Oceanside Generals storm into VIJHL final, sweep aside Campbell River

A critical momentum swing happened late in the opening frame following mounting Campbell River pressure. Storm goalie Nick Peters ventured out of his net to secure a dumped in puck, however he was immediately stripped by Generals’ forward Braeden Leary, who easily scored in the vacated net.

Chase Heslop buried a slick backhander in tight in the second period, while Brayden Ross roofed a snap shot with under five minutes left in regulation. Ross was set up thanks to a turnover created by Parker Klippenstein, sending the Oceanside bench and the fans into a frenzy.

Homegrown product Ashton Sadauskas was steady again in goal for Oceanside, turning aside all 23 shots he faced.

It was an impressive conclusion to a dominant series by the underdog Generals.

Oceanside, with a 33-14-2 regular season record, never trailed in the series against a strong Storm team, who experienced only four regulation defeats prior to post-season play.

The Generals outscored the province’s top ranked Junior B squad 14-1 in first periods in the series, while Oceanside also played with the lead for 94 per cent of the time.

Oceanside Captain Brett Arnet, an impact player in the series, said their results flowed from detailed preparation.

“We came early and sat down and all prepared, we hit the ice for warm-ups, everything was dialed in, as soon as we hit the ice every time the boys were selling out. I can’t say enough about these guys,” Arnet said.

Goaltending was an area of strength for the Generals.

Sadauskas, who hails from Parksville, only allowed seven goals in the series. He said their round one adversity versus Comox Valley, a seven game series win, set them up well in battling Campbell River.

“We were down in our last series, but we kind of flipped the switch and now we’re going, just rolling with it,” Sadauskas said, who earned starting goaltending responsibilities in his first full VIJHL season as a 17-year-old.

Generals’ rearguard Brady Van Herk was arguably the game’s most dominant performer. The 18-year-old from Nanaimo was heavily leaned-on, often double-shifted with over 25 minutes of play in all areas of the ice.

Oceanside bench boss Dan Lemmon was quick to credit his team’s leadership core in establishing fast starts in all four outings.

The Generals did a good job of staying out of the penalty box and keeping their emotions in check, Lemmon said.

“We’re a motivated bunch, we play on emotion and we’ve learned to be very disciplined, those are learning lessons that we had all season long,” Lemmon told NanaimoNewsNOW.

Lemmon said their physical brand of hockey is a trademark of their group, which he said was a key factor in frustrating the skilled Storm.

Following the disappointing loss and series defeat, Campbell River head coach Lee Stone was highly complementary of the Generals.

Stone, who has guided the Storm to an impressive three VIJHL championships under his watch, said Oceanside dictated the tempo of the series.

“We’re not going to make excuses, bottom line is the Generals were incredible,” a candid Stone said. “You have to give all the kudos to them…I thought their series here was championship worthy.”

Carter Johnson led the Generals with 13 points versus Campbell River, including five goals in a series opening 9-2 result at Rod Brind’ Amour Arena.

Oceanside will play for the VIJHL title against the winner of the ongoing South Division final between the Peninsula Panthers and Kerry Park Islanders.

Peninsula holds a 3-1 series edge with game five occurring Friday night on the Saanich Peninsula.

Oceanside is hoping to win its fourth VIJHL championship in franchise history and first since 2009 when the Generals bested the Victoria Cougars.

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On Twitter: @reporterholmes

by Ian Holmes

Oceanside Generals storm into VIJHL final, sweep aside Campbell River

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