The Campbell River Storm had a special guest at the first of two weekend games.
A team alumnus dating back to the team’s entry into the league in 1997, Ben Murray dropped the puck ahead of Friday night’s home tilt against the visiting Nanaimo Buccaneers.
Murray was a fan-favourite player and MVP, said Storm play-by-play announcer Mark Berry. Over two seasons with the Storm, he scored 41 goals and 42 assists over 67 games. In both his seasons with the team, the Storm won the VIJHL Championship and won the Cyclone Taylor Cup in 1999.
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His son, 16-year-old Wyatt Murray, was a reserve player for the Storm Friday and skated up for the draw.
The Storm said the Murrays are the first father-son pair to wear the Storm jersey.
The Storm would go on to win 3-2 over Nanaimo, a solid victory considering the last time the teams met, Nanaimo snapped a 10-game Storm win streak.
Kyle Jennings and Josh Pederson each picked up two points while Noah Fladager and Cody Savey had one point each.
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Goalie Aaron de Kok picked up the win after stopping 34 of 36 shots.
On Saturday night, the Storm were on the other side of a tight game. They fell 3-2 to the Kerry Park Islanders at Kerry Park Arena.
The Islanders got their three goals in the first 15 minutes of the game.
Campbell River kept within striking distance with a power-play goal scored by Keenan Toal off an assist from Jory Swanson at 5:03 of the first period. Neither team scored in the second frame. Josh Pederson was able to get within one at 4:43 of the third period with the assist going to Swanson, but it wasn’t quite enough.
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Just three home games remain in the regular season. The Storm (26-12-3) will host the Comox Valley Glacier Kings (5-32-3) Friday, Feb. 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the Brindy. They’ll be home again on Feb. 14 to face the Victoria Cougars and on Feb. 21 to host the Buccaneers one last time.
The Storm are tied for first with in the north division with the Oceanside Generals. They each have 55 points. The Nanaimo Buccaneers are third with 33 points.
In the south division, the Victoria Cougars are first with 67 points, followed by the Peninsula Panthers with 64 points and the Westshore Wolves with 46 points.
Neat moment tonight at the Brindy as Ben Murray (two year alumnus including our inaugural campaign) dropped the puck for ceremonial faceoff. Quite the surprise when his son Wyatt stepped in for the draw. First ever Father-Son duo to don the Storm sweater. #MurraySr & #MurrayJr pic.twitter.com/CTho35l6N4
— Campbell River Storm (@CR_STORM) February 1, 2020
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