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Campbell River’s second of three back-to-back games this weekend came down to a battle of the goalies.
Both the Saanich Braves’ Robert Michetti and Campbell River Storm’s Aaron de Kok faced more than 35 shots in the eventual 4-3 shootout loss for the Storm.
Campbell River got on the board early in the first period with Noah Fladager scoring the first and second goals of the game at 2:31 (power play) and 6:13.
Saanich would split the difference with under two minutes to go in the period to make it 2-1 heading into the first intermission.
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Under two minutes into the second period, the Braves tied things up. Campbell River’s Jory Swanson got the go-ahead goal at 11:50, but Saanich was able to tie things up again at 18:53.
The overtime period didn’t decide anything either, so the teams went to a shootout.
Ryan Strange shot first for Saanich and scored. Storm goalie Aaron de Kok stopped Saanich’s next two shooters, Jake Wilhelm and Dayton Clarke, but it wasn’t enough. Storm shooters Brett Kinley, Noah Fladager and Pearce Messer couldn’t solve their former teammate Michetti and the Braves dealt the Storm their 10th loss of the season.
The Storm are back in action on the road this afternoon against the Victoria Cougars. It’s a make-up game for their Nov. 24 match.
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Playoffs are rapidly approaching with just five home games left in the regular season.
The Storm are currently first in the North Division with 51 points. The Oceanside Generals are second with 47 points, while the Nanaimo Buccaneers are third with 33 points.
In the South Division, the Peninsula Panthers are first with 60 points, followed by the Victoria Cougars with 59 points and the Westshore Wolves with 41 points.
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