Saanich 0 Victoria 3
Second star Jesse Pye stopped all 22 shots he faced as the Victoria Cougars shut out the Saanich Predators 3-0 in Thursday night VIJHL play at Archie Browning Arena.
With the win, Victoria (32-8-3 for 67 points) moved to within three points of South Division leading Peninsula Panthers, which have two games in hand. Third star Carter Zeeben in the first period and league leading scorer Joseph Melichar with his 40th of the year on a third period power play and Austin Ralph into an empty net had the Cougar goals.
Saanich (8-32-2 for 18 points, fourth in the South) received a fine 51 save effort from netminder George Jantz, who earned first star honours.
Lake Cowichan 2 Nanaimo 6
A three point night from Dylan Lazaroff, including two goals, led the Nanaimo Buccaneers to a 6-2 triumph over the Lake Cowichan Kraken in front of 225 fans at Nanaimo Ice Centre.
Nanaimo (29-11-2 for 60 points) opened up a 9 point lead over second place Oceanside Generals in the North Division, and the Bucs also have a game in hand. After a 1-1 opening period tie, the hosts scored twice in the second to lead 3-1 with 20 minutes to go, and added three more tallies in the final stanza. Their other goals came from Tristen Bailey, Rhys Wilcox, Madden Cruickshank and Ethan Nordli, while third star Kane Law had three assists and netminder Tanner Ferrill stopped 22 shots for the win.
Lake Cowichan (13-27-1-1 for 28 points, sixth in North) had their goals from third star Colten Palmer and Hunter McLean, and Evgeni Tkachenko was busy making 35 saves in the Kraken cage. There were only three penalties in the contest.
