With a four-game unbeaten streak under their belts, it appears the only thing that can stop the red-hot Quality Foods Oceanside Generals is Santa Claus.
Following Saturday night’s 4-1 win over Kerry Park at Oceanside Place Arena, the Generals (9-20-1-1) stunned league-leading Campbell River 3-2 at home Sunday afternoon, then wrapped up the 2016 portion of the season by skating to a 3-3 tie against the Comox Valley Glacier Kings in Comox.
“I wish we could cancel Christmas,” Generals head coach Gerry Bickerton joked. “There’s a really good feeling amongst our guys to go into Christmas getting points in four straight games. I don’t remember the last time we won three games in a row as an organization.”
The biggest victory was Sunday’s win over visiting Campbell River, which snapped a 25-game losing streak to the Storm (23-8-0-0).
Landon Dziadyk, Foster Martin and Mitch Cook each scored goals and netminder Tanner Douglas stopped 30 shots as the Generals notched their first win over Campbell River since a 4-3 overtime win Nov. 22, 2014, at Oceanside Place Arena.
The last time the teams met, Dec. 2 in Campbell River, the Storm rolled to a brawl-marred 10-1 win.
“They were super pumped,” Bickerton said about his players’ response to the Sunday’s victory. “We have a few guys who have been there from last year that never beat the Storm before, and a few new guys that were here for that last game. I think it’s huge for the guys to realize that 10-1 game is not indicative of who they are, and that was part of the motivation — to show this group of players not intimidated by the Storm.”
That newfound confidence will be put to the test immediately following the holiday break, when the Generals resume league play with a Jan. 6 trip to Campbell River.
Oceandside Generals goalie Tanner Douglas watches a Kerry Park shot sail wide during the Generals’ 4-1 win over the visiting Islanders Saturday night at Oceanside Place Arena. — Image credit: J.R. Rardon/PQB NEWS
The Oceanside streak has coincided with the arrival of Douglas, an 18-year-old who was cut by the Dauphin Kings of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League and scooped up by the Generals. Upon arriving on Vancouver Island, he made his first appearance as a General as a backup, stopping 15 of 17 shots in 31 minutes and 27 seconds of action in a 6-1 loss at Nanaimo Dec. 8. Two nights later, he helped pace the Gens to a 5-3 win over visiting Comox, kicking off the four-game unbeaten streak.
Since his arrival, the 6-foot-3, 18-year-old rookie is 3-0-1 with a 2.35 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage. For his work last weekend, Douglas was named the VIJHL Player of the Week.
The streak also began with the return of captain Logan Savard from a three-month injury layoff to a broken wrist. After first testing his skating legs in the loss at Nanaimo, Savard scored two goals in each of the next two wins and anchors a line with Oceanside Minor Hockey products Landon Dziadyk of Qualicum Beach and Owen McDonald of Parksville.
“Playing with Savard, I like it,” said Dziadyk, who ranks second on the team in scoring with 23 points on 11 goals and 12 assists. “I played with him a bit at the start of the year and a couple of games last year. And Owen and I have played together for Oceanside since our bantam and peewee years.”
The Generals took control of Saturday’s game from the outset, getting goals from Martin and Dziadyk in the first period while outshooting Campbell River 10-7.
After the Storm answered on a Colin Blake goal five minutes into the second, Mitch Cook netted the game-winner at 11:18 of the second off assists by Stratton Pickett and Brent Koch.
Pickett and Koch are two of the many players who joined the team during its first-half makeover, which involved trading away former captain Cam Nickerson (now with the Buccaneers in Nanaimo) and veteran Brodie Smith, a local product who was traded to Creston.
The new arrivals include nine rookies, among them Douglas and fellow netminder Wes Ellingsen. Coincidentally, the losing goalie for Campbell River was Matt Henwood, who began the season as the Generals’ starting backstop.
“I think this group the last couple weeks has developed a bit of a swagger,” said Bickerton. “They have a goaltender behind them they trust and have the identity of the team we want to be. Coming out of the break I expect more of the same.”
