Charles-Olivier Lepage’s debut with the Kerry Park Islanders couldn’t have gone much better.
The 18-year-old goalie stopped 47 shots by the high-powered Campbell River Storm to post a shutout as the Isles got past the defending Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League champions 1-0.
Kerry Park bench boss Aaron Spotts coached Lepage, who played high school hockey in Quebec last year, at a showcase tournament in Boston over the summer, and the team was able to bring him to the West Coast this season to work in a tandem with Rett Rook. The Isles defence helped out by keeping most of the Storm’s scoring chances to the outside.
“I thought we played a pretty solid game,” Islanders head coach Aaron Spotts said.
“Obviously, it was a tight one. I thought we stuck to our systems well; that gave us a chance to win the game.
“[Rod Brind’Amour Arena] is obviously not an easy rink to win in,” Spotts said. “It’s a good building block for our young team.”
Tanner Tiel scored the only goal of the game at 8:15 of the second period as Campbell River netminder Eric Samyn nearly matched Lepage, stopping 37 of 38 shots.
“A lot of times, when you score one goal, you don’t win the game,” Spotts said.
That was the case on Saturday as the Isles lost 4-1 to the Nanaimo Buccaneers at Kerry Park Arena. Down 3-0 after two periods, the Isles didn’t get on the board until Evan Easton converted a powerplay opportunity in the third. The Bucs added one more with 31 seconds left. Rook stopped 33 of 37 shots in the Kerry Park net, and Austin Dendl made 23 saves for Nanaimo.
“I think always coming off an emotional win can be hard on the guys,” Spotts said. “Nanaimo jumped on us. They were stronger overall, hungrier on offence and defence. We got better in the third, but by then it was too late. You’ve got to have that same level the whole game, and we obviously didn’t do that.”
With two wins and four losses so far, the Isles sit fourth in the South Division. Spotts is optimistic that record will improve.
“I think we have a really good culture started,” he said. “The guys have gelled, and they’re competing hard for each other. We’re not scoring a lot of goals, but we’ve gotten better defensively over the first few games. If we can limit the chances the other team gets, we have two good goaltenders who give us a chance to win.”
The Isles have a busy weekend coming up as they visit the Peninsula Panthers on Friday, host the Westshore Wolves on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and visit the Saanich Braves on Sunday afternoon.
kevin.rothbauer@cowichanvalleycitizen.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
