The Port Alberni Bombers picked up their third straight Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (VIJHL) victory with a 5-4 win over Nanaimo Buccaneers on Wednesday night at the Alberni Valley Multiplex.
Overall the Bombers have not lost in regulation time in six straight contests, having compiled a 4-0-2 record over that stretch.
The Bombers took a 2-0 first period lead, but things could have been different if not for some early heroics from goaltender Evan Grant, who made a number of key saves early, before his team could get untracked.
Grayson Salmon scored the Bombers first goal with Kai Verbrugge adding the other.
The second period saw the visitors score first – Dylan Lamberto scoring on the power play, but Verbrugge completed an early hat trick, scoring twice in 23 seconds late in the frame to give the Bombers some breathing room at 4-1 after two periods.
The Bombers scored what proved to be the winning goal early in the third period when Sean Richards scored his 13th of the season, but to their credit the Buccaneers stormed back scoring three unanswered goals and making things interesting. But it was too little, too late and the Bombers sent their fans home happy.
The Bombers now sit in second place in the VIJHL’s North Division, one point behind first-place Campbell River Storm and eight points ahead of the third-place Buccaneers.
The Bombers don’t play again until next Wednesday when they face those North Division-leading Storm in a 7:00 pm start at the Alberni Valley Multiplex.
Bombers Continue Winning Ways
