The only Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League team not to lose in overtime this season kept that record intact on Saturday when the Victoria Cougars clipped the Comox Valley Glacier Kings 4-3 in double overtime in Courtenay.
For the Glacier Kings, who are tied with the Saanich Braves for most OLs with five, the point for the regulation time tie keeps them even on points (42) with the Nanaimo Buccaneers for second place in the North Division, although the Bucs (19-13-1-3) hold a game in hand on the Yetis (18-13-1-5).
The Icemen and South Division leading Cougars played it close all the way on Jan. 10. They were tied 1-1 after one period and 3-3 after two. The Capital City Cats outshot the G-Kings 9-3 in the third but could not beat Zachary Straza.
The first five-minute OT session solved nothing, but just over a minute into the second extra stanza game first star Michael Fretz fired his 28th goal of the season (third-best in the league) to give the visitors the win.
Victoria opened the scoring at 17:20 of the first on Wade Johnson’s power-play goal, with third star Colton St. John getting that one back less than a minute later.
The Yetis jumped out to a 3-1 lead before the second period was two minutes old on tallies by Sheldon Brett and Jonas Horvath only to have the Cougars claw their way back on a pair of goals by second star Sam McMullen.
The Glacier Kings will be looking to avoid a third straight OT loss when they take on the Bucs in a big four-point game this Thursday in Nanaimo.
On Jan. 8, former G-King Rylan Ball bit his former team in the butt by scoring the winner in the first OT period as the Westshore Wolves edged the Icemen 6-5 in Victoria.
Ball finished with two goals, two assists and first-star honours. The Wolves outshot the Yetis 40-23. Dylan Sampson scored twice (including a shorthanded tally late in the third to force OT) for the G-Kings to go with one each by Grant Iles, Brett and Austin McNeil. Derian Hamilton added four assists.
The Yetis are home Saturday, Jan. 17 to take on the surging Saanich Braves (winners of five straight) in a 7:30 p.m. start at the Sports Centre.
ICE CHIPS The VIJHL trade deadline was Jan. 10 and the Glacier Kings sent all-star goalie Blake Pearson to Westshore …. Pearson had seven win in 19 games with Comox Valley but wanted to be a starter … Straza (six wins in 16 games) is the new starter and the Yetis have carded a new back-up, Liam Young, from the Nanaimo Bucs … they also acquired a new D-man, Lucas Robinson from the Grand Forks Border Bruins … the Glacier Kings host this year’s VIJHL All Star Classic on Sunday, Jan. 18 at 1:30 p.m. at the Sports Centre … banquet tickets are available from Marsha at glacierkings@shaw.ca or by phone at 1-250-334-4709 with Jan. 15 the deadline to RSVP… the banquet gets underway at 10 a.m. upstairs at the Filberg Centre with food at 11 a.m. followed by introductions, guest speakers and jersey presentations …
