For the first time in several weeks, Kerry Park Islanders owner Mark Osmond was happy with what he saw from his team on Saturday evening.
“We played 60 minutes for once,” he said. “On the whole, it was a good game. If we play like that every game, we’ll be in hand to win every game.”
The Isles have remained among the top teams in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League’s South Division throughout the season, but Osmond hasn’t always liked the top-to-bottom effort from the team. That changed as the Isles beat the Saanich Braves 4-2 at Kerry Park Arena on Saturday.
The Isles opened the scoring 34 seconds in with a goal by Brandon Wilson, set up by Will Connors and Didrik Wasson-Lillehaug — a trio that had an outstanding evening as they also shut down Saanich’s top line. The Braves tied the score midway through the first, but Parker Ellis restored Kerry Park’s lead with a powerplay goal late in the second. Keenan Eddy and Kayden Peck added to the Isles’ lead in the third. The Braves managed to score one more on a five-on-three powerplay with three seconds left to play.
Kerry Park goalie Chase Anderson earned the win with 28 saves. Also impressive on the night was affiliate defenceman Jacob King, a 16-year-old who was summoned from the Pacific Coast Hockey Academy, and who the Isles would like to have around more often.
“He’s more than capable of playing in this league,” Osmond said. “We would have him playing for us if he wasn’t going to that school.”
The Isles hadn’t been as impressive two nights earlier in a 5-1 loss to the Westshore Wolves.
After a good start to the night, the Isles lost momentum once the Wolves started pulling ahead.
“They got down a goal, and their heads went down right away,” Osmond said. “They don’t have a lot of self-confidence.”
After a scoreless first period, Westshore potted the first two goals, including the eventual game-winner by former Islander Patrick Poets. Peck got Kerry Park on the board with a powerplay marker, but the Wolves restored their two-goal lead in the final minute of the second, then added two more in the third. J.J. Pichette made 33 saves in the Islanders net.
The Isles got defenceman Ty Smith back from gold-mining with his family, and he played his first game of the season on Saturday. Braydon Nelson returned to action from an injury for Thursday’s game, but the Isles also lost veteran forward Tanner Tiel that night. Brandon McClintick is another notable player on the sidelines. The team battled injuries early last year, but got over it and had a strong second half of the season.
“The injury bug hits every team,” Osmond noted. “We’re hoping this time we’re early again.”
Despite their injury woes, the Isles remain second in the South Division with seven wins and six losses, two points back of the Wolves, with a game in hand. They’ll see some familiar foes this weekend as they visit third-place Saanich on Friday, then host Westshore on Saturday. Only seven points separate first from fifth in the South as battle lines have already been drawn early in the season.
“It’s going to be a dogfight,” Osmond said. “It’s important to pick up every point you can.”