Oceanside’s Midget Rep Generals look to be on track for the playoffs as they parlayed a season-high four power play goals into a well-earned 5-3 win over the Tri Port Eagles at Howie Meeker Arena Saturday.
An exhibition game in preparation for the post season, both teams came to play. The Eagles, made up of players from Port Hardy, Port McNiel and Port Alice and who compete in the Tier 3 league, may have been overmatched, but they refused to roll over, and Oceanside’s Tier 2 team was full value for the W.
Oceanside came out of the gate with their foot on the gas but the Eagles weathered the storm and the game was scoreless until Oceanside’s Brent Douthwright steamed in alone, deeked the goalie and snapped it top shelf with 2:33 left in the opening period. The Generals scored three goals in the second. Reed Kyle upped it to 2-0 a minute in. Tri-Port got one to go, and Jarrett Weme made it 3-1 midway through the period. The Eagles cut it to 3-2, and Matt McGuire buried a backhander on the breakaway at 13:29 to make it 4-2 Oceanside, which is how it stood after 40 minutes.
The Eagles scored to pull to within 4-3 midway through the third. Jacob Klassen iced the win with 54 seconds remaining. Spencer Virs assisted on two goals.
“It was a good game,” Oceanside head coach Kevin McGuire said Sunday night, adding the power play “was the big thing ... that’s something we’ve been working on.”
Earning props for his play on Saturday was James Snedden.
McGuire said Snedden “has been one of our best players lately.”
Snedden plays forward most of the time, but he also sees duty on defence, and on Saturday when he wasn’t driving for the net he was stapling Eagles to the boards.
ON SUNDAY the Generals made the trip down to Victoria eager to take to the ice against Racquet Club for their final regular season game, but high winds put the kibosh on that.
“First there was a tree across the highway so half the team was late getting there, and then the power was out at the rink so they had to cancel the game,” said McGuire.
“That sucked,” team manager Leslie Klassen confirmed.
Currently 5-4 in league play, the Generals will have to make the trip back down to Victoria this weekend for the makeup game against RC. Win that game and they will finish second in their six-team Tier 2 Island league.
As is the case every year, the Midget Rep playoffs will start with tier-specific round robins.
Oceanside’s Midget Reps started the 2011/2012 campaign with three straight losses, but have been improving steadily says their coach, pointing out they’ve only lost two games since Christmas.
Third year goalie Brody Gaschler and rookie Hayden Kellett have been splitting the duties in net. Gaschler was minding the twine against Tri Port.