The Save-On-Foods Oceanside Generals dropped a close game to the Comox Valley Glacier Kings on Saturday night, missing out on a chance to move up in the VIJHL standings.
With the loss, the Generals are still sitting at the bottom of the VIJHL standings, two points behind the Saanich Braves and now 12 points behind the Glacier Kings, who distanced themselves from the Gens with a 4-3 win on Saturday night.
Forward Mathieu Jallabert continued his fine play as of late, adding two more goals against the Glacier Kings on Saturday night to bring his total to 10 goals in the last seven games. Sebastian Powsey, who started off the season as a defenceman and has since been moved to forward, scored the other goal for the Generals, giving him five points (three goals, two assists) in the last three games.
“That’s a game we should have won,” captain Cam Nickerson said. “We were in control the majority of that game and we just couldn’t find a way to put the puck in the net.”
“Comox’s goalie played a good game and made it tough for us to score. It’s unfortunate when you play the way we did and don’t have the results you deserve to show for it but that’s just the way it goes sometimes.”
The Generals outshot the Glacier Kings 39–31, putting Houghton, Michigan native Marcus Gloss to the test. Gloss, who stands 6’3” and weighs in at 220 pounds, covered a lot of the net to begin with, thanks to his size, making it difficult for the Gens to find a way to put the puck behind him.
“We definitely had our chances,” Nickerson said. “We had some good looks on the power play too but we just couldn’t capitalize. If we’re going to get out of last place and move up in the standings like we want to, those are things were going to have to accomplish to move up.”
Saturday’s loss has the Generals still two points behind the Saanich Braves with just six games remaining in the regular season. The Generals will have their work cut out for them if they want to catch the Braves, as they’ll play the league leading Victoria Cougars two more times, the Nanaimo Buccaneers two more times, as well as games against the Campbell River Storm and Peninsula Panthers.
The Generals will have two chances this week to gain ground on the Braves and climb out of last place in the VIJHL, starting with a Thursday night tilt against the Victoria Cougars down in Victoria. Saturday night they return home to host the Nanaimo Buccaneers at Oceanside Place at 7:30 p.m.
“We’re still very optimistic we’ll catch Saanich,” Nickerson said. “I know we’re going to move up in the standings, I have a really good feeling about it. This team has come a long way this season and we’re banging on the door now. It’s just a matter of time before we put it all together and knock that door down. It’s definitely the right time of the season to make that happen.”
