The Victoria Cougars scored three unanswered goals in the third period to defeat the Nanaimo Buccaneers 7-4 on a rare Sunday night game in the Harbour City.
Wade Johnson led the charge with three goals.
Also scoring for Victoria (29-4-1-0) was Sam McMullen, Mitch Moloney, Nathan Looysen, and Robert Zadra who scored the go-ahead goal on a power play with 12 minutes and 53-seconds remaining in the third period.
David Osborne, Liam Craig, Joe Gage, and Carter Turnbull replied for the Buccaneers (18-11-0-3).
The two teams were tied 1-1 after one period before the Cougars took a 4-2 lead into the second intermission.
With Anthony Ciurro still sidelined with a lower-body injury, Grant Payne drew his third straight start in net and made 17 saves for his 12th win of the season.
Greg Maggio received the start for Nanaimo but got the hook after allowing four goals on 17 shots. But taking the loss was Liam Young who made seven saves in relief.
The Buccaneers were without its leading scorer in Jordan Levesque. The 20-goal scorer was serving the first game of a two-game suspension.
Meanwhile, Victoria got McMullen back into their lineup. After sitting out last game due to an illness, the VIJHL scoring leader responded with a four-point night.
Fans of the Cougars who made the two-hour trek got to see Looysen for the very first time wearing black, red, and white. The former Kamloops Blazers forward was traded to Victoria from the Peninsula Panthers as early as yesterday.
The Cougars went 2-for-4 with the man advantage while Nanaimo went 0-for-4.
Elsewhere in the VIJHL, Garnett Roberts, who was part of the deal that sent Looysen to Victoria, scored twice as the Peninsula Panthers edged the Westshore Wolves 4-3 at The Q Centre.
Next game for the Cougars is Thursday, January 8 against the Kerry Park Islanders. Game time at the Archie Browning Sports Centre is 7:00 p.m.
