The Quality Foods Oceanside Generals let a win slip from their grasp against the Kerry Park Islanders at home on Wednesday night.
It seemed a win to be had with five minutes left to play in the final period and the Generals up 3-2. But two sloppy defensive plays led to back-to-back goals by the Islanders, who skated off with a 4-3 win.
The loss ended the Generals’ three-game winning streak and dropped their record to 10-14-1.
Head coach Jesse Hammill tried to look at the positive side of the game but admitted he couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed the Generals let the game get away.
“That probably is our worse game of the year,” said Hammill. “We allowed them to keep control. The last two goals they scored were just inexcusable goals.”
Hammill admits the Generals are a young team and the players sometimes tend to overdo things rather than keep it simple.
The Islanders opened the scoring but lost their momentum as they committed several penalties in the first period. The Generals made them pay by scoring two power play goals, courtesy of Brodie Smith and Ryan Rae-Arthur.
Things settled down a bit in the second, but it was the Islanders that equalized at 6:29. Less than a minute later, Andre Sutter put the Generals ahead again, 3-2, and it stayed that way until the last five minutes of the third when the Generals gave up the two heartbreaking goals that flipped the final result.
It doesn’t get any easier for the Generals, who will play their next three games on the road. First stop is in Campbell River against the Storm on Friday, Dec. 1, then on Dec. 3 they will face the Islanders again, this time at Kerry Park Arena. The third game will be against the Peninsula Panthers at Panorama Recreation Centre on Dec. 8.