Lake Cowichan 1 Comox Valley 5
Comox Valley Glacier Kings led all the way enroute to a 5-1 downing of the Lake Cowichan Kraken in Friday night VIJHL play at the Comox Valley Sports Centre.
Comox Valley (21-15-5-1 for 48 points, third in North) goals came from third star Haden Parker, Westin Churchill, Zaya Morro, Cohen Kallin and Easton Sangris, while first star Gavin Mowat and second star Cameron Collins each had two assists. Ander Reyes picked up the win in goal with 18 saves.
Lake Cowichan (12-26-1-1 for 26 points, sixth in North) had its lone goal from Blaine Wilson and Evgeni Tkachenko was busy making 45 saves in the Kraken cage.
Oceanside 1 Victoria 3
Kelton Shinde’s unassisted marker at 12:34 of the third period turned out to be the winner and Jordan Ramsay added a last minute empty net insurance marker to give the Victoria Cougars a 3-1 decision over the Oceanside Generals at Archie Browning Arena.
Following a scoreless first period, Victoria (29-8-3 for 61 points, third in the South) had its first goal from league leading scorer Joseph Melichar (39 goals, 42 assists for 81 points) in the second period, with the Cougars leading 1-0 heading into the final frame. Finn Wilson stopped 29 shots in the Cats net.
Oceanside (25-15-1 for 51 points, second in North) had Hunter Toth score and Ethan Suhr finished with 12 saves on the night.
Saanich 3 Campbell River 4 (OT)
First star Won Hyeong Choi scored at 5:30 of overtime to give the host Campbell River Storm a 4-3 victory over the Saanich Predators with 307 taking in the contest at Rod Brind’Amour Arena.
Campbell River (21-18-1 for 43 points, fourth in North) had their other markers from third star Ethan Hill, Holden Smith and Leonardo Biafore as they trailed 2-1 after the first stanza before tying it 3-3 heading into the final 20 minutes. William Talbot had 34 saves to earn the win in goal.
Saanich (8-31-2 for 18 points, fourth in South) had an outstanding effort from second star goalie George Jantz who made 53 stops, and their goals came from Travis Swanson, Brandon Smith and Matthew Anderson.
Nanaimo 2 Peninsula 5
A pair of goals from Lukas Preweda helped the Peninsula Panthers claw the Nanaimo Buccaneers 5-2 in a battle of Division Leaders as 175 fans watched at the Panorama Recreation Centre.
First star Jacob Caron, Oskar Aitken-Salmons and Ethan Lingard also scored for Peninsula (33-5-2 for 68 points, first in the South), which received 29 saves from second star netminder Caden Lentz. After a 1-1 first period knot, the hosts scored twice in the second to take a 3-1 lead entering the final stanza.
Nanaimo (28-11-2 for 58 points, first in the North) had goals from Kane Law and Madden Cruickshank, and third star of the contest was goalie Tanner Ferrill who stopped 32 pucks in the game.
