The Port Alberni Bombers completed a four-game sweep in their best-of-seven Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League, North Division semi-final series against Comox Valley with a 4-3 win over the Glacier Kings on Tuesday night at the Comox Valley Sports Centre.
The Bombers never trailed in the contest, but couldn’t put the Glacier Kings away until Owen Ditzel scored what proved to be the winning goal at 13:47 of the third period.
Three times the Bombers took a one-goal lead, only to see the Glacier Kings get back into the contest with a goal of their own.
Kai Verbrugge got things started for Port Alberni, banging home a rebound just before the ten-minute mark of the opening frame, but the Glacier Kings came back, scoring on the power play when Sheldon Alexander found a small opening over the shoulder of Evan Grant in the Bombers net. The Bombers took the lead again, when Leim Smith converted a pass from Grayson Salmon, who intercepted a pass from behind the Comox Valley net and fed Smith, who deposited the puck into a wide open net. It looked as if the Bombers would escape to the dressing room with a lead, but, again, Comox Valley responded when Gavin Mowat scored with twenty seconds remaining in the first period and the teams went to the dressing room tied 2-2.
Sean Richards scored the only goal of the second period and sent his team to the dressing room ahead 3-2 after forty minutes, but Austin Montgomery-Parsons scored early in the third frame to tie the contest once again, and set the stage for Ditzel’s heroics later on.
Salmon finished the night with two assists, while Smith, Daniel Betcher, Jaxon Hinchey, Kenneth Boychuk and Zach Spafford had one assist each.
The Glacier Kings may have played their best game of the series on Tuesday night, outshooting the Bombers 34-32 and going 1-for-2 on the power play. It was the first time in the series that the Kings outshot Port Alberni, and it was their first power-play marker in the four games.
The Bombers now move on to face Campbell River Storm in the best-of-seven North Division final which begins next week, the date to be confirmed on Wednesday. The Storm, who finished atop the North Division regular season standings, by one point over the Bombers, will have home ice advantage in four of the possible seven games, and would host Game 7 if the series does indeed reach that point.
Bombers Sweep, Now Face Storm
