Cougars, Storm right at home on the road in VIJHL final

It is the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League version of the Broadway play Same Time Next Year. The Victoria Cougars and Campbell River Storm are meeting in the VIJHL playoff final for the third consecutive season. Keeping with the theatre riff, it has been a road show.

The Cougars have home-ice advantage but perhaps they should defer. The away team has won every game in a series that is deadlocked 2-2 heading into today’s fifth game at 7 p.m. inside Archie Browning Sports Centre.

“We are going to run out of road games pretty soon,” quipped Cougars head coach Suneil Karod.

It’s not known if the Cougars players were big fans of the former Carolina Hurricanes captain, but they sure seem to love his namesake rink in Campbell River, having won both games of the series there 3-2 in overtime and 3-1. The next one up there is the Game 6 Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. at Rod Brind’Amour Arena.

The Storm players are much too young to remember the late former Victoria Shamrocks lacrosse legend Archie Browning. But that hasn’t stopped Campbell River from taking both games in this series played at the Arch, 4-3 and 2-1. Game 7, if necessary, will be played there Sunday at 3:30 p.m.

“Home teams simply can’t win. I’ve never seen that before,” said Karod.

The series between these great rivals has been intense, with each of the first four games tight.

“You’ve had 40 players, from both teams, manning up for this championship,” said Karod.

“On our part, our character guys and our secondary guys have stepped up. There have been no passengers.”

The winner will advance to the 2017 Cyclone Taylor Cup B.C. Junior B championship tournament, taking place from April 6 to 9 in Creston.

Victoria won the 2016 VIJHL final over the Storm in six games, while Campbell River won the 2015 VIJHL final over the Cougars in four games.