It was a tale of three games at the Comox Valley Sports Centre on Wednesday, March 13.
The Kerry Park Islanders outscored the Comox Valley Glacier Kings 3-1 in both the first and third periods to win 6-5 and take a 1-0 series lead in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League North Division final.
It looked like a long night early for the Kings, as they spotted the Islanders a 3-0 lead, before clawing back.
Jacob Wingfield opened the scoring for the Islanders, pouncing on a rebound in the slot and shovelling it past Comox Valley goalie Ryder Lally.
Islanders captain Jack Strom made it 2-0 off the forecheck, after Henry Toomer’s pass from behind the net hit Strom’s skate, deflected to Colby Robinson, who fed it back to Strom in the slot. His backhand beat Lally short side.
Strom made it 3-0 three minutes later and the Islanders had taken the crowd out of the game.
Ryley Callan gave the home fans something to cheer about with less than two minutes to play in the first, snapping a shot from the slot to beat Islanders goalie Ryder Gregga cleanly, glove side.
Arguably the best shot of the night came in the first intermission, when 17-year-old Anthony Watson won $2,500 in the 21 Degree Mechanical Ltd. Shoot To Win contest with his shot from the blue line finding the centre target.
The second period was all Glacier Kings.
Mason Windsor capitalized on a three-on-one rush, taking a drop pass from Brigham Nye and beating Gregga with a wrist shot from the slot.
Fourteen seconds later, Jordan Tiller sent the crowd into a frenzy, tucking the puck in past Gregga during a scramble at the side of the net.
Callan gave the Glacier Kings the lead with 87 seconds remaining in the period, when his shot from his knees beat Gregga.
Four unanswered goals had put the Glacier Kings into the lead for the first time in the game.
The celebratory mood would not last long.
Audun Caple tied the game for the Islanders just 1:49 into the third period, taking a feed from Parker Klippenstein in the slot and one-timing it past Lally.
Less than three minutes later, Wingfield gave the visitors the lead for good, when his snap shot from just inside the blue line on a rush eluded Lally to the glove side.
Eric Stinson made it a 6-4 game with a power-play goal at the seven-minute mark.
Joe Weber got that one back for the Glacier Kings six minutes later with a power-play marker of his own, but the Glacier Kings could not get the equalizer.
Game 2 is Friday night in Kerry Park, and the series returns to the Comox Valley Sports Centre on Saturday night. Puck drops at 7:30 both nights.