DELTA, B.C. – The Delta Ice Hawks have been on a hot streak as of late, but tonight they flew too close to the sun and were downed for the first time since October, falling 8-5 at the hands of the Ridge Meadows Flames.
The game started off cautiously for both sides, neither wanting to give much ground. The whistles were sparse, too, in the early goings of the game. Delta would be first to break through, as Brogan Kennedy notched his 14th goal of the season on a long pass from Rajun Parmar. Grady Lenton nabbed the secondary assist, picking up right where he left off from his 8-point effort versus Chilliwack. However, Ridge Meadows kept things close as they often do, as captain Lukas Ravenstein got a diving touch on the power play to pull even. Delta’s Danylo Bereza capitalized on a breakaway opportunity and regained the lead for his club, though Flames forward Theo Kochan would tie things back up on a stretch pass from former Ice Hawks defender Matthew Wise. Wise’s clearing attempt put the puck over the glass, which put him in the penalty box and his team short-handed in the dying seconds of the first period. Undeterred, Flames forward Joshua Bettesworth got a short-handed goal to give Ridge their first lead of the game.
The second period began the same way the first period ended: with Bettesworth notching another short-handed goal with his team in the box for Delay of Game. Before the déjà-vu could set in, the Flames extended their lead by Nolan Bowsher on a partial break, assisted by Wise. This fifth goal from Ridge Meadows would see Delta’s starting netminder Merik Erickson exit the game, replaced by affiliate goaltender Ashton Thornton. Thornton would only see 1:07 of game action (and face some significant pressure from Flames leading scorer Zack Lagrange), as Erickson re-entered the contest shortly thereafter. A stellar solo effort from Parmar, picking up the puck off the wall and storming in, re-established Delta’s presence in the contest. Jacob Roche, who assisted on Bettesworth’s first goal, picked up a lead pass from Ravenstein and put the Flames back ahead by 3. In his second game as a Hawk, veteran defenceman Jonathan Soares picked up his second goal of the season, his first for Delta, assisted by Lenton and Warburton.
With the first two periods sporting 5 goals apiece (both 3-2 for Ridge Meadows), the third period was relatively quiet to start. Sans goals, the scoresheet was heating up as penalties piled up. Delta’s Brandon Petrie for tripping, Ridge’s Jakob Loewen for slashing, Delta for Too Many Players, Ravenstein for slashing, the carousel went round and round. After catching a knee-on-knee collision un-noticed by the officials, Parmar was assessed a slashing call on his way back to the bench, eventually supplemented by a 10-minute misconduct to end his night. Delta’s leading scorer Mateo Sjoberg sat late in the third period for high-sticking, an opportunity that Loewen and the Flames seized upon quickly to extend their lead to 7-4. Another late penalty, this time to Flames rookie forward Owen Nutland for roughing, gave Delta their last gleaming chance to step back into the game. Pulling Erickson for the extra attacker, the Ice Hawks were ready to throw everything they had left in the tank at the Flames, but Ridge forward Samuel Allen iced his team’s win with a short-handed empty-netter. Refusing to go quietly into the night, Lenton scored on the power-play with 37 seconds remaining in the game.
The team turns their attention and efforts to their next assignment: Sunday at Port Moody to tame the Panthers.
3 STARS:
Flames forward Theo Kochan assisted on his club’s first goal and added a power-play tally of his own to spark the Flames and earn third star honours.
Ice Hawks forward Brogan Kennedy broke the ice and opened the scoring, becoming the game’s second star.
Flames forward Joshua Bettesworth fanned the Flames with back-to-back short-handed goals, and was named the game’s first star.
Highlights: https://youtu.be/KRtwQLLIpd0
