The North Island Eagles atom development hockey team improved to 7-3 with a weekend road sweep at Peninsula and Victoria Racquet Club.
The Eagles snapped a 4-4 tie at Peninsula Saturday with three unanswered goals in the final nine minutes of play. Ryan Patterson scored the game-winner en route to a hat trick, and Rhys Dutcyvich got the final tally into an empty net with 38 seconds remaining to complete his own hat trick.
Head coach Marty Gage named Mathew Saunders player of the game, in part for his unselfish pass that gave Dutcyvich his hat trick on the final score.
Tynan Klein-Beekman also scored and Luke Gage and Saunders each added three assists. Goalie Kayden Jones was credited with several key saves over the final 20 minutes after Peninsula had erased a 4-2 deficit to tie the game.
The Eagles were never threatened in Sunday’s romp at Victoria, as Patterson scored a hat trick and three more players scored two goals each. First-year Eagle Peyton Dugas tallied his first career goal to cap the scoring.
Dutcyvich, who had three assists to go with a pair of goals, was player of the game thanks to his passing work, and Payton Laming and Saunders also had two goals each.
One week earlier, the atoms downed Alberni Valley 6-4 in another road game. The squad returns home this weekend to host Cowichan Valley in Port McNeill Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
