It’s early days still in the Lake Cowichan Kraken’s sophomore season, but six games in, the junior B team is finding its legs.
By the time the puck dropped at their home opener on Sept. 16, Lake Cowichan had already earned their first road win — a 4-1 victory over the Nanaimo Buccaneers — and their road first loss, a 12-0 loss to the Comox Valley Glacier Kings.
Continuing on the trend of win one, lose one, the Kraken gave their fans a 3-2 victory over the Port Alberni Bombers at Cowichan Lake Sports Arena on opening night, bolstered by the crowd, as attendance that evening ranked the third highest it’s ever been at their home rink.
Sukhraj Narwal scored twice and Jacob Campbell potted Lake Cowichan’s other marker.
But, similar to fan attendance numbers for their next home game, the Kraken’s goal production fell Sept. 18 when they played host to the Peninsula Panthers. Fewer fans in the stands seemed to make a difference as Lake Cowichan lost 5-1 to the Panthers. Dallas Brown got the lone Kraken goal.
Port Alberni got the best of the Kraken again on Sept. 21, this time at the Alberni Valley Multiplex, as the Bombers took the contest by a 5-2 score. All Lake Cowichan’s scoring came within a four-minute span in the second period with Richard Bergman netting the Kraken’s first at 8:36 and Walker Smith adding another at 11:52.
Sept. 25’s home game saw the Kraken fall to the Oceanside Generals 4-2.
Coen Bear got things going with his first of the year just 46 second into the game. Rees Aebischer scored the other Kraken goal just over a minute into the third period.
Through their first six games, 16 different Kraken have hit the score sheet with Brown and Andrew White leading the way with four points apiece.
The Kraken round out their September schedule with a home game Sept. 30 at the Cowichan Lake Sports Arena. The puck drops at 5:30 p.m.
More fans in the stands could help to propel the home team to another victory.