The Quality Foods Oceanside Generals need to be consistent in every game after going .500 last week.
The Generals scored a 9-4 win on the road against the Comox Valley Glacier Kings on Saturday night. The next night, inside their own rink, the Generals came out sluggish and got swept away by the Campbell River Storm 6-1.
Against the Glacier Kings, the Generals ended the first period with a 4-0 lead. They were up 6-1 going into the third and were hardly threatened despite allowing Comox Valley three goals.
Leading the way for the Generals were Jory Swanson and Greyson Weme who each had two goals. The other scorers were Hunter Gruben, Ryan Ignace, Aleko Karamanis, Will Norman, and Robbie Davis. Earning the win between the pipes was James Brendeland, who turned away 26 shots.
The next night, the Generals took on the league-leading Campbell River Storm, who at their last visit to Oceanside Place were bested by the Generals.
However, there was no repeat of that win as the Generals failed to produce their best and allowed the Storm to score easy goals unimpeded.
After two periods, the Generals were trailing 4-0 and got further behind when the Storm added two more goals in the third. The Generals avoided the shutout when they netted a consolation goal on a 3-on-1 situation off the stick of Gruben late in the frame.
“We came out flat,” said head coach Dan Lemmon.
“Sixteen shots to nothing is how to describe that game. They were a motivated bunch, Campbell River. They came out strong and we came out lackadaisical obviously. They’ve been resting since we played them last week and we had a game last night. You can tell that their legs weren’t there and their motivation wasn’t there at the start.”
Lemmon lamented when the Generals were on their game, they were able to create scoring chances. He said they need to be consistent.
“I am glad we got a goal in the end but overall we have to be better,” said Lemmon. “Everyone knows that. I think we just need to come together more as a team. Shift after shift they need to play hard. And when it happens consistently, that’s when you see results. I think that’s still something we have to learn.”
The Generals will play two home games this week. On Friday, they host the Comox Valley Glacier Kings at 7 p.m. and then on Saturday, face the Peninsula Panthers at 7 p.m.