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Islanders quiet the Storm

Kerry Park edges Campbell River in double OT
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Kerry Park captain Keenan Eddy moves in to score the winning goal in double overtime against Campbell River last Saturday. (Kevin Rothbauer/Citizen)

Keenan Eddy’s second goal of the night, and third of the weekend, gave the Kerry Park Islanders a thrilling 3-2 double overtime win over the Campbell River Storm on Saturday.

Kerry Park may have held home-ice advantage, but the Storm have the second-best record in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League, and the Isles were missing three of their top four scorers. The Isles still found a way to win.

“It was probably the most complete game they played all year,” Islanders owner Mark Osmond said. “The guys played as a whole team for the first time this year: 60 minutes of commitment to one another. There was smiling on the bench.”

The Storm opened the scoring with a powerplay goal in the first period. Avery Nielsen-Webb answered back for the Isles at 4:19 of the second, and Eddy scored shorthanded at 11:54 to put Kerry Park ahead. Things were looking good for the Isles as regulation time ticked down, but the Storm managed to pull even with just 21 seconds left on the clock.

The teams played five minutes of 4-on-4 overtime that solved nothing. Just before the halfway point of the 3-on-3 overtime period, defenceman Tanner Browne fed the puck to Eddy, who skated in from the boards and fooled Campbell River netminder Nic Tallarico.

Kerry Park goalie Chase Anderson made 35 saves in the win. The Isles went 0-for-3 on the powerplay, while holding the Storm to one goal on seven chances.

Osmond left no doubt that he was pleased not only with the result, but also with the way it was achieved.

“I was proud of the way they reacted to the night before,” he emphasized.

The night before, the Isles lost 3-2 to the Peninsula Panthers at Panorama. Osmond didn’t have much to say about that one.

“I was pretty disgusted with the lack of effort and commitment to the team,” he stated. “I felt bad for the guys who come out night after night and put in solid shifts. It’s a game we should have won. If we had the same effort from Saturday night, it would have been no contest.”

The Panthers notched the first goal of the game on a second-period powerplay. Brandon McClintick evened things up for the Isles, but Peninsula scored again to take a 2-1 lead into the third. Eddy scored on the powerplay early in the third to make it 2-2, but the Panthers restored their advantage and held on through the end. Anderson made 35 saves in the loss. The Isles went 1-for-4 on the powerplay, while the Panthers were 1-for-6.

With five games left, Kerry Park sits third in the South, and fifth overall as the top eight teams in the league will advance to the playoffs. They could finish as high as third overall, and definitely don’t want to finish below sixth, where they would have to face either Nanaimo or Campbell River.

“Our fate is in our own hands,” Osmond said.

The Isles visit the Victoria Cougars on Thursday, then host the Panthers on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.



Kevin Rothbauer

About the Author: Kevin Rothbauer

Kevin Rothbauer is the sports reporter for the Cowichan Valley Citizen
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