Bombers Lose Nail-Biter to Kraken

The Port Alberni Bombers dropped a 3-1 decision to Lake Cowichan Kraken on Saturday night at the Alberni Valley Multiplex.
Falling behind 1-0 just three-and-a-half minutes into their Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (VIJHL) encounter, the Bombers scored a short-handed goal with seven minutes remaining to draw even, but gave up two goals in the last minute of regulation time (one into an empty net), suffering their second loss in three games.
McCall Nault score the lone Bomber goal, intercepting a Kraken pass to the slot, calmly feeding the puck to Malik Oliva, then joining the rush and depositing a rebound into the net behind Lake Cowichan net minder Evgeni Tkachenko. Oliva and Logan Meyer picked up the assists.
For his efforts, Nault was named the game’s third star. Bomber goaltender Ryan Burroughs was named the game’s first star, stopping 38 of 40 shots sent his way. Tkachenko was named second star.
Viktor Dudenkov, Nicolas Condon and Landy Johnson scored for Lake Cowichan.
After Saturday’s action the Bombers sit in fourth place in the VIJHL’s North Division, two points ahead of fifth place Campbell River Storm, but only six points behind first-place Oceanside Generals.
The Bombers reached the mid-point of the 2025-26 season on Saturday, having played 24 of their scheduled 48 games. They will embark on the second half of their campaign next Saturday when they host Victoria Cougars at the Multiplex and then entertain the Cougars again the following Friday, again at the Multiplex. Both games are scheduled for a 7:00 pm start.