Campbell River 0 Nanaimo 3
First star Aaron Pichette stopped all 27 shots he faced to lead the Nanaimo Buccaneers to a 3-0 shutout of the Campbell River Storm in their Monday night VIJHL North Division playoff series opener in front of 290 fans at the Nanaimo Ice Centre.
Following a scoreless first period, third star Bostyn MacDonald opened the scoring with the eventual game winner for Nanaimo, which also had a shorthanded goal from Kai Verbrugge in the second and a tally from Rhys Wilcox in the third. Dreyton Hayward had an assist and was named second star.
Luc Gravel stopped 34 shots in the Storm net.
Comox Valley 4 Oceanside 2
Comox Valley Glacier Kings scored the last three goals of the game in the third period to overcome a 2-1 deficit and march to a 4-2 series opener against the Oceanside Generals as 389 spectators took in the game at Oceanside Place.
First star Reid Ronning opened the scoring late in the first period to give Oceanside a 1-0 lead, but second star Teagan Clayton scored in the second for Comox Valley to tie the contest 1-1 heading into the final frame.
Third star Rolan Amin with the winning marker, Westin Churchill and Landen May had the other goals for the Glacier Kings, with Ander Reyes earning the win in goal with 25 saves.
Jacob Bate had the other score for the Generals, who received 33 saves from netminder Ethan Suhr.
Saanich 1 Peninsula 6
Peninsula Panthers leapt into the second period with four straight goals on their way to a 6-1 defeat of the Saanich Predators in the first game of their series as 200 watched at Panorama Recreation Centre.
Saanich led 1-0 in the first period on a goal from Matthew Anderson, but the Panthers roared back to lead 4-1 after the second. Peninsula had two goals from first star Luke Christensen and singles from third star Carson Harris, Paco Hodgson, Lucas Ananias and Ethan Lingard, who scored a spectacular goal by splitting the defense and deking around Predators goalie George Jantz, who finished a strong 42 saves, before denting the twine. Matus Volovar had 34 saves between the Panthers pegs.
Before the game Lingard received a special recognition from the Panthers, including a video presentation, in honour of his playing 205 games in the VIJHL, a Panthers record.
