The Puget Sound Tomahawks (1-32) and head coach Jason Quinn parted ways over the holiday break, the team said on Wednesday. The new coach is Evgueni Saidachev. Saidachev has been with the Tomahawks as an assistant coach since November.
Puget Sound has a 1-32 record and sits in last place in the West Division of the Nor-Pac Junior A hockey league.
I will be working on a follow-up story so check back for more information at kitsapsun.com.
The Puget Sound Tomahawks will make another Oregon road trip, starting with River City in Beaverton, at 7:55 p.m. on Friday.
The Tomahawks are looking for their first NOR-PAC Junior A hockey league win since beating the same Jaguars on Oct. 8. Puget Sound then travels to Eugene to face the Generals at 5:35 p.m.
The Tomahawks finish their trip against Southern Oregon (Medford) at 3 p.m.
Hockey players may not mind playing overtime games too often — the thrill of every rush down the ice in anticipation of scoring the game-winning goal.
Double overtime? Ummm, not so much.
The Puget Sound Tomahawks, the Junior A NORPAC League team that plays at the Bremerton Ice Center, had a taste of that against the Southern Oregon Spartans on Thursday. Unfortunately, it was Southern Oregon that came out on top with a 3-2 win in the extra periods.
Here’s the rundown.
Puget Sound led 1-0 after the first period — Dustin Pierce scored off a feed from Christofer Videto — despite getting outshot 23-3 by the Spartans. That’s great netminding right there by Tomahawks goalie Seth Kollman.
The Spartans tied the game in the second on a Casey Skolnik goal. Pierce put Puget Sound back in the lead on a powerplay goal at 4:16 of the third. Keiffer Comstock had the assist.
Southern Oregon tied the game again, 2-2, on a Vance Bridgman goal midway through the third and neither team capitalized until the second overtime.
That’s when the Spartans’ Keith Saito scored with 44 seconds left to send Puget Sound to its ninth straight loss.
Pierce leads the team in points and scoring with 3 goals and 3 assists for 6 points.
Kollman has been improving by leaps and bounds the last few games he’s started in net. The rookie netminder is constantly peppered with shots — 62 total from Southern Oregon — and takes the brunt of a young team learning to play at the Junior A level. But when I spoke with Tomahawks coach Jason Quinn last week, he said he’s been working with Kollman on his game and is seeing his goalie getting better. Quinn worked with the WHL’s Portland and Vancouver teams as a goaltender coach.
Puget Sound will be back on the ice at 7:30 tonight when it hosts River City.
The Puget Sound Tomahawks will look to end a five-game losing streak as they travel to Eugene to take on the Generals.
The NOR-PAC Junior A hockey league West Division game begins at 7 p.m.
The game can be followed online at fasthockey.com.
In NOR-PaC Junior A hockey league news, Puget Sound traded forward Chad Vivian to Eugene for Ray Frianeza on Friday.
Frianeza, a 5-foot-9, 188-pound forward, has scored three goals in eight games for the Generals this season. He played in 46 games last year with Eugene notching 10 goals and 10 assists, including two game-winning goals.
Vivian is a 6-foot, 190-pound forward and native of Gig Harbor. He had played for Puget Sound since the 2008-09 season, scoring 12 goals, 16 assists and 230 penalty minutes in 95 games.
Puget Sound is on the road for a three-game series in Oregon.
The Puget Sound Tomahawks will arrive in Medford, Ore., Thursday looking to kick start a successful road trip.
The Tomahawks face the Southern Oregon Spartans at 7:30 p.m. in a NOR-PAC Junior A West Division hockey league game Thursday and Friday. They will travel to Eugene on Saturday.
Puget Sound coach Jason Quinn said the Spartans (3-3) are a good team and recruited well in the off-season, but tend to play up and down.
“Really, they’re a very emotional team,” he said, adding if the Tomahawks can stay out of the penalty box they can do some good things beyond the blue line.
“We’ve got to stay disciplined,” he said.
That hasn’t exactly been easy for Puget Sound lately.
The Tomahawks allowed 5 of 6 power play goals in their 9-1 loss to Eugene last Saturday. Three of those goals came in the second period — when the Generals outscored Puget Sound 7-1.
“We had one period where we stopped moving our feet and got beat,” he said.
Puget Sound’s main goal is to play a full 60 minutes, Quinn said, adding it’s been harder without a full roster.
“Having three-and-a-half lines instead of four lines…mentally (we’re) a little tired,” he said.
The Tomahawks added two players last week and brought in two more this week.
Forward Chad Loera played 12 games for the Tomahawks last year and returned to the team this week and will be available to play.
The Tomahawks also picked up forward J.R. Preisser, who played in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League and the Western States Junior Hockey League. He’s been practicing with the team and could be available next week.
ICE CHIPS
Forward Eric Schmit, who turned 18 on Wednesday, leads the Tomahawks with three goals. … Despite a shuffling starting lineup in net, Long Island, N.Y. native Todd Scarola leads PS with 192:04 minutes between the pipes. Scarola is 1-2 with a .893 save percentage (142 saves) and a 5.31 goals against average. … Seattle has shot to the top of the West Division and taken a commanding lead. The Totems are 10-0 and lead the league with 20 points. Both Helena and Missoula of the America West Division are 5-0 with 10 points. … Bozeman goalie Taylor D’Agostino and Billings forward Jesse Kantanen were named the defensive and offensive players of the week. D’Agostino earned his first career shut out last week and posted a 3-1 record with a 3.56 GAA and a .911 save percentage for the Icedogs. Kantanen scored two goals and had three assists last weekend for the Bulls.
All three games can be viewed online at fasthockey.com
NOR-PAC League Standings
Team W-L Pts.
Seattle 10-0 20
Eugene 4-4 8
So. Oregon 3-3 6
Puget Sound 1-5 2
River City 0-6 0
The Puget Sound Tomahawks are finding out the offensive-laden Eugene Generals are proving to be a tough team to beat.
Eugene scored seven goals in the second period and went on to beat the Puget Sound Tomahawks 9-1 in a NOR-PAC Junior A hockey league game on Saturday at the Bremerton Ice Center.
Eugene’s Christian Merritt and Jordan Blake-Jones each scored twice. Ryan McDonald — who scored four goals against Puget Sound in a 9-1 win on Sept. 26 — was held to a late goal in the third.
After a scoreless first period, the Tomahawks fell behind quickly, 5-0 — including three power play goals — before Puget Sound’s Eric Schmitt put the puck past Eugene goaltender Matt Bartels. Keiffer Comstock had the assist at 13:35.
The Generals (4-4) outshot Puget Sound 42-14.
The Tomahawks (1-5) travel to Medford, Ore., to face the Southern Oregon Spartans on Thursday and Friday.
A link to the box score can be found here.
It took longer than the Puget Sound Tomahawks had wanted, but the Junior A hockey team won its first NOR-PAC League game by beating River City 3-1 on Friday at the Bremerton Ice Center in front of 125 fans.
Puget Sound was winless heading into its game against the equally winless Jaguars, but second period goals by Christofer Videto and Eric Schmitt put the game out of reach.
After spotting the Jaguars (0-5) a 1-0 lead in the first period, Videto scored an unassisted goal at the :07 mark to tie the game. Schmitt then put the Tomahawks (1-4) ahead for good, 2-1, on a power play goal at 9:55. Dustin Pierce, a free agent pick up this week, and rookie Colby Hurst had the assists.
Videto, a 5-foot-11, 180-pound forward, added his second goal at 5:26 off an assist from Mitchell Wilson to make it 3-1. Puget Sound goalie Todd Scarola earned the win in the net, stopping 38 of 39 shots from the Jaguars.
The Tomahawks host Eugene at 7:30 p.m. tonight.
Tickets ($7) are available at the door.
The box score can be viewed here.
The Puget Sound Tomahawks picked up free agent Dustin Pierce, an 18-year-old forward, from the Kootenay International Junior A Hockey League this week.
Pierce played five game for the Creston Valley (B.C.) Thunder Cats before being released.
Puget Sound coach Jason Quinn said Pierce will be a nice addition to the Tomahawks.
“He works extremely hard and (has) a lot of upside,” he said.
Quinn added Pierce, a big, strong forward at 6-foot, 190-pounds, practiced this week with the team and would likely play in one of the top two lines this weekend. Puget Sound plays in the NOR-PAC Junior A League.
ICE CHIPS
Puget Sound forward Jordan Davidson could return to the ice next week missing the first two weeks of the season after breaking his collarbone during practice. The 6-foot, 170 pound Tacoma native will have a follow-up X-ray this week to determine his availability for next weekend, Quinn said. … The Tomahawks roster stands at 21 players but with the addition of Pierce and Davidson Puget Sound could be near its 25-player limit by next week. Quinn said he is also looking at adding another player through free agency and another through a trade. … The Tomahawks return to the Bremerton Ice Center Friday as they host the River City Jaguars. The game begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets ($7) are available at the door.
After last week’s bye, the Puget Sound Tomahawks are ready to get back on the ice for Thursday’s NOR-PAC Junior A hockey league game.
Puget Sound, which dropped all three games in its opening homestand two weeks ago, travels to Seattle to face the West Division-leading Seattle Totems at 8 p.m.
The Tomahawks will then host River City on Friday and Eugene on Saturday at Bremerton Ice Center. Both games are at 7:30 p.m.
Puget Sound struggled offensively in all three of its games — the Tomahawks were outshot 18-2 — and will need to start scoring if it wants to stay with the offensive-minded Totems. Seattle tops the league in goals scored with 45, while giving up just 12 on the other end of the ice. The Totems Chace Jackson leads the league with 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in seven games.
Seattle also has the hottest goalie in the league right now. Bryce Fink has a stellar .962 saves percentage, a 1.00 goals against average and is 3-0 and a shutout.
