Author: Caitlin Lundgren

Written by: Grace Penner

A perfect end to VIU’s reading break occurred on Mariner’s home ice this past Saturday. The Merciless Mariners dominated the Logan Lake Miners in a 10-1 win.

With the Mariners sitting first in the league and not losing a single game to the Miners all season, fans and parents were expecting an explosive win. The Mariners did not disappoint.

The Mariners starting lineup consisted of Landen Stromme, Blake Power, Aiden Corbett, Chase Cooke, Cole McGuire, and star goalie, Connor Stojan.

The first period starts with a huge save by Stojan, reaching his glove hand behind his back and knocking the puck away the net before it crossed the line. Shortly after, Miner’s Kobe Koizumi is skated off to the penalty box for crosschecking. The Mariners take this opportunity to score the first goal of the game.

Cage Newans scores off the powerplay with an assist from Ethan Jones and Carson Erhardt. This is Newans 7th goal of the season so far. After a few attempts on Miner’s goalie Matthew Ens by Mariners’ Luke Robson, Tyson Pauze pushes the score up 2-0 after an assist from Jett Bennett and Robson.

Ryan Hunter is given a two minute penalty soon after for interference but despite being one man down, the Mariners stay strong in their defense, keeping the Miners off the scoreboard.

The period ends with Mariners leading shots on goal, 12-11.

Hunter Burgeson opens the second period minutes in with the third goal of the game; a wrist shot from the top of the zone unassisted. This is Burgeson’s 11th goal of the season. Mathieu Catellier receives a penalty for interference, but again the Miners are unable to use the powerplay to their advantage. Davis Sato scores with a quick shot under the bar with an assist from Pauze.

Shortly after, Erhard scores, finishing the period 5-0, with an assist by Jones and Nolan Wickham. Erhardt has scored 9 goals against the Miners alone this season with two hat tricks up his sleeve.

The Mariners lead shots on goal, 34-22.

After an eventful first two periods, the fans are ecstatic going into the third. Miner’s Nathan Bohmer scores early into the period with an assist from Jalen Davidson. Little did they know that this will be the last goal they get past Stojan all night.

Jett Bennett scores with an assist from Catellier and Burgeson, giving them a five point lead. Miner’s Taylor Schmideder receives a roughing penalty, giving Erhardt the opening he’s been looking for. Going two-for-two on the powerplays, Erhardt scores with an assist from Newans and Hunters. Even with a Miner’s goalie change to Connor Hatfield, the Mariners still continue to dominate the ice.

Within the same minute on the clock, Newans, Burgeson, and Hunter all score, showing their lack of mercy. The game finishes 10-1 with Mariner’s leading shots on goal, 58-25.

The Mariners took all three stars of the game, Cage Newans, Hunter Burgeson, and Carson Erhardt. The CUPE 401 Player of the Game was Jett Bennett.

The Mariners and SFU Red Leafs play the last game of the regular season on February 28th, 7:15pm PST, at Nanaimo Ice Centre. This night will honour the seniors graduating, Ethan Jones, Austin Daniels, Noah Danforth, and Carson Erhardt.

Championships will start the following weekend from March 5-8 at Queen’s Park Arena.

Written by: Grace Penner

Back-to-back games results in back-to-back wins for the Mariners this past weekend. No matter the arena, Ian Stewart Complex or Nanaimo Ice Centre, the Mariners showed the Vikes who owned the ice.

On January 30th, 2026, the VIU Mariners and University of Victoria Vikes, battle it out in the Vikes stomping ground. Both teams are racing for that first place spot in the league, a status that the Mariners are currently holding.

The Mariners starting lineup consisted of Noah Danforth, Austin Daniels, Landen Stromme, Aiden Corbett, and Matthew Fleet.

Big save by Mariners’ goalie, Fleet, as Vikes Alexander Smith sneaks around the defense to unsuccessfully attempt the first goal of the game.

Corbett serves the penalty for too many players, but the Vikes are unable to use the powerplay to their advantage. Chase Cooke shoots from the blue line and the puck deflects off Corbett, putting the Mariners first goal on the scoreboard, 1-0.

In the second period, Ryan Hunter finds the back of the net, past Vikes’ goalie Ronin Garaghty, with an assist from Captain Ethan Jones and Carson Erhardt. This is Hunter’s sixth goal of the regular season. Mariners take the 2-0 lead.

Vikes, Mason Hartley, knocks in a goal off Fleet’s rebound on a powerplay. Hartley scores off Kade Leskosky’s shot with an assist from the league’s 2024/25 top defenseman, Kyle Crewe.

Mariners’ Blake Power takes the power back scoring the last goal of the period, with an assist from Stromme and Daniels. Geraghty makes the initial save but Vikes are unable to pass it out of their zone, the Mariners take back their two-goal lead.

In the third period, Vikes trio starring Hartley, scores with a repeat assist from Leskosky and Crewe on a powerplay. Hartley’s second and Vikes final goal of the game, pushes them up 3-2.

Jones, determined to keep the two-goal lead, scores the final goal with another assist from Erhardt and Nolan Wickham.

The Mariners lead the shots on goal, 45-35.

The CUPE 401 Player of the Game is Forward Ethan Raduy. The three stars of the game are Mariners’ Blake Power, Matthew Fleet, and Vikes Mason Hartley.

***

24 hours later, the Mariners and Vikes meet again, this time on Mariners home ice. The Mariners showcase their third jerseys, sponsored by Kim and Gary Powers from Promac.

The Mariners’ starting lineup is Ryan Hunter, Carson Erhardt, Ethan Jones, Nolan Wickham, and Connor Stojan. 

The Vikes are coming out strong, they’re here for revenge from last night’s loss. With their previous BCIHL championship in the 2024/25 season, and the Mariners carrying that title the year before, both teams are battling to bring home the trophy in the near future. 

The Mariners’ Captain, Jones, top scorer in the BCIHL league at 37 points, shows us just that with the one and only goal in the first period. With an assist from Erhardt and Hunter, the Mariners lead 1-0.

The second period starts with the Mariners on the powerplay from a late penalty in the first period, by Vikes forward, Kade Leskosky. 

Chase Cooke scores from the top of the circle, his third of the season, pushing the Mariners to a 2-0 lead. Blake Power and Landen Stromme with the assists. 

The Vikes, Tom Sweeney, scores with an assist from Reid Fryer and Owen Evers, to bring the second period into a 2-1 lead by the Mariners. 

Three minutes into the third period, the teams go into 4-on-4 due to a boarding penalty from the Vikes Kyle Crewe and roughing from the Mariners Jett Bennett. 

Soon after the penalties end, a wrist-shot from Jason Scott hits the top right corner of the net. Scott’s first goal with the team ties up the game 2-2. Scott is helped off the ice due to a crosscheck to the face. 

With less than two minutes left in the third, a multiple player fight breaks out due to a rough hit by Stromme to Vikes defenseman Kyle Crewe. Vikes goalie Ronin Geraghty and forward Cole Fournier rush in to defend their teammate. This results in a roughing penalty and a game misconduct for both Stromme and Fournier, and a roughing penalty for Geraghty.

After an intense third period, they transition into overtime, tied 2-2. It’s a 4-on-3 beginning due to Vikes tripping penalty in the last two seconds of the third period. 

Less than two minutes into OT, Jones scores the game winning goal with another assist from Erhardt. The Mariners win 3-2 and lead the shots on goal, 39-30.

The CUPE 401 Player of the Game is Ethan Jones. The three stars are Mariners Ethan Jones, Chase Cooke, and Vikes Jason Scott. 

The Mariners come back once again on their home ice against the Logan Lake Miners, February 21st, 2026, at 7:15pm PST. 

By: Grace Penner

“Play hard, practice hard, and be hard to play against.” – Coach Chris Jones

The Logan Lake Miners came digging for gold on Saturday night, but the VIU Mariners dug harder. The two battled it out at Nanaimo Ice Centre, January 24th, 2026, at 7:15pm PST.

The first period starts off strong with Nolan Wickham, Tyson Pauze, Ryan Hunter, Carson Erhardt, and Captain Ethan Jones taking charge on ice. The first penalty of the game goes to Miners Forward, Nathan Bohmer. Putting the Mariners on the powerplay, they use this opportunity to find the holes in their opposing teams defence. During the two minutes, the Mariners attempt five shots on net, and let Erhardt take charge near the goal line. 

Miners goalie, Matthew Ens, was pushing the Mariners hard, not giving them the first goal of the game. Miners then take control of the arena and Gavin Mattey scores, taking the lead on the scoreboard. 

Erhardt doesn’t let the Miners have that high for too long. With impressive stickhandling and maneuvering in between a players legs, Erhardt sneaks it past Ens, evening up the score 1-1. 

Mariners goalie, Connor Stojan, makes a stellar save after having a two player breakaway from the Miners with seconds left in the first period. Mariners lead shots on goal 19-9.

In the second period, Miners Bohmer swipes in a goal over Stojan’s left shoulder. Two minutes later, Talon Zakall scores a slap shot from the top of the end zone circle, boosting their score to 3-1. 

The Miners may think they’ve stolen the lead, but the Mariners come back fast and hard, taking Jones’ coaching advice. The Miners have back-to-back penalties for too many men on the ice and the Mariners use this to their advantage. The first powerplay was unsuccessful in scoring, but during the two minute penalty, the puck stays in the Mariners possession on the Miners side of the ice. During the second powerplay, Austin Daniels scores with an assist by Hunter Burgeson and Cole McGuire.

The excitement is back in the rink and the Mariners are pushing hard to even up the score. After a holding penalty from Miners Mattey, Burgeson does just that by shooting the puck through the five-hole with an assist from Kurtis Lee. 

The game-winning goal is scored by Erhardt with Jones finding him at the right moment, pushing their score up to 4-3. The second period finishes with Mariners leading in shots on goal 35-13.

Although the third period remained uneventful in goals, there was no lack of passion or drive on the Mariners side. The team spent the twenty minutes making sure they had a strong defense to keep their one goal lead in place and not venture into overtime. Wickham is helped off the ice after a puck to the back of the leg but he is seen soon after back in play.

As said on the livestream by the play-by-play commentator, “This VIU team, once they get going, they’re just a tough force to break through.”

The Mariners win, 4-3, with shots on goal 56-22. The three stars of the game were Mariners Erhardt, Burgeson, and Miners Jordan Lario. The CUPE 401 Player of the Game was Erhardt. 

The Mariners are currently first in the league with University of Victoria Vikes just behind them. The two island rivals meet up for a back-to-back match on Friday January 30th, at Ian Stewart Complex, and Saturday January 31st, at Nanaimo Ice Centre. The Mariners parents will also be celebrated over these two days for Parent Weekend.