DELTA, B.C. – A frosty Tuesday night marked the final home game of the Delta Ice Hawks’ season, a penultimate tune-up before the playoffs. Coach Steve Robinson shook up his lineup, plugging five affiliate players into the game. One of whom was netminder Ashton Thornton, suiting up for the second time this season and getting the nod for his first start in the league. At the other end of the ice, Ty Angus was summoned to start for his Panthers.
Delta came out of the gate incredibly hot, with affiliate forward Cruz Waltze connecting with his affiliate linemates to crack open the scoring. Playing in his final regular season home game, graduating forward Mateo Sjoberg potted goal number 42 of the campaign, his 96th point of the year. Declan Warburton was next to step up to the plate, putting his 16th of the season in the back of the Panthers net, swiftly followed by affiliate Alexander Laing’s first goal just 15 seconds later. Laing’s goal heralded the end of Angus’ tenure in the Port Moody crease, supplanted by Rajan Bassi. Bassi, like his predecessor, allowed four goals in the first period, giving up twin tallies from Grady Lenton, a goal by Lucas Jakubec in his first action since November, and one more tuck from Warburton who once again teamed up with Dawson Toledo and Louie Sim. Waltze nearly scored his second of the period on a nice breakaway attempt, just before Jakubec’s goal, but couldn’t keep a handle on the puck. Mercifully, the buzzer sounded on the first period, an 8-0 advantage for the home side.
Opening the middle period, the Panthers opted to return to the netminding services of Ty Angus, who stayed in net for the remainder of the game. Showing no signs of letting up, Delta pressed on with their voracious attack, garnering a matching pair of goals in the second period from Noah Hoglund (both assisted by Waltze), swiftly joined by Colin Jang scoring against his former club, and Lenton completing the hat-trick effort to make it a 12-0 result in the second. Hawks forward Rajun Parmar was assessed the game’s first penalty, a tripping call, to send Port Moody to the man-advantage. Further penalties would follow, as Sim had words with Panthers defender Nico Falso and both would be dispatched to the sin bin.
It may feel obvious to say that the third period took on a more quiet, calm demeanour, but it did have a more muted complexion than the high-flying frames that preceded it. This didn’t stop the Hawks from pursuing their mandate, adding three more goals in the final period. Jang had his second of the game, Toledo cleaned up a Sjoberg shot, and captain Tye Hemenway shot the puck from the blue line on a faceoff play to bomb one final goal past Angus. With a light dash of too-little-too-late, Dane Svingen-Jones had perhaps the most substantial chance to get the puck past Thornton, but the Panthers were ultimately unable to convert on their opportunities and avoid being shut out by the Ice Hawks in a 15-0 drubbing.
Next up for the lads of Ladner is a trek across Boundary Bay to Centennial Arena on Saturday to take on the White Rock Whalers, the 48th and final contest in the regular season before the Stonehouse Cup Playoffs get underway.
~~~
NOTABLE NOTES
• The Delta Ice Hawks iced an all-Affiliate Players line, with Cruz Waltze (#14), Noah Hoglund (#78), and Alexander Laing (#27) combining for four goals and four assists. On the back-end, Nathan Barclay (#5) pitched in a primary assist on Grady Lenton’s hat-trick goal. Ashton Thornton started the game in net and saw through his first full game of PJHL action, making 17 stops in the shutout victory.
• Lucas Jakubec returned to the Ice Hawks’ lineup, his first action since November 9th in White Rock. Getting down to business, Jakubec assisted on Mateo Sjoberg’s goal and followed that with his 10th goal of the season.
• Mateo Sjoberg’s first period goal, his 42nd of the season, marked his 96th point of the campaign. Sjoberg now comfortably holds the franchise records for single-season goals and single-season points, and has one final chance Saturday to push for 100 points.
• After Tuesday’s win, Delta officially secures the top spot of the Tom Shaw Conference. They will await the victors of the Survivor Series, a best-of-3 play-in round set to feature the (4) North Vancouver Wolf Pack taking on whomever assumes the fifth seed, either the Port Coquitlam Trailblazers or the Grandview Steelers.
~~~
THREE STARS
• Delta Ice Hawks affiliate goaltender Ashton Thornton started and played his first full game in the league, turning aside 17 shots to capture the shutout win alongside third star accolades.
• Delta Ice Hawks affiliate forward Noah Hoglund was stellar, notching two goals and an assist to secure second star distinctions.
• Delta Ice Hawks forward Grady Lenton completed the hat-trick, scoring two goals on Rajan Bassi and another on Ty Angus. Lenton added a late assist on Tye Hemenway’s 15-0 goal and locked in as first star.
~~~