The North Division-leading Comox Valley Glacier Kings made a clean sweep of South Division opposition in weekend Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League action.
On Nov. 11 in Courtenay the Yetis knocked off league-leading Victoria Cougars 6-3 and on Nov. 12 in Kerry Park they dispatched the South cellar-dwelling Islanders 4-2.
Friday's meeting between the league's top two teams started off slowly for the hometown Kings as they fell behind 2-0 in the first period. But the Icemen came to life big time in the second stanza, scoring five unanswered goals en route to the 6-3 win.
Mitch Ball fired three goals and added an assist to earn first star honours while second star Garrett Brandsma tallied one goal and three assists.
Cameron Large stopped 35 shots – 16 of them in the third period – to pick up the win and third star honours. Jordan Kamprath (shorthanded) and Michael Sobie also connected for the Kings while Ryan Chan, Robert Zadra and Brody Coulter replied for the Cougars.
Evan Roch started in goal for the Capital City Cats and was replaced by Kiefer Giroux after giving up five goals on 20 shots. Giroux stopped five of six shots in relief.
The win gave the Yetis a 2-1 lead in their season series with the Cougars. The teams meet again this Thursday in Victoria. The Icemen went 2-for-7 on the power play while the visitors were 3-for-8 with the man advantage.
On Saturday the Glacier Kings took the show on the road to Kerry Park, where Myles Powell's three-point (1g, 2a) performance powered them to a 4-2 over the Islanders.
Kamprath potted a pair, including another shorthanded marker, while Brandsma netted the other Kings' goal. Eric Mansueti and Connor Morgan replied for the Isles.
The Yetis led 1-0 after one period and 3-2 after two, with Large picking up the win and Matt Chester taking the loss. Shots on goal were 30-30; Comox Valley went 0-for-6 on the power play while Kerry Park was 1-for-6.
Following tomorrow night's game in Victoria, the Yetis return home on Saturday to host the Peninsula Panthers in a 7:30 p.m. start at Comox Valley Sports Centre Area #1.
ICE CHIPS Cougars' Coulter has caught Kings' Jackson Garrett in league scoring; both players have 38 points ... Garrett leads with 19 goals while teammate Powell is right behind with 18 ... is Jr. B going bigger on the Island?: this week's league poll asks "If the VIJHL were to expand, where would you like to see an expansion franchise?" ... so far Nanaimo (46%) is the top choice followed by Port McNeill/Port Hardy (14%) and Port Alberrni (9%) ... put your two cents in at www.vijhl.com ... the Kings are now 13-4-0-2 on the season and lead the league in scoring with 91 goals ...
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