If the Kerry Park Islanders’ last period of the regular season is any indication, the team is in an excellent position heading into the 2018-19 Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League playoffs.
The Isles trailed the Victoria Cougars 3-1 going into the third period of the game at the Q Centre last Thursday, but scored five unanswered goals, including three on the powerplay, to win 6-3 as Kerry Park players clinched the VIJHL points, goals and assists titles.
The Isles had to wait until Sunday afternoon to confirm who they would play in the first round, but the Nanaimo Buccaneers’ win over the Peninsula Panthers ensured that Kerry Park would get the fourth seed in the league and the first-round matchup against the Saanich Braves that head coach Aaron Spotts expected all along.
“We weren’t too worried about which matchup we got because the parity in this league is really good,” Spotts commented. “Every first-round matchup should be a good one.”
This is the third straight year that the Isles have faced the Braves in the opening round. The Braves won the series 4-1 last year on their way to the league final, and the Isles won four games to two in 2017.
The Isles won the regular-season series with the Braves this year, winning four times and losing twice in overtime and twice in regulation. The teams haven’t played since Dec. 8, when the Braves beat the Isles 6-5 in overtime at Kerry Park. The Isles have been on an upward trajectory ever since then.
“The team has really come together,” Spotts said. “I think we’re playing good hockey the last 10 games.”
The Braves can’t be taken lightly.
“Saanich is a very skilled team,” Spotts pointed out. “We’ll have to limit their time and space with the puck and stick to our game. When we’ve done that this year over 60 minutes at a time, we’ve had success.”
The Isles are a fairly young team, and only a few players have significant playoff experience. They will rely on veterans like Tanner Tiel and Rett Rook to lead by example.
After opening the series on Tuesday, the Isles will again host the Braves on Thursday, facing off at 7:30 p.m. The series moves to George Pearkes Arena for Friday and Sunday. If necessary, game five will go at Kerry Park next Tuesday, game six will go at Pearkes next Friday, and game seven will be at Kerry Park on March 9.
“It would be nice to get support from the community,” Spotts said. “Hopefully the kids will work really hard.”
In their regular-season finale against last Thursday, Evan Easton had Kerry Park’s first goal on the powerplay with four seconds left to play and finished the night with a goal and an assist to clinch the VIJHL scoring title with 74 points, five more than Victoria’s Booker Chacalias. Easton’s 35 goals beat Chacalias by one for the league title.
Brandon McClintick, Riley Windsor, Tory McClintick, Isaac Leik and Cole Amado scored in the third. Windsor and Tory McClintick notched their goals during the same five-minute powerplay, and Amado scored on a separate man advantage. Both McClinticks and Leik finished with a goal and an assist.
For Brandon McClintick, it was his 48th assist, not only giving him the most in the league this season, nine more than Easton and Nanaimo’s Billy Walters, but also breaking Matt Ellison’s team record of 47 from 1998-99.
