The Campbell River Storm got its pre-season off to a great start, defeating the defending Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League champion Cougars 4-1 Sunday afternoon in Victoria.
Campbell River broke open a tight game with a pair of quick goals early in the third period. Newcomer Christian Brandt snapped home a wrist shot at the 2:49 mark after a great set up by brothers Tyler and Nolan Welch.
Seventy seconds later, veteran forward Gage Colpron tallied unassisted to seal the victory.
The two teams battled through a scoreless first period and remained deadlocked until midway through the second when Storm rookie forward Joe Surgenor finally jammed a loose puck past Cougar’s netminder Grant Payne.
Zack Sanderson rounded out the scoring for the locals, converting a nice feed from Michael Olson.
Campbell River received excellent goaltending from the tandem of Anthony Ciurro and Kyle Cheema, who combined to stop 43 of 44 shots.
Their shutout bid was broken with just over five minutes remaining on a Victoria power play.
The Storm continues its pre-season schedule this weekend with a pair of home games against the North Vancouver Wolfpack.
The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday nights at Rod Brind’Amour Arena.