The U18 Oceanside Generals enjoyed a terrific 2023-24 hockey season.
They started as a Tier-3 team but after some placement games, were elevated to Tier-1 in the Vancouver Island Amateur Hockey Association League (VIAHA), where they took on the top teams on Vancouver Island.
It was challenging prospect for the Generals but it motivated them to compete hard and that helped them garner some success throughout the season in T1 and T2 competitions.
In league play, the Generals finished third overall. They advanced to the playoffs but in T3 with the goal of earning a spot in the provincial championships. They achieved that, going undefeated in three games to bring home a VIAHA banner as U18 Tier 3 District Champions.
The Generals became the Oceanside Minor Hockey Association’s first U18 team since 1996 to qualify for the provincial championships. They travelled to Nelson, where they were pooled with teams from Aldergrove, Quesnel and Terrace.
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Their first game was against Aldergrove. The Generals took the lead with two early goals from Grady Dragani and Braeyan Newans. Aldergrove bounced back to tie it up 2-2 and shut out the Generals in the second while scoring three unanswered goals. The Generals came out hard in the third and were able to cut the gap to just one, 5-4 with goals coming from Tyler Turner and Peyton O’Connell. They pulled in their goalie in the dying seconds but it backfired with Aldergrove scoring twice to seal the win.
The next day, the Generals took on Terrace and the match was a chippy affair that ended up in a 4-4 draw. The Generals were not able to get their offence going as they were confined to killing penalties.
Seth Medves gave them a 1-0 lead but Terrace tied it up on a power play and took control in the second. The Generals regained the lead 3-2 in the third with back-to-back goals from O’Connell and Turner. It was short-lived, as Terrace tied it up on a man-advantage and followed it up with another marker to lead 4-3.
The Generals evened it up 4-4 past the midway mark off the stick of O’Connell but were not able to score again to settle for a draw.
In their final pool game, the Generals faced Quesnel Thunder. It didn’t start well for Oceanside as they gave up two goals less than five minutes into the frame. They scored their first goal in the dying seconds, netted by Billy Snyder, to just trail by one, 2-1.
Terrace made it 3-1 in the second and that got the Generals to finally get their offence going, netting seven goals in a row while blanking their rivals to earn their first win, 8-3. Scorers were Medves, O’Connell, Wade Wesnedge, Damien Roberts, Snyder, Gage Boulton and Turner.
The finished third in their pool with a 1-1-1 record. But it wasn’t enough as they missed advancing to the semifinals. They finished fifth overall in the tournament.
“The kids played great,” said Sarah Kroeker, the team’s social media spokesperson. “They played to a higher level and competed with all they had. They ended in fifth, not what they came for and not what they deserved and we will be mad for a bit longer, but it was a great run. It was an incredible season and it will be hard to top.”