The Oceanside Generals begin defence of their VIJHL Championship on Tuesday, Feb. 27, against Comox Valley. (Island Images Photography)

By Nathan Maley

PLAYOFF TIME

Generals ready to battle Glacier Kings in first round of VIJHL Playoffs

Feb 27, 2024 | 3:05 PM

PARKSVILLE — The Oceanside Generals are set to kick off their VIJHL title defense.

The team finished third in the North Division and draws a matchup against the second seeded Comox Valley Glacier Kings for a best-of-seven battle starting Tuesday, Feb. 27 in Courtenay at 7 p.m.

Generals head coach Dan Lemmon said he expects the Glacier Kings to be eager to get some redemption from years prior.

“They’re a team that is highly motivated I’m sure, there’s a bunch of guys on that team that have been there for three years and they’ve watched us win the north two years in a row.”

Oceanside edged Comox Valley in a seven game, first round playoff series during the 2021/22 season.

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Following a dominant season culminating in a league championship banner and provincial bronze medal, the Generals underwent a significant roster overhaul.

A combination of players aging out and veterans electing to move on from junior hockey to other endeavors forced younger talent into elevated roles this season, Lemmon noted.

He said this season was a lot about learning the ropes of the junior level for younger players, while there was added adversity for veterans not used to so many losses.

Despite a few speed bumps along the way, Oceanside compiled a respectable 25-15-5-1 record, with five of those losses coming at the hands of the Glacier Kings in six regular season matchups.

Comox Valley outscored Oceanside 28-19 during the regular season.

Despite the record against Comox Valley, Lemmon thinks it will be a tightly contested series.

“I think this year it’s a coin flip to see who’s going to come out of it and I think the little things are going to matter.”

The Generals will be shorthanded for the first two games of the series however, as captain and leading point scorer Jacob Thomas continues to serve a six-game suspension.

Lemmon stressed the importance on being able to lean on their veteran players with such a young roster.

“We’re hoping in this playoff series we can use some of our veteran guys’ wisdom and some of these guys that have been in these situations before that can help our younger guys’ through.”

Game two will be held Thursday, Feb. 29 at Oceanside Place in Parksville at 7:15 p.m.

All Generals games can be heard on 88.5 FM The Beach with Kyle Ireland providing the play-by-play description.

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