LANGLEY, B.C. – The Delta Ice Hawks carried their momentum from Tuesday’s Tunnel Series home victory versus Richmond and applied the same pressure on the road against the Langley Trappers.
The Ice Hawks sported their gold alternate jerseys on the road against Langley’s sky-blue set, easily one of the best-dressed matchups of the year. Only forty seconds in, Delta’s Ryden Mathieson got his club into the lead assisted by Mateo Sjoberg (whose helper would be his 32nd assist of the season in his 32nd game). Langley would not be able to produce their answer until later in the period, with Patrick Coopman taming the chaos in front of Delta goaltender Thomas Popa to pull even, 1-1.
The second period would be all quiet on the scoresheet, but not without its penalty calls. One notable fracas in Langley’s zone saw Declan Warburton sent off for goaltender interference (served by Rajun Parmar) and for roughing (which offset with Langley defender Jett Carroll’s same infraction). With 20 seconds left in the period, Delta forward Louie Sim would get into it with Langley defenceman Calvin Bright, and both would head off on off-setting roughing calls that were set to carry over to the third period.
With both Sim and Bright still in the box, Parmar muscled his way along the boards in a similar way to his assist on the overtime winner from the night before, but this time he would be on his own against Langley netminder Dwayne-Paul Cruz. Parmar drove in hard to the net, Cruz went backwards, and Parmar put the rebound into the open cage. The play was reviewed for possible goaltender interference, but the goal was upheld. The Ice Hawks held steady with their pressure, with Sjoberg scoring a goal of his own to give him 32 goals and 32 assists in 32 games. Delta’s attacks were relentless, but Langley was able to generate some havoc of their own as Slatts Gregory and Wesley Rowley pressed hard and were rewarded with a goal, Gregory’s first as a Trapper. Almost instinctively, the Hawks shut down the burgeoning Trappers resurgence as Sim scored his first in a Delta jersey. Final score: 4-2, Delta.
Despite the teams combining for six goals, the story of the night was goaltending. Popa was exemplary, stopping 32 of 34 shots in his second game and second win with his new club. In the loss, Langley’s Cruz faced down one of the league’s most potent and prolific offences and turned aside 31 of 35 shots by Delta.
The Delta Ice Hawks skate into the holiday break on back-to-back wins, and return to action at the Ladner Leisure Centre for a rare Friday night home game on December 27th at 7:05 PM.
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THREE STARS
• Langley forward Slatts Gregory scored his first goal of the season and gave his team hope, solidifying himself as third star.
• Langley goalie Dwayne-Paul Cruz made save after stunning save and did his best to hold off a high-flying Delta offence, named second star for his efforts.
• Delta forward Mateo Sjoberg was omnipresent for his club’s biggest moments, assisting on Ryden Mathieson’s goal and securing the eventual game-winner. Tonight’s first star now sports a stat line of 32 goals and 32 assists in 32 games played.
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