It took the Comox Valley Glacier Kings 48 regular season games to win home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. It took them one playoff game to lose it.
The Yetis dropped the first game in their best-of-seven Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League opening round playoff series with the Nanaimo Buccaneers 5-2 Tuesday night in Courtenay.
Game 2 is tonight (Thursday, Feb. 19) at
7:15 p.m. in Nanaimo, Game 3 goes Saturday, Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m. in Courtenay and Game 4 Monday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. in Nanaimo.
On Feb. 17 at the Comox Valley Sports Centre, the Bucs built a 4-0 lead through two periods of play then coasted to the 5-2 win.
Garrick Heathcote and Quinlan Moore staked the visitors to a 2-0 first period lead, with Jordan Levesque on the power play and Trent Bell shorthanded doubling the count in the second stanza.
The G-Kings gave their hometown faithful something to cheer about in the third when Kyle Wade and Colton St. John cut the lead to 4-2 by the 13:35 mark.
But with Derrian Hamilton off for cross-checking, Jared Fedosoff's power-play goal at 15:23 put Nanaimo in the driver's seat.
The Bucs outshot the Yetis 32-26 with Jakob Severson picking up the win in net. Liam Young started between the pipes for the Icemen and gave way to Zachary Straza after Nanaimo's fourth goal.
ICE CHIPS If necessary, Game 5 goes Tuesday, Feb. 24 in Courtenay at 7 p.m., Game 6 Thursday, Feb. 26 at 7:15 p.m. in Nanaimo and Game 7 Saturday, Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m. in Courtenay …