The Quality Foods Oceanside Generals’ first home game was a shaky effort resulting in a loss. The second was a superb effort resulting in a loss.
The third time was a charm.
Brody Smith scored a hat trick and the Generals rode an overwhelming second-period effort to a 6-5 win over the Comox Valley Glacier Kings Sunday at Oceanside Place Arena.
The win, before a matinee crowd of nearly 150 fans, came one day after the Gens dominated visiting Saanich only to come away with a 3-2 loss. It also capped a two-win week for Oceanside, which began with a 5-4 victory at Westshore Wednesday night.
“The second period (Sunday) we played the way we’re capable of playing,” Oceanside head coach Gerry Bickerton said. “Last night we did it for 60 minutes; today we did it for 20. But we have the ability, with our speed and level of intensity, to take over a game.”
The Generals (2-3-0-1) jumped to a quick, 2-0 lead in the opening period Sunday on goals from Smith and Cam Nickerson. But that was merely a preview, as the Glacier Kings (3-2-0-0) stormed back to tie it at the first intermission.
Coming out of the break, it took less than a minute for Ethan Sundstrom to restore the lead with a power-play goal, and the Generals pushed it to 5-2 when Smith converted off a nifty give-and-go from Ryan Rae-Arthur on another power play, and Sebastian Powsey chased down a rebound and fired it home midway through the period.
Oceanside Generals forward Cam Nickerson draws the puck back while trying to get a shot off against Comox Valley goalie William Cawthorn at Oceanside Place Arena Sunday afternoon. — Image credit: J.R. Rardon/NEWS Staff
Comox would battle back, eventually tying the game 5-5 on back-to-back power-play goals of their own in the third.
After Bickerton called time out, the Generals came out and got the game-winner at 10:06 of the third, on their fourth power-play goal in seven chances. Smith was credited with the unassisted goal, but said Powsey punched the puck home after Smith’s try hit Comox goalie William Cawthorn and dropped to the ice
“Gerry called a good time out there,” said Smith. “He just said, ‘OK, it’s the last 10 minutes and it’s a clean slate. How bad do you want it?’”
Matt Henwood picked up the win in goal for his first win of the season.
The Generals now sit a single point behind Comox Valley in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League standings and three
The Generals have one game this week, travelling to North Division-leading Campbell River for a Friday night game at Rod Brind’Amour Arena. It is a rematch of the teams’ season opener on Sept. 2, but the Generals roster has been bolstered by the additional of several veterans who were still attending training camps when the Storm rolled to a 6-1 win.
“This will be a huge game for us,” said Bickerton. “We have a different roster than we took up there the first time. We’ll have a lot more experience. We’re looking forward to it.”
Saanich 3, Generals 2
A quick start by the visiting Braves and a standout goaltending effort Saturday night held up in a tight, defensive affair at Oceanside Place Arena.
Saanich (5-1), the South Division leaders, sandwiched two first-period goals around a Mitch Cook tally to give the Braves a 2-1 lead at the first intermission.
Cam Nickerson found the net for a power-play goal 55 seconds into the second to tie it 2-2. But the Braves got the game-winner from Dale McCabe late in the period, and neither team was able to score in the third.
Oceanside outshot Saanich 49-23 in the loss.
“We just ran into a red-hot goalie,” Bickerton said with a shrug. “He made three or four unbelievable saves just in the third period.
“We dominated and dictated the entire 60 minutes. Those kinds of games, it’s hard to go into the dressing room afterward and tell the guys they did anything wrong.”
Rookie goaltender Brody Greggain took his first loss in net after notching a win at Westshore in his debut three days earlier.
Josh Harvey collected an assist for the Generals.
