After a tough weekend at the PJHL Winter Classic, the Delta Ice Hawks came back with a vengeance on Tuesday night, defeating the Surrey Knights 7-3.
There were no goals in the first period, but not for a lack of trying. The Hawks fired 18 shots on net in the period, holding the Knights to four.
It was a different story in the second period, as the Hawks scored four goals in the frame.
Ryan Xu opened the scoring early in the second by cutting in front the wing and firing a shot top corner past Malcolm Patry.
Just over two minutes later, Ryan Bayley sent Mitch Lavoie on a clear breakaway and scored high-glove side to double the Hawks’ lead.
Brice Kemp scored his first of two on the night later on in the frame, one-timing a pass from Truman Chiu short-side.
To wrap up the scoring in the period, Montaro Uyeyama redirected a point shot from Luka Zilic past Patry for his fourth of the year and the eventual game-winner.
Kemp kept the Hawks rolling with an unassisted goal just before the middle of the third period, going coast-to-coast and scoring far side, making it 5-0 Delta.
The Knights broke the shutout a few minutes later with a goal from Takumi Sakai to make it 5-1, but just 22 seconds later, Truman Chiu reclaimed the five-goal lead.
Kyle Robinson added a power play goal to make it 7-1. The Knights scored two quick goals late in the third, but that was as close as they would come.
The Ice Hawks will now look to ride this momentum into Thursday’s final matchup of the season against the Richmond Sockeyes. The winner will take home the second-annual Tunnel Cup.
