The Nanaimo Clippers, playing in front of dozens of alumni, didn’t disappoint.
The Clippers beat the Alberni Valley Bulldogs 4-3 in dramatic fashion Friday at a packed Frank Crane Arena, as Josh Bourne scored on a rebound with 11 seconds left.
“It was a gutsy win,” said Bob Foglietta, Clippers assistant coach. “We were down a lot of players. We were basically down to two lines the last 10 minutes.”
The game had a little bit of everything. Alumni night started with a ceremony to honour the more than 50 former players who turned out.
A little more than five minutes into the game, the amped-up Clippers were assessed a 10-minute penalty – two consecutive five-minute majors – to the same player in the first period and killed almost all of it off until they got down five-on-three.
Nanaimo battled back with second-period goals from Liam Ryan, MacKenzie Merriman and Josh Kagan to take a 3-1 lead, but Alberni responded and tied the game early in the third period.
The winning goal came on a rush, as Kagan’s shot rebounded out perfectly for Bourne to shoot at an open net.
“Everyone’s stepping up right now, we’re all playing better and it was just a great feeling to finish on top there,” said Bourne.
He said with a short bench, guys weren’t fatigued and instead were engaged in the game.
“You’ve just got to keep going, if coach calls your number, you hop the boards and you’re giving it your all,” Bourne said.
Foglietta said the Bulldogs are a potential playoff opponent so the Clippers wanted to “find every inch we can get out there” and Bourne said as the post-season gets closer, those sorts of feisty games are going to be happening every night.
“We’re going to be battling hard, wanting to compete…” he said. “We just want to get better every game, starting at practice and transitioning into games, you just want to make sure you get to the top of your game once playoffs come.”
Jordan Naylor was the winning goalie, making 28 saves as shots were 38-31 for Nanaimo.
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Great atmosphere at tonight's Nanaimo Clippers game. Here are a few of my favourite action photos… #Nanaimo #Clippers pic.twitter.com/giqEP1S2re
— Greg Sakaki (@BulletinSports) February 1, 2020
Friday marked Bourne’s second-straight game-winning goal in the final minute as he also led the Clippers to a 3-2 home-ice win Wednesday at Frank Crane Arena against the West Kelowna Warriors. Steven Agriogianis and Merriman were the other goal scorers in that one and Naylor was the winning goalie with 21 saves.
GAME ON … The Clippers are on the road next weekend, Feb. 7-9, visiting the Vernon Vipers, Chilliwack Chiefs and the Surrey Eagles. Next home action is Feb. 14-15 against the Cowichan Valley Capitals and the Powell River Kings.
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