The Comox Valley Glacier Kings have been taking care of business all season long, and two more workman-like performances on the weekend earned them two more Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League victories.
Friday night in Campbell River the Icemen blanked the Storm 6-0. Saturday night in Courtenay, they knocked off the Saanich Braves 5-2. Riding a six-game winning streak, the Yetis own the league鈥檚 best record of 31-8-0-1. That puts them seven points ahead of second-place Victoria Cougars (27-8-0-2), who are mired in a four-game losing skid.
Friday in Campbell River, the Glacier Kings out shot the Storm 51-25 and held period leads of 4-0 and 6-0. James Davision posted the shutout, picking up his fifth win in six starts since joining the team.
Comox Valley鈥檚 big guns were on fire. Kelin Hrycuik鈥檚 five-point performance (3g, 2a) was part of an eight-point weekend that vaulted him into a tie for top spot in the league scoring race, where he also leads in goals scored with 32 through 38 games.
Stewart Lee was hot as well, putting four points (1g, 3a) on the board while Mitch Ball added a pair of assists.
Also rippling the mesh for the Glacier Kings were Garrett Brandsma with his eighth of the season while Joel Wheeldon celebrated his first of the campaign.
Hrycuik (1g, 2a) and Lee (2g, 1a) continued to dazzle on offence Saturday, earning third and second star honours, respectively, while defenceman Joe Ftoma was the game鈥檚 first star and chipped in with an assist.
The Braves kept things close in the early going, but Lee鈥檚 25th of the year at 12:53 of the second proved to be the winner. Derick Nicholson netted his sixth of the season and Michael Graham added his 17th of the year.
Davison picked up the win in net, with Comox Valley out shooting Saanich 42-28.
The Glacier Kings have four regular season games remaining. They are in Kerry Park to take on the Islanders tomorrow night then are home Saturday for a big four-pointer with the Cougars. Game time is 7:30 p.m. at Sports Centre Arena No. 1 in a game that could help decide who finishes first and earns a first-round bye in the playoffs.
The Yetis close out the regular season with a pair of Friday night games against Saanich, with the Braves here on Feb. 11 and the Icemen returning the visit on Feb. 18
ICE CHIPS Comox Valley Midget B rep goalie Kyler McAllistair backed up Davision in both weekend games ... the Cougars have by no means retracted their claws; during their four-game losing streak they have out shot their opponents 199-111 but have been outscored 19-9 ... based on winning percentage as of Jan. 30, the Glacier Kings were seventh among the 36 Jr. B teams in the province ... VIJHL standings and top scorers in Scoreboard at left ... all the latest Island Jr. B buzz at www.vijhl.com ...
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