The Oceanside Generals were happy to earn two points after edging the Port Alberni Bombers 4-3 in Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League action at Oceanside Place on Friday, Oct. 21.
The Generals were shut out in the first period and had to comeback from a 2-0 deficit early in the second frame. The Generals dominated offensively, outshooting the Bombers 45-19 but deficiencies in their defence also got exposed.
Brady Van Herk, who assisted on four of the Generals goals, admitted that they were slow coming out in the second and could have done better.
“We had a little collapse there but once we got going they couldn’t keep up with us,” said Van Herk. “We played a good team game in the third and that’s what really won us the game there.”
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The Bombers were able to shut down the aggressive forechecking game of the Generals in the first period and took a 2-0 lead in the first four minutes of the second period. It took some time for the Generals to score. At the 14:26 mark, Benjamin Groome got the Generals their first goal and just over a minute later, Brayden Ross tied it up.
In the third, the Generals scored two more goals, netted by Evan Dyce and Nolan Wyatt to lead 4-2. The Bombers continued to fight back and with time winding down, pulled their goalie Owen Bonthuis for the extra attacker. They were able to score with 22 seconds left to make it 4-3. The Bombers pulled their goalie again but the Generals were able to stop the rally.
The Generals hit the road tonight to face the Comox Valley Glacier Kings at the Comox Valley Sports Centre at 7:30 p.m. It’s a battle between the top two teams in the Northern Division, with the Generals leading the standings with ten wins, two losses, one overtime loss, and one shootout loss, while the Glacier Kings record is 10 wins, three losses and two shootout losses.