The Subway PeeWee B Ravens travelled to Kerry Park last Saturday for their first playoff games. They earned a first-round bye after they defeated Comox Valley 15-3 in their last regular season game.
Their playoff opponent, Westshore 1, finished fifth in the regular season. Both teams were evenly matched in terms of roster size as the Ravens received members of the Co-Op PeeWee C Ravens.
Westshore applied early pressure and were rewarded with an early goal. The teams kept trading chances and counter-attacks throughout the first period. Westshore scored once again before Max Nelson cracked the goose-egg for the Ravens to end the first period with the score Westshore 2, Ravens 1.
In the second period the Ravens kept their poise while continuing to run the floor and look for offensive chances. That paid off for the Ravens when Justin Kennelly scored, assisted by Andy Hunt. But Westshore responded and led at the end of the second period, 3-2. The third period saw more hard work by both teams with outstanding saves by Ravens goalie Thomas Dunn. Ravens’ Nolan Fair had two goals in the period which ended with teams tied at four. In overtime, teams play two periods of five minutes each. This confused some Ravens’ parents as their jubilation after Quin Nelson scored was short-lived. Raven Zach Lontayao put their minds at ease when he ripped a shot into the Westshore net to make the final score 6-4 for the Ravens.
After an hour and a half break, the teams got ready for the second game. The Ravens had “Old Mo” on their side from the overtime victory and made sure he kept his Raven uniform on. Quinn Nelson, Fair and Bryce Turko got the Ravens out to an early 3-1 lead. Fair had three goals for the Ravens in the second along with singles by Liam Rivett and Will McLean to stake the Ravens to an 8-3 lead after two periods.
The Ravens added three more goals in the third period to make the final 11-5 and a clean sweep of the playoff series.
“We’ve qualified for provincials with this series win but we cannot be complacent. We have a very tough series ahead of us for the Vancouver Island championships and we are focusing on that goal,” said Coach Fair.