A great season ended on a sour note for Sechelt's David Arduin.
Arduin and the Campbell River Storm lost the best-of-three Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (VIJHL) championship series to the Victoria Cougars last weekend. The Storm dropped the opener 3-1 and the final game, a 6-5 heartbreaker, on Sunday.
Victoria becomes the first team other than the Storm to win the VIJHL title since the Parksville Generals won back in the 1996/97 season.
The Cougars now represent the VIJHL at the Cyclone Taylor Cup, which started Thursday in Osoyoos.
Arduin finished the playoffs with seven goals and 18 points and was tied for second in league scoring with teammate Jason Jaques.
Arduin admitted the final series did not go as planned.
"The season was fantastic, but it certainly didn't end the way we wanted it to," Arduin said. "In the first game we were dominated in all areas. But on Sunday, we didn't deserve to lose. We jumped out to a 2-0 lead and then we ran into penalty trouble. Victoria came back to take a 4-2 lead into the third, but we felt we still had a chance."
Campbell River cut the lead to 4-3, only to see the Cougars restore the two-goal lead to make it 5-3 midway through the final stanza.
The Storm made it 5-4 as Jaques scored his third goal at 10:40. With three minutes to go, Arduin tied the game at 5-5.
"When we tied it up, I don't think there was a person on the bench who thought we'd lose," Arduin said. "With 19 seconds left, one of our guys had a mental breakdown and gave away the puck. Victoria went in on a three-on-one and scored. To go through all that adversity and see the season end like that really stinks."
Despite the setback, Arduin said he was pleased with his season.
"It was an awesome year. I exceeded all my expectations," he said. "It would have been great to finish with a championship, but Victoria got the break and won."
Arduin said he plans to take some time off, heal his body and start to prepare for next year.
"I haven't made a decision yet on where I'll play next year," he said. "I have a lot of options, but I don't want to rush into things. I want to make sure it's the best situation for me."
