The mood was anticipatory Friday night as fans jammed every nook and cranny of Pearkes Arena hoping to see the Saanich Braves do something they haven鈥檛 done in more than two decades.
But Storm clouds soon gathered over the rink.
The defending champion Campbell River Storm blanked the Braves, making their first appearance in the Vancouver Island Hockey League final since 1996, by a 4-0 count in Game 6 to tie the series 3-3. That sends it to a deciding Game 7 today at 5 p.m at Rod Brind鈥橝mour Arena.
鈥淚t was gut-check time and we had our backs to the wall,鈥� said Storm GM and head coach Lee Stone.
鈥淥ur motto is Do More, and the guys lived up to that and did more tonight. We kept it simple and played our game. The Brindy should be hopping with a full house for Game 7.鈥�
The Storm, the 2015 and 2017 champion, is making its fourth-consecutive trip to the VIJHL final under Stone, having met the Victoria Cougars the past three seasons. Last year鈥檚 final also went to Game 7, with the Storm prevailing in four overtimes at the Archie Browning Sports Centre.
鈥淓xperience is on our side in a one-game, take all,鈥� said Stone.
鈥淏ut this is another year.鈥�
A dream night of championship reverie, hoisting the Brent Patterson Memorial Trophy, was not to be for the upstart Braves. It would have been even more poignant on home ice at Pearkes because Brent Patterson was a former VIJHL-champion Braves player and league MVP who died after suffering chest pains during a game in the 1977 Fred Cyclone Taylor Cup sa国际传媒 championship tournament in Quesnel.
鈥淲e played like we had one game to give. Campbell River was desperate and played like it,鈥� said Braves head coach Sam Waterfield.
鈥淭hey outworked us tonight and had us on our heels all night. We have to bring the work ethic for Game 7.鈥�
The Storm poured 46 shots on Saaanich goaltender Riley Mathieson, winner of the Jamie Benn Award as VIJHL MVP, and got goals from Kyle Kaufmann, Dawson Frank, Brett Kinley and Davis Frank.
Liam Murphy recorded the 28-save shutout for Campbell River.
The winner between the Storm and Braves advances to the 2018 Fred Cyclone Taylor Cup provincial championship tournament April 12-15 in Richmond.
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