One win will mean the world for the Comox Valley Glacier Kings.
It’s been another rough season for the valley’s junior B hockey team, which has a donut in the win column nearly 20 games into the season.
The Kings sit at the bottom of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League’s North Division with an 0-18-1 record.
Struggling to find success is nothing new to the Kings. They have a combined eight wins to go with 85 losses over the past two years.
Another slow started results in a coaching change last month, with Jeff Dubois replacing Jordan Kamprath as head coach and general manager.
Dubois said it’s a slow process.
“I think when you take over a team that hasn’t won a game, you’re not expecting it to come all at once, you’re looking for steady, incremental improvement as you go,” Dubois said.
He added that he has been impressed with the players’ attitude in these tough times.
“It’s a good, hard-working group of guys. They’ve been really eager to learn and improve, and we’re still trying to chase down that first win, but there have been a lot of positive signs.”
Dubois said there haven’t been any issues in terms of commitment.
“We’ve added a few players since I took over. We’ve added two forwards, a defenceman and a goaltender. All four of those guys have added on the ice and in the dressing room to what we already have. Obviously when you haven’t had a lot of success in terms of wins and losses, you’re worried about moral and guys coming to the rink with a positive attitude every day but that really hasn’t been an issue for us.”
He said he’s seen a group of guys who want to get this thing turned around, want to win, and committed to doing everything necessary to get going in the right direction.
Dubois added that the players have done a good job of following a new system, adding that overall, they have been working hard, on and off the ice.
The Glacier Kings will look for their first win of the season tomorrow night, when they host the Oceanside Generals at the Comox Valley Sports Centre.
Game time is 7:30pm
