The battle for last playoff berth in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League has come down to the Lake Cowichan Kraken and the Port Alberni Bombers.
And the expansion cousins are playing three games in a row this week that will decide who advances to the postseason in their first year.
The Kraken and Bombers squared off in Port Alberni on Tuesday night after the Gazette’s print deadline, and will play in Lake Cowichan twice this coming weekend: on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday at 5:30 p.m.
“We’re treating it as our round one,” Kraken head coach Dan Whiteford said. “It’s a best of three and we’ve got to win two to make the playoffs.”
The teams split their first four meetings this season. The first three games were played in Port Alberni, with the Kraken winning one in overtime and losing the next two, both by one goal. The Kraken prevailed 3-1 last time the teams faced off, in Lake Cowichan on Dec. 17.
The Kraken are in control of their own destiny and don’t need to scoreboard-watch. All they have to do is win two out of three against the Bombers.
“It’s always nice to have your fate decided by your own hands,” Whiteford said.
The Kraken played one of their best 60-minute games of the season on Sunday evening, although it ended in a 2-1 loss to the Comox Valley Glacier Kings. Zach Vaillancourt scored Lake Cowichan’s lone goal and Josh Robins stopped 31 of 33 shots, with the winning goal coming at 18:55 of the third period.
“Overall I thought we played pretty well,” Whiteford said. “We need to focus on attention to details. We played well defensively. I think we killed ourselves; the goals they got came off mistakes we made that we shouldn’t be making.”
Last Tuesday night, Rowan Zapisocki had two goals, Carter Anderson had two assists and Robins made 41 saves as the Kraken lost 3-2 to the Kerry Park Islanders in Mill Bay. The Isles clinched the first of two wildcard playoff berths with that victory, setting up the battle between Lake Cowichan and Port Alberni for the second.
This Friday’s home game against Port Alberni will be Family Night at the Lake Cowichan Sports Arena, featuring prizes, games and “huck a duck” for cash, a 50/50 draw to support the Kinsmen Duck Pond, and an adult beverage garden. Minor hockey players in a jersey get in free.
The Kraken will play host to the Bombers again on Sunday, then visit Campbell River on Monday to close out the regular season in a possible playoff preview against the league-leading Storm.