The one that got away was painful enough for the Oceanside Peewee Generals during their hockey showdown in Port Alberni Saturday.
The one that came back was even worse.
A two-goal swing midway through the third period forced the Generals to scramble from behind to tie the host Bulldogs 5-5 in a game they thought they were poised to win against the league leaders.
Still celebrating an apparent tie-breaking goal by Cayden Wentzel midway through the third period, the peewees got caught flat-footed as Alberni’s Grayson Erickson scooped the puck from in front of his own net and skated the length of the ice to give the hosts their first lead of the game, 4-3, at 11:17 of the third.
The Bulldogs tacked on another goal to go up 5-3 before Oceanside rallied to tie it on late goals by Denen Scott and Easton Sandberg.
“From our angle it looked like he scored,” peewee coach Charles MacDonald said of Wentzel’s shot from the right circle. “We all got excited and no one paid attention; luckily for Alberni, they identified it and got a goal. It was a tough one to swallow.”
Oceandside peewee Evan Obodzinski, centre, mixes it up along the boards with Alberni Valley teammates Blake Knoll, left, and Aaron Torfs during their Division 2 hockey game Saturday in Port Alberni. — Image credit: J.R. Rardon/PQB NEWS
Oceanside (5-3-1 in Division 2 play) was left to wonder what-if after letting a 3-1 lead slip away in the road contest against the top-ranked Bulldogs (6-2-1).
Brody Simpson opened the scoring for the Generals with an unassisted score midway through the first period. Alberni answered, but the visitors regained the lead on Wentzel’s second-period goal and pushed their advantage to 3-1 on affiliate player Gavyn Knight’s goal early in the third.
“(The Bulldogs) have a very aggressive forecheck and the ability we had to get the puck up and get numbers moving the other way helped us get going,” said MacDonald. “We were doing a really good job of getting out of our own end and getting pressure on. Then, we had some penalty trouble.”
A series of penalties left the Generals short-handed for most of a five-minute stretch, and the Bulldogs finally solved Oceanside goalie Ashton Sadauskas with back-to-back, power-play goals to tie it 3-3 at 8:14 of the third.
That led to Wentzel’s non-goal and Erickson’s opportunistic response, which left the Oceanside bench stunned.
“We addressed that in the room with the guys,” MacDonald said. “We were dead for those next five minutes, we were all emotionally spent, we were upset and we let them get another one. But we were able to fight back; that was good. It’s hard to come back from that.”
Midgets rally for win
Christian Stokes scored four goals as the Oceanside Midget Generals charged from behind to down visiting Nanaimo 5-4 in a penalty-plagued contest Saturday at Meeker Arena.
The midgets trailed 3-2 after one period, but took the lead with two unanswered goals in the second. Goalie Tyler Blaine snared the win in net while holding the Clippers to a single goal as the teams traded scores in the third.
Noah Seselja added a goal for the Generals (4-2-1), who moved into second place in the Division 2 standings at the holiday break. Duncan Cairns and Jose Hope contributed assists in the win.
After playing in the Comox Valley Christmas Tournament Dec. 19-21, the midgets return to league play Jan. 7 with a home game against Juan de Fuca at Meeker Arena.
The Generals open tournament play in Comox Monday with a 1:45 p.m. game against Juan de Fuca.
Bantams stay unbeaten
The Oceanside Bantam Generals remained atop the Division 2 standings with an unbeaten record after rolling to a 3-1 victory over the Nanaimo Clippers at the Nanaimo Ice Centre Saturday.
The bantams go into the holiday break with a 6-0-1 mark in league play. They do not return to league action until Jan. 15 with a road trip to face the Peninsula Eagles.
