Left picture: Clippers netminder Aidan Campbell turns aside one of the 30 shots he faced in the 5-1 win.
Right picture: #7 Kai Daniells celebrates his goal with #29 Rylan Yates and #8 Matt Lahey.
The Nanaimo Clippers defeated the Cowichan Valley Capitals 5-1 on Wednesday night. The fifth preseason game provided plenty of offence. An early goal from Skylar Cameron in the first period gave the Clippers momentum for the rest of the game. Pennsylvania goalie Aidan Campbell stopped 29 out of 30 shots to backstop the Clippers win.
Less than two minutes into the game, local talent Skylar Cameron found himself in front of the Capitals net. Firing a rebound by goaltender Charlie Tritt for an early 1-0 lead. The remainder of the first period was played in the neutral zone with neither side able to mount sustained offensive pressure. Despite the stalemate, the Clippers managed to get 15 shots on Tritt by the end of the first.
The second period started with more back-and-forth play. Kai Daniells took a charging penalty 6 minutes in, giving the Capitals a power-play. Campbell shut the door on any attempts at tying the game. Army committed Jake Hewitt out-muscled a Capital defender and was awarded a penalty shot for his effort. The penalty shot did not result in a goal. A brief dust-up after a whistle put the Clippers down a player, but the penalty kill unit allowed no lanes for any shots. Charles Tardiff added to the Clipper lead midway in the second to put Nanaimo up 2-0. Jeremie Payant scored on a power-play chance after a Cowichan penalty. The hometown team led 3-0 after 2 periods of play.
5 minutes into the third period after missing a penalty shot attempt earlier, Jake Hewitt would not be denied short-handed, scoring for a 4-0 lead. A sequence of Nanaimo penalties in the third period led to Cowichan Valley scoring their only goal of the game. Whistler-born Kai Daniells added a late goal to seal the Clippers victory at 5-1.
The game’s three stars were: first, Jake Hewitt; second, Aidan Campbell; and third, Jeremie Payant. Kai Daniells took home FortisBC Energy Player of the Game. The Nanaimo Clippers first home game of the regular season is on September 30th against their Coastal division opponent, the Powell River Kings. Tickets can be purchased at the Frank Crane box office on game day or at Nanaimoclippers.com.
Recap presented by
