Backed by a 37-save performance from Ryder Gregga, the Kerry Park Islanders defeated the Comox Valley Glacier Kings 3-2 in Game 7 of their Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League North Division final to advance to the championship series against the Saanich Predators.
The Islanders never trailed in the deciding game. They took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. The teams traded goals in the second, and the Glacier Kings scored a power-play marker five minutes into the third, but the Islanders held on from there.
For Kerry Park, the third time was the charm, as the Islanders held a 3-1 series lead at one point, before the Glacier Kings fought back.
“Sometimes things don’t go as you imagined them, or as planned, but you just have to adapt,” said Kerry Park head coach Henry Acres. “This group has tremendous grit… to get to this point. We knew with our lineup today that scoring would be a little difficult, but making the most of your chances is what you have to do in these games. There’s an ebb and a flow to every series and fortunately, we took care of the ebbs.
“Of course hats off to the Comox Valley team. That’s a really good team over there, and Mike (Nesbitt) and his coaches have done a fantastic job.”
In the other dressing room, heartbreak.
The Glacier Kings came tantalizingly close to completing the series comeback, winning 6-4 at home on Wednesday, March 21, then 5-0 in Kerry Park on Friday, to force the winner-take-all scenario.
And they did everything but win, in front of what Glacier Kings co-owner Marsha Webb said was the largest crowd ever for a home game. Not only was every seat taken, the mezzanine was opened to accommodate the capacity crowd.
The Glacier Kings outshot Kerry Park 13-7 in the first, 15-8 in the second, and 39-26 overall, but came up just short.
They came within a crossbar on a late power play of sending the game to overtime.
“That’s just the way hockey goes,” said Nesbitt. “We had a little bit of bad luck in the start of the series, put ourselves in a bit of a hole, and trying to win three games against a team as good as that is not an easy task. But it’s a tough loss.”
Nesbitt said his players were showing their nerves a bit in the early stages of the game.
“We came out nervous, and you can’t play nervous. I tried to have them come out loose, try to relax, but you see 1,200 fans screaming, in Game 7, its just a different atmosphere.”
The Glacier Kings have six players aging out this year, and another who has committed to college, meaning while there will be a lot of new faces next year, there is also a good core returning - including the coach.
“I’ve got my contract for next year and I am looking to come back,” he said. “A good core eligible (to return) so we will see what happens. It will be a long spring and summer leading up to next year.”
Dates for the championship series have yet to be determined.