Mariners take on Miners: A 4-3 Win On Home Ice
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.