Hockey is often referred to as “The Fastest Game of Earth.” The Campbell River Storm and their performance on the weekend may have reinforced that statement. They were dominant in their two home ice victories over the Oceanside Generals (4-2) and the Peninsula Panthers (7-1).
Friday – Storm 4 Generals 2
Prior to the game on Friday night, Storm Head Coach Lee Stone talked about his latest acquisition, Dom Kolbeins, “We underestimated how good Dom is and then you see him on the ice (in practice). He’s an all-world player at our level, he does everything, he’s hard-working, he’s on the right side of the puck and he’s a real leader in the room.” Last year, with the Victoria Cougars, he accumulated 83 points in 46 games and was the third leading scorer in the VIJHL.
Kolbeins made his return to the Brindy memorable figuring in on all four Storm goals. He teamed up with another former Tyee, Dawson Frank and team captain Kobe Oishi and put on a show for the 947 fans at Rod Brind’Amour Arena.
Carter Hikichi opened the scoring 12 minutes into the game in a period completely dominated by the home side. Oceanside goalie, Matt Henwood, was stellar facing rubber 22 times in the first and kept his team in this game, trailing the Storm 1-0 after one.
In the second period, Oishi struck early and it looked as though the Black and Red were cruising to an easy win. That wasn’t going to the case. Brandon Roberge stole the puck at his own blue line, went the distance and put a perfectly placed shot past Storm netminder Chris Smith. Moments later, AP Taylor Olson fired a point shot through a screen and the two teams found themselves tied at a pair going into the second break.
Campbell River came out even harder in the third. Kolbeins scored in the first and last minutes for the 4-2 win and was named the game’s first star. Campbell River outshot the visitors 56-17. Other game stars included Storm defenceman Trevor Bottomley and Generals goalie Henwood.
Sunday – Storm 7 Panthers 1
On Sunday, Christian Brandt and Oishi were standouts, both notching a pair of goals in a solid 7-1 win over Peninsula.
The Storm played with a sense of confidence in front of goalie Zak Myrowich, who was getting his first start of the season.
With period leads of 2-0 and 4-0, this game seemed to be well in control. Other Storm goal scorers included Dylan McCann, Reid Wilson and Kolbeins.
The highlight goal, and there were a few to pick from, came from the captain, Oishi. Shorthanded, he stole the puck deep in his own zone, beat two defenders and goalie Liam Tutte.
The Storm have a busy weekend ahead with 3 games on the schedule. Friday night, they host Joe Gage and the Westshore Wolves before heading to Oceanside on Saturday night and Victoria on Sunday afternoon.
