The Nanaimo Buccaneers and the Campbell River Storm have been the league’s top teams pretty much since puck drop this season, so every time they play it’s a big-game feel.
The Bucs and Storm meet Thursday, Dec. 7 at the Nanaimo Ice Centre.
It’s the first meeting between the two clubs since early November, when the Storm ended a long Buccaneers win streak and took over first place.
“If you over-emphasize a certain game you maybe can let the moment get the better of you if you’re over-focused or you do things differently than you normally do,” said Curtis Toneff, Bucs coach. “So we’ve got to approach it like another game, but deep down inside, I think they know it’s against our biggest rival and someone we have to beat if we want to move off the Island this year.”
Toneff said the Storm had the Bucs on their heels the last time the teams played. He said if a team is unable to clear the puck from its zone when it has chances to do so, the result tends to be either a penalty or a minus on the box score.
“We want to be on our toes and move pucks quickly,” he said.
GAME ON … The Buccaneers and Storm play tonight at 7:15 p.m. at the Nanaimo Ice Centre. Tickets will be available at the door.
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