The Save-On-Foods Oceanside Generals were in tough against the league-leading Victoria Cougars last Thursday night, looking to get back into the win column on their push towards the VIJHL playoffs.
It was a tough task from opening puck drop for the Generals, who remain two points shy of catching the Saanich Braves for eighth place in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League.
The Cougars, winners of seven of their last nine games, looked to continue their dominance and add to their league leading 35 wins this season. Lopsided on paper, the game played out that way on the ice as well, with the Cougars pulling out a dominating 11-3 win over the Generals.
Gens’ goaltender Brandon Ward got the start in net, facing 32 shots, stopping 24 of them, in 43 minutes of work. Matt Henwood came on in relief of Ward, and saw 12 shots in 16 minutes, giving up three goals.
“It’s just something about playing in Victoria,” captain Cam Nickerson said. “I think we tend to play ourselves out of the game before it even starts with the Cougars.”
“When we’re down against these guys, we tend to pack it in and we can’t do that, especially against the tougher teams in this league. We’ve got to battle no matter who we’re up against, if we keep having games like this then it becomes a habit and we don’t need to head down that road again.”
Offensively for the Generals, Ethan Sundstrum led the way on the score sheet with a two-point effort, notching both a goal and an assist. Phillip Lam and Nickerson rounded out the scoring for the Gens, who continue to put the puck in the back of the net regardless of losses.
“We’re there, we’re right there,” Nickerson said. “Obviously, losing a game like this doesn’t really show it, but it’s not like last season where we’d get blown out and not even manage to put anything up on the board.”
“We’re still competing, we’re still putting the puck in the net and it’s not for lack of trying. We’ve just got to find that consistent game where we can play 60 minutes of hard working hockey and keep in our minds that any team can be beat on any given night.”
Things turned ugly early on in the second period as Conner Mowatt, out for a month with an upper-body injury, was on the receiving end of a knee on knee collision from Cougar Nathan Looysen.
Looysen was tossed from the game while Mowatt’s return was questionable. He did return, like a man possessed, towards the end of the second period, hitting everything in sight.
“It’s great to see him back,” Nickerson said.
“He’s a big, physical player who can put the puck in the back of the net. Conner makes us that much better up front and gives us more of an option offensively with our lines.”
The Generals were home to the Nanaimo Buccaneers Saturday night (score not available at press time). Check out Thursday’s edition of The NEWS for coverage of that game.
