The Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League’s Christmas Break couldn’t come soon enough for the Port Alberni Bombers as the locals will now head home for the holidays after losing 5-1 to league-leading Peninsula Panthers on Sunday evening at Panorama Recreation Centre.
The Bombers trailed 2-0 and 4-0 after the first and second frames, respectively and were down 5-0 when Quinn Bouchard scored the Bombers lone goal, his fourth of the season, late in the third period.
The Bombers have now lost nine games in succession, including all seven games in the month of December.
The high-flying Panthers outshot the Bombers 78-29 in the contest. The shot total is the most ever allowed by the Bombers in their short history, eclipsing the previous mark of 74 shots allowed in a 3-2 overtime loss to Comox Valley Glacier Kings in February of 2024. On a positive note, Ryan Burroughs stopped 73 of the 78 shots on Sunday to set a team record for most saves in a game, the total was two more than Dylan Dykstra’s 71 saves in that 2024 contest.
The Bombers will now take some time away from the rink to celebrate the holiday season, returning to action on Saturday, January 3 when they travel to Courtenay to face Comox Valley Glacier Kings. They will return to the Alberni Valley Multiplex the next night, Sunday, January 4 when they entertain Saanich Predators in a 6:00 pm start.
