The Nanaimo Clippers suffered a disappointing defeat to the Cowichan Valley Capitals, but sometimes in sports, there are do-overs.
The Clippers and Capitals will play again this Wednesday (Feb. 12) in Nanaimo after the Caps edged the Clips 4-3 in double overtime on Friday at Frank Crane Arena.
The home team had erased a 3-0 deficit and had the better scoring chances in overtime before the visitors pounced on a rebound for the game-winning goal.
"They worked their way into that little bounce, I guess," said Mike Vandekamp, Clippers coach. "We had a couple good chances in their end before that and that's just the way that that three-on-three scenario goes."
The coach said his team didn't start the game the way it wanted as it trailed 2-0 after one period and 3-0 early in the second. But Brendan Taylor and then Sheldon Rempal scored power-play goals in the second period to make a game of it, and Anthony Sabitsky scored on a wrister from well out midway through the third period.
The Clippers buzzed around the Capitals' goal over the last 10 minutes of regulation. They scored a disallowed goal and generated other clear-cut chances including a breakaway, but kept missing the net.
"We didn't bear down on some chances," Vandekamp said. "We were definitely lacking some killer instinct there."
Shots ended up 48-36 in favour of the visitors, with Tanner Kovacs suffering the loss for Nanaimo.
Despite the setback, the Clippers played well enough that they can be confident about meeting the Capitals again on Wednesday.
"We know we can win any game we play, it's that we have to play 60 minutes and [on Friday] we didn't. It sounds like a cliché but there's a lot of truth to that," the coach said. "We missed bits and pieces where we weren't as sharp as we needed to be."
GAME ON … Wednesday's game is a 7 p.m. faceoff at Frank Crane. The Shipmen then head off on the road to visit the Chilliwack Chiefs on Friday and the Prince George Spruce Kings on Sunday … Friday's game at Frank Crane Arena drew 1,704 fans, easily the best home crowd of the season so far.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com