The Port Alberni Bombers finished their Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League preseason schedule with a hard-fought 5-4 win over Comox Valley Glacier Kings on Wednesday night in front of 248 fans at the Alberni Valley Multiplex.
The Bombers fell behind 1-0 when Tyler Donaldson put the Glacier Kings ahead at the 4:10 mark of the first period, but responded twenty-one seconds later when Troy Zajac scored his second of the preseason, sending the teams to the dressing rooms tied at 1-1 after twenty minutes.
The Bombers struck for two goals early in the second frame, Daniil Kupstov with his first goal and then Ivan Ponomarev with his third marker of the preseason, as the Bombers led 3-1 before the period was ten minutes old. If not for the play of Glacier King net minder Marek Fisher, who stopped 20 shots in the second period alone, the score could have been much worse for the visitors.
Perhaps inspired by their goaltender, the Glacier Kings got a power play goal from Aneil Dhesi to cut the lead to 3-2 after two periods, and then Russo Smith tied the contest with his first goal of the preseason, tying the score at 3-3 as the game neared the mid-point of the third stanza.
At that point it looked as though Comox Valley had momentum on their side, but Edward Mishikov scored off a Bombers forecheck and Ryan Christenson scored off some mis-communication by their opponents and the hosts led 5-3 with just under five minutes remaining. Westin Churchill scored for the Glacier Kings to make the score 5-4 with three-and-a-half minutes remaining, but it proved to be too little, too late and the Bombers came away with their second victory in three preseason games.
The Bombers outshot the Glacier Kings 53-23 overall, many of the shots being high quality chances. Ethan Losier was the winning net minder, stopping 19 of 23 Glacier King shots.
The Bombers do not play again until Saturday, September 5 when they travel to Parksville to face the Oceanside Generals in their 2026-27 regular season opener. They will play to more games on the road after that – Friday, September 11 against the Storm in Campbell River, and Sunday, September 13 when they travel to Nanaimo to face the Buccaneers – before returning to the Alberni Valley Multiplex for their home opener on Friday, September 18 when they face Oceanside Generals.
Bombers Defeat Glacier Kings in Close Affair
