SAANICH — Self-inflicted errors proved costly in game four of the VIJHL Final for the Oceanside Generals at George Pearkes Recreation Centre in Saanich.
Oceanside was well positioned with a 1-0 lead late in the second period of the league final Tuesday night as the visitors peppered Predators’ goalie Jaden Vanderlee with a steady diet of shots and quality chances.
However, against the flow of play, a pair of goals late in the second period by Jacob Bernardo and Michael Hoekstra gave the Predators a 2-1 lead they would hang onto until the final buzzer.
Generals head coach Dan Lemmon said they got away from their structure for a few minutes late in the second period.
“When we didn’t score after 20 shots, we just over-committed offensively and played a little run-and-gun against them and gave them the chance to score two fairly easy goals.”
Oceanside outshot the Preds 25-6 in the second period and 51-30 overall.
The scoring chances were 25-14 in favour of Oceanside.
Game five happens Wednesday, April 5 at Oceanside Place at 7:15 p.m. in what is expected to see a large crowd well clear of 1,000 fans in attendance.
Lemmon told his team after the game that he likes where they stack up matchup wise against Saanich, but need to stay composed.
“Playing within our structure is going to be key for us and not getting frustrated, I think we were visibly getting frustrated, especially toward the end of the second period,” Lemmon told NanaimoNewsNOW.
Generals star winger Carter Johnson paced Oceanside to a 1-0 lead before the game was five minutes old after hed deceptively roofed a wrist shot in close from a tight angle.
Oceanside’s Jacob Thomas set up the goal thanks to a dominant shift in the offensive zone from the power forward, including strong board play to maintain pressure.
Generals goaltender Ashton Sadauskas made a few incredible saves in the first period to maintain Oceanside’s lead in the opening frame.
While Oceanside had multiple third period scoring chances, their momentum was stalled by spending nearly half of the period in the penalty box, including a double minor penalty.
The VIJHL Final is now a best of three, with Oceanside holding home ice advantage.
Game six takes place Friday, April 7 back in Saanich, while a potential seventh game would happen the following night in Parksville.
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