sporting events Oceanside has ever been involved with. On behalf of the entire Oceanside Generals organization Merry Christmas and we look forward to sharing with you the most exciting year in Generals history in 2010. Happy Holidays Dave Johnston |
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We are very fortunate as a Junior hockey program to be so centrally located on Vancouver Island as we are able to attract players from Nanaimo, Courtenay and Port Alberni that can still live at home and stay in their schools while pursuing their hockey dreams. One of the biggest challenges in building a successful junior hockey program is having quality homes for your out of town players, it is a big step to leave home in pursuit of a hockey career and having somewhere you can feel at home is so important to the development of these young men. Billeting can be a very rewarding experience for both the players and the host families. As a player with the New Westminster Bruins I had the great fortune of having a family that was a part of my life for many years after I finished playing. Finding quality homes and managing the whole process is a lot of work and we as an organization have never had the luxury of having someone to be a full time billet coordinator until this year, and I can tell you it has made my life significantly less stressful. We were very lucky to have Beverley Yelland step up and welcome 2 of our players into her home last year. The experience was so positive for Beverley that she decided to serve on our board of directors and become the Billet Coordinator . I want to say thank you to Beverley and to the wonderful host families that we have, having these people support our program has allowed us to continue to be one of the most successful Junior B franchises in the country. After a great stretch of 8 consecutive wins featuring 2 shootout victories against first place Victoria, we came to a crashing halt last Saturday in a 4-1 loss to Kerry Park. Our effort was disappointing but as we always tell the guys, as long as we learn from our mistakes and are better because of them, you leave it behind and come out the other side more focused and determined. This week see's us on the road in Peninsula and home against Westshore on Saturday, we will have a short bench this weekend as a result of a number of suspensions from the last game in Kerry Park. Yours in hockey, Dave Johnston |
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What a great little ride we are on right now winning 7 in a row and 11 of our last 12games. The last 2weeks featured two home and home series firstly with two wins against the Campbell River Storm and then 2 very exciting shootout wins against the league leading Victoria Cougars. One of the paramount differences with our team this year over any of our teams in recent years is the amount of offensive weapons we have, we scored 4 goals in the two shootouts with 4 different shooters and I may use completely different shooters in the next one. It has been a very busy last couple of weeks off the ice as the December 1st carding deadline came and went. We have been very busy making some significant additions to our team. We have added some very talented players, firstly 17 year old 6'5” Port Alberni native defenceman Jared Crema who we got from the Cowichan Valley Capitals. Jared is a big puck moving d-man who posseses one of the hardest shots in our league. Goaltender Braden Redman McGowan made his Generals debut on Tuesday andwas very solid in the 4-3 home ice win. The 19 year old is from Edmonton, Alberta and came to us via the Calgary Canucks of Alberta Junior Hockey League, Braden gives us what we think is the best goalie tandem in Junior B which will be very important on the run for the Cup. This week saw us complete a 3 way trade and aquire 20 year old forward Sean Menton, Sean hails from California and was one of the premiere forwards in the KIJHL and will be another offensive weapon. He is a tremendous skaters and has averaged 1.5 points a game this year playing for the last place Columbia Valley Rockies. Sean will play the right wing on a line with centre Myles Fitxgerald and left winger Jason Wark giving us 3 top offensive lines. Yours in hockey, Dave Johnston |
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