In differing fashions, the Comox Valley Glacier Kings won both their Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League games over the weekend.
Friday night the Glacier Kings were in Parksville to take on the rival Oceanside Generals.
What started as a goaltenders鈥� duel finished anything but, as the Yetis prevailed 6-5 in a shootout.
鈥淲e were expecting a low-scoring event and after the scoreless first period we got the offence going but they kept matching us,鈥� said Comox Valley coach/GM Mike Nesbitt.
Comox Valley goalie Ryan Knight and Oceanside keeper Hunter Farrer combined for 25 saves (11 and 14, respectively) to keep the game scoreless after 20 minutes.
The offence came around in the second period, with Logan Furlong opening the scoring at 3:06 with his first of two in the period.
That lead lasted all of 27 seconds, as Jacob Thomas tied the game at 3:33.
Furlong set up Wyatt Arts to make it 2-1 for the visitors, then added his second, for a 3-1 lead midway through the second. The Generals got one back before the end of the period for a 3-2 Comox Valley lead after 40 minutes.
The teams combined for seven goals in the third period, sending the game into overtime at 6-6.
Aodhan Hildebrandt, with a pair, and Lane Pahtayken scored the Comox Valley goals, but they couldn鈥檛 stop Thomas, who scored three times in the final seven minutes of regulation.
The Glacier Kings outshot the Generals 6-3 in overtime, but the game needed a shootout. Ryley Callan scored the only goal in the shootout to give the Glacier Kings a 7-6 victory.
鈥淎s a coach, I don鈥檛 like to see us give up a two-goal lead three times in a game, but we did come through in the shootout,鈥� said Nesbitt. 鈥淲e got our two points, that鈥檚 the goal, so we got the job done.鈥�
Saturday night鈥檚 home contest against Lake Cowichan was a lot more one-sided than the 3-1 final indicated.
The Glacier Kings outshot the Kraken 68-12, but Kellan Mooney was nearly unbeatable.
Dawson Ashcroft and Brigham Nye gave the Glacier Kings a 2-0 lead after 20, and Alex Bend scored an empty netter to seal the win, after Charles Fleming had given the Kraken some hope, with a goal at the 12:39 mark of the third period.
Ryder Lally picked up the win for the Glacier Kings, and was lauded by Nesbitt for staying focused despite long lapses between shots.
The 23-13-1-1 Glacier Kings travel to Port Alberni on Friday, and host the Nanaimo Buccaneers on Saturday. Puck drops at 7:30 p.m. at the Comox Valley Sports Centre.
The Bombers have six wins on the season, and the Buccaneers have a 1-34 record in 35 games.
鈥淲e are working on our systems and getting ready for playoffs,鈥� said Nesbitt, adding his team will not take this weekend鈥檚 opponents lightly.
