Well, at least it was an improvement over the previous night.
The Quality Foods Oceanside Generals were outshot 20-7 in the third period and let a 2-1 lead late in the second period slip away as the Nanaimo Buccaneers skated off with a 5-3 Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League win Saturday at Oceanside Place Arena.
The loss followed a 10-1 drubbing Friday in Campbell River to the league-leading Storm, in a brawl-filled game featuring a combined 319 minutes in penalties and four players from each team ejected for fighting.
In Saturday’s game against Nanaimo, a slick power-play goal by rookie Caleb Griffin gave the Generals (6-19-0-1) a 2-1 lead at 4:54, and strong play by goalie Wes Ellingsen made it stand up until the final minute of the period.
But moments after being whistled for a penalty that wiped out a Generals power play and left the teams skating 4-on-4, Nanaimo drew even on Jacob Carr’s goal off a faceoff in the Gens’ zone with 4.2 seconds left in the period.
The streaking Buccaneers (16-12-0-0), winners of three straight and eight of their last 10, then took command in the third, pinning Oceanside in its own end with a dominant forecheck and sandwiching two goals off turnovers around a point blast by Generals rookie blueliner Topher Harding, his first since joining the team in a trade last month.
“The first 40 (minutes) we’re right there with them, competing hard with them,” Generals coach Gerry Bickerton said. “In the third period, again we got out-competed. They stepped up their level of play and we didn’t step up our level of play.”
Oceanside Generals forward Stratton Pickett, centre, gets hung up on the stick of Nanaimo defenseman Dylan Hertl while trying to dive for a loose puck in front of Nanaimo goaltender Cameron Donn Saturday at Oceanside Place Arena. — Image credit: J.R. Rardon/PQB NEWS
Bickerton noted the Bucs are an older, veteran club whose players understand when they need to step up.
“The majority of our team is 17- and 18-year-olds,” he said. “They’re fresh out of minor hockey and they’re used to just getting by on their natural talent. In junior hockey the compete level is that much greater. It’s a learning curve for these guys, and they’re on it right now.”
Brandon Roberge, who lead Oceanside with 15 goals and 28 points, scored at 7:30 of the opening period to tie the game 1-1 after Nanaimo’s Trent Bell put the visitors on the board three minutes after the opening puck drop.
Ellingson made 37 saves as the Gens were outshot 42-23, but Oceanside was 2-for-5 on the power play while successfully killing all six of their own penalties.
After a rematch in Nanaimo Thursday night, the Generals return home for a 2:30 p.m. matinee Sunday against the Comox Valley Glacier Kings.
Storm 10, Generals 1
Bobby Jo Love, Ryan Rae-Arthur, Max Creighton and Stratton Pickett were each ejected for game misconduct following fights as frustrations boiled over in Friday’s game at Campbell River (23-6).
“It’s not so much that they’re running up the score,” said Bickerton, “but the fact it gets to eight or 9-1, the still send their first-unit power play, they still have guys cherry-picking at the blue line; and after every whistle they have guys chirping at our bench.
“The stick work up there is unbelievable, and I think it was just finally at the point the guys from last year coming into this year just had enough. They just wanted to stand up for themselves and show they can play this way too.”
Rae-Arthur netted the only goal for the Gens, on a short-handed tally prior to his ejection in the third period.
The Generals finished 0-for-9 on the power play.
