PORT ALICE—A hat trick by Ryan Patterson helped propel the North Island Eagles peewee rep hockey team to a 7-4 win over Victoria Racquet Club in a Vancouver Island League Division 3 matchup Saturday.
The peewees overcame the loss of three of their second-year players and a penalty-plagued contest to pull out the hard-fought win, which lifted the Eagles to 9-8 on the season.
“The game was jam-packed full of penalties,” peewee coach Marty Gage admitted. “We received 24 minutes and Racquet Club received 22 minutes. I was proud of the kids for standing their ground and not letting the other team take physical control of the game … but there were too many penalties we earned. We need to learn to stay out of the box.”
Gage credited Patterson’s hat trick to hard work and “going to the right place at the right time.”
The peewees will be back home this weekend to try to extend a winning streak against the rival Campbell River Tyees, Sunday at 11 a.m. in Port McNeill.