Earle Couper

Record Staff

A flurry of goals and a flurry of snow.

That's how the Comox Valley Glacier Kings opened their first-round Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League playoff series with the Saanich Braves. The Icemen outscored the Braves 8-7 in the Tuesday opener in Courtenay while Wednesday's game in Saanich was cancelled due to snow.

Game three in the best-of-five series is scheduled for Saturday, with puck drop 7:30 p.m. at Comox Valley Sports Centre Arena No. 1. A Glacier Kings' spokesperson said game two has been rescheduled for Friday night in Saanich.

The series got off to a wild start Tuesday night in Courtenay. The Yetis were up 3-1 after one period and 6-4 after two. Saanich cut the lead to 6-5 early in the third on the power play, with the Glacier Kings tallying two goals in 16 seconds to take a seemingly safe 8-5 lead at the 6:51 mark. 

But Connor Stephens scored at 12:55 and again at 16:31 on the power play to make it a one-goal game. Saanich pulled their goalie with 16 seconds left and forced a face-off in the Comox Valley end with seven clicks on the clock. They got a shot off but could not force overtime.

"Obviously we scored a lot of goals but we gave up too many," said Comox Valley coach Jim MacLean. Saanich went 3-for-5 on the powerplay while the Yetis were 2-for-3. "We didn't get that many penalties but almost every time we did they scored," said MacLean of the visitor's 60 per cent success rate with the man advantage.

"We just have to play better in our own end, which is something we've been trying to emphasize all year long. Saanich moved the puck around well and created opportunities. Their game is all about being physical. They battle hard and win a lot of battles. They forecheck hard and put lots of pressure on our d-men. We have to be able to withstand that pressure," MacLean said.

To counterattack that, the coach said his team has to pick up their physical play. "We have to win more battles, five guys didn't have one hit," against the bigger Braves squad.

"The good thing is we won. The bad thing is we gave up seven goals. When you're hoping to advance in the playoffs and you're playing that poorly defensively it doesn't give you a lot of good vibes," MacLean said.

Stewart Lee returned to the lineup and played well, while Garrett Brandsma missed the game with the flu. Newcomer Ryan Bradley had his second straight two-point game since joining the team. "Ryan's a good player. We play him as a forward and on the point on the power play. He's definitely giving us another weapon," MacLean said.

Kelin Hrycuik's hat trick earned him first star honours while second star Jack Kennelly counted two goals and one assist. Michael Graham scored two while Corey Allen netted one. Jackson Garrett chipped in three assists while Bradley, Lee and Derick Nicholson had two helpers each.

Saanich outshot the Glacier Kings 40-35, with Cameron Waddington picking up the win in net. Tanner McGaw started in goal for the Braves and was replaced by Matt Chester (who took the loss) at the start of the third period.

James Kellington had a five-point night (1g, 4a) for Saanich to go along with three-point performances by Stephens (2g, 1a) and third star Sheldon Trees (2g, 1a).

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