The Campbell River Peewee Hurricanes welcomed the Cowichan Valley Capitals to town for their season’s home opener on Sunday afternoon, and they were certainly in tough against the plucky squad from down south.
Things looked good for the home team off the hop, as MacKinley Whalen beat Cowichan’s Bronwyn Lee just two minutes into the game. Lakisha McCarthy assisted on the goal and the Hurricanes looked poised to send the Capitals home in a huff.
But just four minutes later, Cowichan’s Linnea Pike found the net behind Campbell River’s McKenna Harris, evening the score at one.
The game became a back-and-forth defensive struggle after that, with neither team managing to solve their opponents, though there were good chances had by both teams.
The score remained tied at one until the final minute of the second period when Cowichan’s Isabelle Wiebe scored the go-ahead goal from Tatum McHahon and Sophia Vemeds, putting the Caps up to end the period.
The third would continue both the pace and style of the second, with neither team managing to gain the upper hand for long. Both Lee and Harris stood their ground, keeping their opponents’ chances out of the net time after time.
Then, with just 12.9 seconds remaining on the clock in the third period, Whalen found herself in the right place at the right time as Kai Hyatt found some open space in the slot for a hard wrist shot. Lee made an outstanding save on the play through traffic in front, but the rebound ended up right on Whalen’s tape beside the post. She would make no mistake jamming it home to tie the game at two and earn the team a hard-fought point.
Next home action for the ‘Canes is Nov. 3 against Nanaimo.