During practices this week, Campbell River Storm associate head coach Jordan Rauser emphasized the communication established between the players on ice as being vital to the teams’ success.
“It was something we highlighted throughout practice this week,” said Rauser. “It’s still early in the season, getting to know guys and not sure where guys are going to be.”
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After Friday night’s (Sept. 15) game, which ended in a 5-0 win for the Storm over the Nanaimo Buccaneers, Rauser said it was a very important step forward.
“It was a pretty positive step forward,” said Rauser after the win before a reported crowd of 581 at the Rod Brind’Amour Arena. “I don’t think we’re perfect yet, but we’ve got room to grow for sure and did well.”
The Storm opened the scoring at 16:17 of the opening frame, on a goal from Raydon Parkes from a lead pass by Wyatt Dumont. A native of West Kelowna, Parkes already has three points on the young season.
“His offensive knack is going to help him develop at this level drastically,” said Rauser of Parkes. “His creativity, and his ability to create off the rush and in the zone helps him develop for his line-mates.”
The Storm doubled their lead a couple of minutes later, on an unassisted goal by Carter De Boer. The score stayed that way until the end of the second, as De Boer scored another goal. He had three points on the night, earning the game’s first star.
“He’s a guy for the last couple years for our team to be consistent,” said Rauser. “I think you saw him impact the game a little bit in a couple of different ways. Whether that be in the o-zone or in transition, we’re really satisfied with the stability he’s provided.”
Third period goals included ones from Aussie product Riley Langille, and local prospect Logan Wright, who scored his fifth goal of the season. Goaltender Nick Peters had relatively easy night in-between the pipes, as the Storm out-shot the Buccaneers 41-22.
“If you look back at his numbers historically, it’s kind of the performance we always expect from Nick,” said Rauser. “The fact he delivers consistently has been one of the key facets of his game since we acquired him a couple of years ago.”
The first game of a back to back homestand, the Storm now turn their attention to the Peninsula Panthers, also winners of their first three games. Puck drops tonight (Sept. 16) at 7:30 p.m. at the Rod Brind’Amour Arena.
“We’ve got to have a short memory,” said Rauser. “We spoke about that in the pre-season: win one period, lose one period or one game. The Panthers are a different opponent. They bring something completely different to the table.”
