Game Reports

COUGARS SEASON ENDS WITH QUADRUPLE OVERTIME LOSS

Posted on April 2, 2017 by Peter Kung

ESQUIMALT, B.C. – Christian Brandt scored the game winner at 4:48 of quadruple overtime to propel the Campbell River Storm to a 4-3 win over the Victoria Cougars and secure a berth at the 2017 Cyclone Taylor Cup.

The Storm claimed its second VIJHL Championship Series in three years.

In a game which lasted four hours and 22 minutes, Brandt scooped up a loose puck in the offensive zone, skated behind the net, put on the brakes, skated back the way he came from, spun, and then fired a wrist shot past Anthony Ciurro from an impossible angle.

Ciurro was beaten on the 85^th Campbell River shot.

With the game not even two minutes old, the Storm jumped out to a 2-0 lead.

33 seconds in and on an odd-man rush, Carter Hikichi fed a pass to Sheldon Brett on the right wing who one-timed the puck past the outstretched reach of Ciurro.

Colin Blake made it 2-0 at 1:43 after pouncing on a Mitch Williams rebound and picking the top corner of the net with a wrist shot from the high slot.

After the goal, the large contingent of Storm fans that filled Sections 10 and 11 inside the Archie Browning Sports Centre, erupted into a frenzy.

Dom Kolbeins, who scored his first of two goals, cut the lead in half on a power play with 31.7 seconds remaining in the period.

The score remained 2-1 in favour of Campbell River until the 14:37 mark of the second period when Grayden Hohl was sprung loose on a breakaway. After taking a stretch pass from Jordan Passmore, Hohl skated in and beat Chris Smith with a backhander.

The Storm restored its one-goal lead on a goal by Hikichi at 16:59. After Blake picked up his own rebound, he found a wide open Hikichi for the easy tap in.

And just like the first period, the Cougars scored late.

On another power play, Kolbeins split the Campbell River defense and beat Smith short side for his league-leading 12^th goal of the postseason with 39.7 seconds remaining.

Victoria went 2-for-3 on the power play while the Storm finished 0-for-3.

Chances were exchanged by both teams in the third period but nothing was settled.

In the second overtime period, Darren Hards of the Storm had a chance to end the game but his shot rang off the goal post. And in the third overtime period, Blake wired the puck off the crossbar.

Shots on goal favoured Campbell River 44-19 in overtime and 85-50 overall.

For Brandt, it was his first game winning goal of the playoffs.

VIJHL president Barb Byrne was on hand after the game to present Blake and the rest of the Storm players with the Brent Patterson Memorial Trophy.

Campbell River now joins the Aldergrove Kodiaks (PJHL champions), Beaver Valley Nitehawks (KIJHL champions), and Creston Valley Thunder Cats (Host) at the 2017 Cyclone Taylor Cup which runs April 6-9.

BAYVIEW PLACE STARS OF THE GAME:

1^st star, Christian Brandt (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)

2^nd star, Anthony Ciurro (Saves: 81, Save Percentage: .953)

3^rd star, Chris Smith (Saves: 47, Save Percentage: .940)

VIJHL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES TO GO THE DISTANCE

Posted on April 1, 2017 by Peter Kung

CAMPBELL RIVER, B.C. – Chris Smith backstopped the Campbell River Storm to a 4-2 win against the Victoria Cougars before 1,188 fans at Rod Brind’Amour Arena on Saturday afternoon.

The win by Campbell River forces a seventh and deciding game.

After allowing six goals in his last two starts, Smith bounced back with a 28 save performance.

Aaron Brewer led the Storm offensively with a pair of assists.

Campbell River led 3-0 before the Cougars pulled to within a goal late in the third period.

Scoring for the Storm were Sheldon Brett, Colin Blake, Dylan McCann, and Ben Raffler.

Victoria squandered a two-man advantage for a full two minutes midway through the second period when Blake was sent off the ice for high-sticking and Raffler for slashing. The score was 0-0 at the time of the penalties.

Owen Dalman, who scored on a penalty shot, and Dom Kolbeins replied in a losing cause.

With 66 seconds remaining in regulation, Raffler put the icing on the cake with his second goal of the series and third of the postseason.

Anthony Ciurro stopped 30 shots in the loss.

Both teams were perfect on the penalty kill with the Cougars going 0-for-4 and Campbell River finishing 0-for-2.

Game 7 goes Sunday afternoon in Victoria. Game time at Archie Browning Sports Centre, located at 1151 Esquimalt Road, is 3:30 p.m.

The winner advances to the Cyclone Taylor Cup.

BAYVIEW PLACE STARS OF THE GAME:

1^st star, Dylan McCann (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)

2^nd star, Sheldon Brett (Goals: 1, Assists: 0)

3^rd star, Brayden McCartney (Goals: 0, Assists: 0)

COUGARS PULL RABBIT OUT OF THEIR HAT

Posted on March 30, 2017 by Peter Kung

ESQUIMALT, B.C. – The Victoria Cougars are one win away from claiming their fifth Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League championship in six years.

Tyler Pang scored the game winning goal at 5:39 of overtime to lift Victoria to a thrilling 3-2 comeback victory over the Campbell River Storm on Thursday.

With the win, the Cougars take a 3-2 series lead in the race for the Brent Patterson Memorial Trophy.

Driving towards the net, Pang gobbled up a Grayden Hohl rebound and lifted the puck over Chris Smith for his fourth goal of the postseason.

Badly outplayed, Victoria had no business winning. In fact, the Storm played its best game of the series.

Campbell River led 1-0 after one period, 2-1 after two, and was 25.7 seconds away from victory.

Darren Hards, who by far was the best player on the ice, opened the scoring six minutes in after beating Anthony Ciurro through the wickets.

The Cougars responded with a goal of their own at 5:38 of the second period. On the power play, Hohl wired home a Dom Kolbeins rebound to tie the game.

Watching the proceedings from the sin bin was Carter Hikichi who had served one minute and 28-seconds of his elbowing penalty up to that point.

Midway through the period, Kaelen Anderson of Victoria and Aiden Sutherland of the Storm were ejected from the game following their brouhaha.

Campbell River restored its one-goal lead at 11:41 when Dylan McCann finished off a beautiful set up by Kobe Oishi.

Then late in the third period and with Ciurro at the bench for an extra attacker, Hohl centered the puck over to Jordan Passmore who from the top of the crease, swatted the puck past Smith for the game tying goal.

Both goaltenders were sensational. Ciurro made 34 saves for the win while Smith turned aside 32 shots.

Victoria went 1-for-4 on the power play. The Storm finished 0-for-2.

Game 6 goes Saturday in Campbell River.

Game time at Rod Brind’Amour Arena, located at 225 South Dogwood Street, is 2:00 p.m.

BAYVIEW PLACE STARS OF THE GAME:

1^st star, Tyler Pang (Goals: 1, Assists, 0)

2^nd star, Grayden Hohl (Goals: 1, Assists: 2)

3^rd star, Shane Kime (Goals: 0, Assists: 2)

COUGARS EVEN SERIES WITH STORM

Posted on March 28, 2017 by Peter Kung

CAMPBELL RIVER, B.C. – Grayden Hohl scored twice and Anthony Ciurro stopped 31 shots on Tuesday as the Victoria Cougars beat the Campbell River Storm 3-1.

Also scoring for Victoria, who evened the best-of-7 VIJHL Championship Series at two games apiece, was Branden Tangney.

The game was scoreless after one period before the Cougars took a 1-0 lead into the second intermission.

Mitchell Williams replied for Campbell River.

Announced attendance at the Rod Brind’Amour Arena was 967.

Hohl, who was recently named VIJHL Player of the Week, opened the scoring at 15:46 of the middle frame on a power play when he took a Shane Kime rebound off the end boards and beat Chris Smith from a tight angle.

26 seconds into the third period, Hohl gave Victoria a 2-0 lead. After taking a pass from Jordan Passmore, Hohl weaved into high slot and ripped a wrist shot over the catching glove of Smith for his seventh goal of the postseason.

Williams, who missed Game 3 because of the flu, used both Zach Erhardt and Kobe Oishi as decoys before ripping the puck past Anthony Ciurro at 4:48 to cut the lead in half.

There would be no scoring until there was 17.5 seconds remaining on the game clock when Tangney scored into an empty net.

Smith made 34 saves in defeat.

The Cougars went 1-for-4 on the power play; meanwhile, Campbell River finished 0-for-3.

Game 4 goes Thursday in Victoria.

Elsewhere…

Cameron Davitt scored at 12:12 of double overtime to lead the Aldergrove Kodiaks to a 3-2 victory over the Delta Ice Hawks and a four-games-to-two win in the Pacific Junior Hockey League Championship Series.

Aldergrove now advances to the Cyclone Taylor Cup, held April 6-9 in Creston.

In the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League Championship Series, the Beaver Valley Nitehawks downed the Chase Heat 5-4 to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-5 series.

BAYVIEW PLACE STARS OF THE GAME:

1^st star, Grayden Hohl (Goals: 2, Assists: 0)

2^nd star, Jordan Passmore (Goals: 0, Assists: 2)

3^rd star, Chris Smith (Saves: 34, Save Percentage: .919)