Campbell River 1 Comox Valley 11
Six power play goals powered the Comox Valley Glacier Kings to an 11-1 thrashing of the Campbell River Storm in the final night of VIJHL regular season play at the Comox Valley Sports Centre.
With the win, Comox Valley (26-16-5-1 for 58 points, second in North) put an exclamation mark on their strong finish to the regular season and climbed into second place in the North. They now have home ice advantage in their first round playoff series with the Oceanside Generals.
First star Leon Mikhalchuk fired four goals and added an assist to lead the Yetis, who also had two goals from Rolan Amin and singles from Landen May, Westin Churchill, Tee Hagel, Maxim Lefebvre and Tegan Clayton, as they broke open a 1-1 first period tie to lead 5-1 heading into the final frame. Second star Suhaan Nagra had four assists and third star Zaya Morro had three helpers, as goalie Nick Kotai stopped 26 shots for the win.
Campbell River (25-21-2 for 52 points, fourth in North) will take on North Division champion Nanaimo Buccaneers in the other North series. Pierson Main scored the first goal of the game for the Storm, and Mitchell Tyre stopped 40 pucks in the contest.
Nanaimo 2 Oceanside 4
Third period goals from Ryder Bradford and Max Boyle provided the margin of victory for the Oceanside Generals to double the Nanaimo Buccaneers 4-2 as 723 fans watched at Oceanside Place.
First star Reid Ronning and third star Jacob Bate had the other goals for Oceanside (28-19-1 for 57 points, third in North), with netminder Ethan Suhr stopping 34 shots to earn the win. The teams were tied 1-1 and 2-2 by periods.
Nanaimo (33, 13-2 for 68 points, first in North) had their goals from second star Jack Barrett and Dreyton Hayward, both on the power play. Tanner Ferrill blocked 49 pucks between the Bucs pipes.
Saanich 9 Kerry Park 3
Saanich Predators had a pair of goals from Brandon Smith and singles from eight different players in their 9-3 downing of the Kerry Park Islanders as 182 spectators took in the action at Kerry Park Arena.
Saanich (10-35-3 for 23 points, fourth in South), now faces Division champion Peninsula Panthers in the first round of the South playoffs. They led 2-0 and 8-2 by periods, and their other goals came from first star Kaydin Halladay, Shandon Riopel, Koen Gauthier, Cole Davits, Von Parsons, Tavery Lavender and Kondrad Knot. George Jantz made 18 saves in the game, including a second period penalty shot.
Kerry Park (2-46, fifth in South) had a pair of goals from second star Parker Lawrence and a shorthanded tally from third star Colby Robinson, with Adam Ranger and William Kozoriz combining for 26 saves between the Islanders pins.
The first VIJHL playoff game is set for Sunday when the second place Victoria Cougars host the third place Westshore Wolves in the first game of their best-of-seven South series at 3:30 p.m. at Archie Browning Arena.
