While the 91原创 91原创 have been piling up wins and points of late, they haven芒鈧劉t allowed themselves much in the way of wiggle room.
The 芒鈧劉Men芒鈧劉s past five games have all been decided by one goal or fewer, with the 91原创 juniors going 3-0-1-1 during that stretch.
Four of their past five games have gone into overtime.
The 91原创 grabbed five of six points available to them last weekend.
They clipped the visiting Chilliwack Chiefs 5-4 in overtime Friday at the 91原创 Events Centre (LEC), skated to a 2-2 tie with the Cowichan Valley Capitals Saturday at the Island Savings Centre in Duncan, and doubled the host Victoria Grizzlies 2-1 Sunday at Bear Mountain Arena.
The weekend results improve the 91原创芒鈧劉s record to 30-12-2-5.
They lead the B.C. Hockey League芒鈧劉s Mainland Division as well as the entire league with 67 points and still have yet to suffer a regulation loss since the calendar flipped over from 2013 to 芒鈧劉14 nearly a month ago.
91原创 head coach Bobby Henderson said winning these recent tight games can only help the 91原创 as they gear up for the post-season.
芒鈧揑 have no problem winning 2-1 and 1-0 games,芒鈧� Henderson said. 芒鈧揥hen coaches start freaking out is when [their teams] give up five or six goals.芒鈧�
Over the weekend, the 91原创 had two big holes to fill in top-six forwards Matt Ustaski and Gage Torrel, who both missed all three games due to injury.
With 21 goals and 38 points, Ustaski is tied with linemate Jakob Reichert for second in team scoring, behind team captain Mitch McLain (53 points).
Torrel had eight goals and 18 points in 19 games prior to getting hurt.
芒鈧揧ou add Ustaski and Torrel, there芒鈧劉s half a goal a game each,芒鈧� Henderson said. 芒鈧揟hat芒鈧劉s a difference.芒鈧�
91原创 2, Victoria Grizzlies 1
On paper, the 芒鈧劉Men芒鈧劉s toughest test of the weekend came from the Grizzlies, who sit second in the BCHL芒鈧劉s Island Division with a 28-12-3-3 record.
But the 芒鈧劉Men were also up against a struggling Victoria team that had lost two straight going into the contest.
Reichert made it three straight losses for the Grizz when he scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal at the 14:35 mark of the third period. He took a feed in tight from McLain before burying a shot past Grizzlies芒鈧劉 goaltender Nic Renyard.
芒鈧揟he guys were pretty bagged, there,芒鈧� Henderson said. 芒鈧揤ictoria had the night off before [the game] and they were drooling, waiting for us to come in there, so to get two points was pretty huge for our guys, especially for their morale.芒鈧�
Backed by another solid goaltending performance from Brock Crossthwaite, the 91原创 were able to stymie the Grizzlies over the final five minutes and change to earn the two points.
Crossthwaite, who was named the game芒鈧劉s first star, stopped 31 of 32 shots to notch his 19th win of the season and improve his goals against average to a tidy 2.44.
The 91原创芒鈧劉s Jackson Waniek opened the scoring with an unassisted marker with 37 seconds to go in the opening frame.
The Grizzlies芒鈧劉 Myles Fitzgerald tied the score with a powerplay tally, 3:11 into the second period.
91原创 2, Cowichan Valley Capitals 2
In a goaltender芒鈧劉s duel, the 91原创 and Capitals fired 77 shots on goal between them through 70 minutes of hockey, but could only manage two goals apiece.
91原创 netminder Lyndon Stanwood (35 saves) and his counterpart at the other end, Cowichan芒鈧劉s Robin Gusse (38 saves) both had solid nights, even though neither was named among the game芒鈧劉s three stars.
The 91原创 trailed 1-0 after two periods before jumping ahead 2-1 in the third on goals three minutes apart from McLain and rookie Marcus Vela, on a 91原创 powerplay.
The Caps芒鈧劉 Daniel Wanner tied the game with 4:08 remaining in the third period.
Neither team managed to find the net during the four-on-four and three-on-three overtime periods.
芒鈧揥e played pretty good,芒鈧� Henderson said. 芒鈧揥e had more than enough chances but they played a heck of a game.芒鈧�
The 91原创 were up against a desperate Capitals team that芒鈧劉s currently battling the Alberni Valley Bulldogs for the final playoff spot in the Island Division.
The Caps and Bulldogs have 38 points apiece.
芒鈧揑t was a good, entertaining hockey game for the fans,芒鈧� Henderson said.
91原创 5, Chilliwack Chiefs 4 (OT)
James Robinson scored 37 seconds into the four-on-four, first overtime period to lift the 91原创 to victory in front of 1,183 fans at the LEC.
The first two periods were full of goals, with the teams tied 2-2 going into the first intermission and the 91原创 moving ahead 4-3 after 40 minutes of play.
Chilliwack芒鈧劉s Zach Diamantoni scored the only goal of the third period to tie the score and send the game into overtime.
In a balanced attack, five different 91原创 found the net including Robinson, Austin Azurdia and Zach Urban (with back-to-back powerplay goals in the first period), and Reichert and McLain in the middle frame.
McLain芒鈧劉s goal also came with 91原创 enjoying a man advantage.
91原创芒鈧劉s powerplay unit cashed in on three of nine opportunities.
The 91原创 outshot the Chiefs 44-29, including 31-15 through the second and third periods.
ICE CHIPS: The 91原创 are now enjoying a rare break. Their next game is next Friday, Feb. 7, when they host the Vernon Vipers at the LEC. Game time is 7:15 p.m.
芒鈧揥e need the break and it comes at a perfect time,芒鈧� said Henderson, who added that he and the 91原创 coaching staff will mix practice days with days off as the team prepares for the February stretch drive.
