The hockey season ended Sunday for the Comox Valley Glacier Kings, who lost 3-1 to the Oceanside Generals in Parksville in the seventh game of the first round of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (VIJHL) playoffs.
Jory Swanson scored the only goal for the Yetis, an unassisted tally at 15:17 of the third period. Oceanside scored at 12:56 of the first, and at the 7:23 mark of the third period. They added an empty net goal at the final buzzer.
Glacier Kings goalie Ryder Lally made 18 saves, while his Oceanside counterpart, Ashton Sadauskas, saved 31 shots.
The Glacier Kings had been up three game to two in the seesaw series.
READ: Comox Valley can’t close out series at home
“The last two games, six and seven, we outshot them close to 80-40,” Comox Valley coach Mike Nesbitt said. “Just couldn’t put the puck in the net to finish them off. They’re a hard-working team, and they never quit on us. It was just hard to put them away.”
Out of 25 players on the Glacier Kings, 19 are eligible to return next season.
“I always hope that I put a couple of players in junior A,” said Nesbitt, whose contract comes up in May. He hopes to recruit players while running spring hockey sessions in the North Island. “Try to drive this team to a championship very soon.”
Glacier Kings leading scorer and captain, Caileb Berge, has graduated from the junior ranks and received offers to play college hockey. Matthew Teasdale, second in team scoring and top 10 league-wide, has another year remaining in junior.
reporter@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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