No Mercy for the Miners

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.