Former WHL player Brandon Fushimi made an immediate impact joining the Saanich Braves. Fushimi scored the first goal of his first game last Friday as the Braves won 4-2 over the visiting Comox Valley Glacier Kings at Pearkes Arena.
Fushimi’s new linemates Nick Kean and Cam Kovesdi assisted on the goal. Kean, Joel Nagy and Scott Henderson also scored on Friday.
Then on Saturday, the Fushimi-Kean-Kovesdi line struck again with Kean scoring from Fushimi to kickoff the Braves’ 6-4 road win over the Oceanside Generals. Fushimi and Henderson also scored on Saturday, as did defenceman Quinlan Moore, captain Jack Rachwalski and forward Jordan Parmar.
“Both games we were average in the third period, a trend I want to stop,” said Braves coach Brad Cook. “We let teams back in the games a little bit, which may be a mixture of conditioning and nerves. Learning how to win is a learning process but we’ll take the four points for sure and move on.”
Fushimi, 19, finished the weekend with three points. He comes to the Braves after three full seasons with the Victoria Royals.
The Braves are second in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League’s South division with four wins and two losses.
The Braves host longtime rivals, the Victoria Cougars (4-0) Friday night.
Slowing the high-powered Cougars offence (27 goals in four games) is key, Cook said.
“First and foremost, do your best to compete at five-on-five. They work hard, so if you can match them in compete level at even strength, that’s the key, and stay away from their [powerplay].”
Puck drop Friday is 6:30 p.m. against the Cougars at Pearkes Arena.