Strong goaltending and special teams powered the Comox Valley Glacier Kings to a 3-1 win over the Nanaimo Buccaneers in Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League action Dec. 7 in Courtenay.
Goalie Michael Hails earned his eighth win and first-star honours for kicking out 33 shots, and the Yetis’ power play went 2-for-9 while the penalty killers were a perfect (10-for-10).
Hails was especially strong in the third period. With the Icemen up 3-1, Nanaimo poured on the pressure, outshooting the G-Kings 12-4, but were unable to put the pack past Hails.
Liam Shaw’s 13th of the year put the home team up 1-0 with a power-play goal late in the first, and third star Nicholas Tupper’s fourth of the season made it 2-0 at 12:04 of the second, only to have the Bucs get that one back just 46 seconds later.
Second star Ali Gotmy’s 14th of the year gave the Yetis some breathing room at 14:28 of the third on the power play. Michael Herringer of Comox took the loss, facing 21 shots in the Nanaimo net.
The win kept the Glacier Kings in third place in the North Division, one point back of second-place Nanaimo and three back of first-place Campbell River Storm.
The Yetis close out the December portion of their regular season this Saturday (Dec. 21) when they host the fourth-place Oceanside Generals in a 7:30 p.m. start at the Sports Centre.
ICE CHIPS The Glacier Kings are one of four VIJHL teams teaming up with Island Health to spread the word about the harmful effects of tobacco use … players, coaches and team personnel receive tobacco prevention training and as part of their partnership with Island Health, each team must make a number of presentations on tobacco-free sports to elementary and middle school students in their region … other teams participating are Campbell River, Nanaimo and Victoria …”These young hockey players are leaders both on and off the ice. By choosing to live a smoke-free lifestyle they are sending a compelling message to their peer group about smoking,” says Dr. Richard Stanwick, Chief Medical Health Officer, Island Health …
