Two tough losses were handed to the Save-On-Foods Oceanside Generals over the weekend as they dropped a home-and-home series with the Comox Valley Glacier Kings.
Friday night, in Comox, the Generals got off to a good start, finding themselves leading 3-1 after the first period. But with a 4-1 lead in the second period, the Gens had a massive collapse and saw the Glacier Kings score six unanswered goals to earn a 7-4 victory.
Saturday night was a role reversal for the two teams, as it was the Generals who were trailing all game. It was 5-1 for the Glacier Kings at the start of the third when the Generals mounted a furious comeback.
However, they couldn’t complete the comeback as the Glacier Kings held on to win 5-4, taking the home-and-home series.
“We’re trying to keep our emotions level, not to get too low,” head coach Chuck Kessler said.
“That loss on Friday was a different loss for us, being up 4-1 and trying to keep from getting too high on ourselves. Saturday we tried to not get too down, find a way back into the game and keep our spirits up. We battled hard to come back but couldn’t quite pull it out.”
Penalties were the story of the weekend for the Generals in both games as they found themselves down a man, sometimes two, at various points over the weekend.
Defenseman Gibson Doney, who leads the league in penalty minutes, earned 16 minutes in penalties on Friday night and six minutes on the same play in Saturday’s game, which saw the Generals play 14 of the first 20 minutes short handed.
“Penalties are our biggest weakness, we take too many of them,” forward P.J. Heger said. “We spend way too much time having to play defensive hockey, trying to keep the puck out of the net. When we’re at even strength, it’s hard to make that change in mindset because you’re so used to killing penalties. It comes down to discipline, you’ve got to be responsible for your actions out there and not let the team down.”
Forward Kyle Wade continued to put the puck in the net over the weekend and has found chemistry with line mates PJ Heger and Jonah Pearson.
Wade now has seven goals in his last five games and leads the league in goals as a rookie with 12.
The line of Wade (12 goals, three assists), Heger (seven goals, eight assists) and Pearson (three goals, 12 assists) all have 15 points each, giving them a combined 45 points and a three way tie for the team lead in points.
The Generals have three games on the schedule this week, as they’ll be in Nanaimo to take on the Buccaneers on Thursday (7:15 p.m.).
Saturday the Generals will play host to the Saanich Braves (7:30 p.m.) and Sunday will host the Kerry Park Islanders for an afternoon tilt, puck drop scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
