Junior B hockey season came to an end in Nanaimo as the Bucs were beaten by a better team.
The Nanaimo Buccaneers lost 7-1 to the Campbell River Storm in Game 4 on Sunday at the Nanaimo Ice Centre and were eliminated, four games to none. The Bucs actually outshot the Storm in the game and maintained their effort for three periods.
“I’m proud of the way the team competed all the way through the game…” said Dan Lemmon, Buccaneers coach. “We didn’t get much puck luck at the start of the game and they’re a team that capitalizes on chances and it seemed like every chance they had, they capitalized on.”
He said Campbell River play its systems well and said the Storm’s speed forced the Bucs’ defencemen to turn and chase. Those factors, along with the Storm’s firepower and goaltending, made them a tough matchup.
Braeden Cyra and Colin Blake each scored twice for Campbell River, with other goals coming from Keenan Scardina, Josh Coblenz and Gage Colpron. Jake Mullen was the winning goalie.
Nanaimo’s Jordan Levesque, playing in his final junior hockey game, scored his team’s only goal and Alex Orth suffered the loss in net.
Levesque said his team showed character in its final game of 2015-16, as players didn’t give up and kept working hard. Despite the playoff elimination, the team captain said there were successes to the season.
“I don’t think we’ve ever been closer as an organization, as a team,” Levesque said. “Obviously we didn’t reach our final goal, but at the same time, I’m proud of these guys; I’m proud of what we did this year.”
GAME ON … The Storm advance to play the Victoria Cougars or the Peninsula Panthers in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League finals.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com
Nanaimo Buccaneers salute fans as their season comes to an end. Campbell River Storm won the series and advance… pic.twitter.com/5Rd5h09Rab
— Greg Sakaki (@BulletinSports) March 14, 2016
