WHITE ROCK, B.C. – The Delta Ice Hawks had almost all of their business handled going into the final night of regular season action, a jaunt across Boundary Bay to tangle with the White Rock Whalers. Having locked up first place in the Tom Shaw Conference, there were but two final objectives to reach: end on a win, and get Mateo Sjoberg to 100 points in a season.
The first period was a measured affair, with neither team able to break through on the scoresheet. Whalers captain Travis Smythe was assessed a minor penalty for interference just eight seconds into the contest, giving the Hawks their first of two chances on the power play in the first. Cash Dumka-Jones was the next Whaler sent to the box, on a count of roughing. Delta would give up a man-advantage of their own, with Eric Lee busted for slashing later in the frame, but both goalies stood strong. White Rock’s Zach MacDonald was the busier of the two netminders, facing a slim increase in shots compared to his Delta counterpart Merik Erickson.
Delta’s firepower came online in the second period, with Sjoberg punching through the madness to score his 43rd goal and 100th point of the season. Whalers defender Isaac Zed and Hawks blue-liner Nick Goyer were both dispatched to the sin bin on coincidental roughings, with Goyer handed an additional roughing minor. Smythe managed a game-tying goal near the midway point of the middle frame, returning the game to its previously deadlocked state. Another pair of penalties came, with White Rock’s Connor Hughes off for tripping and Delta’s Brogan Kennedy called for embellishment, prompting some four-on-four play. Ice Hawks defenceman and captain Tye Hemenway linked up with Grady Lenton and Sjoberg to deliver a crucial go-ahead marker, hoisting his club up to a 2-1 advantage.
A litany of penalties dotted the third period, which may have done more to stymie any momentum for either side than to provide an opportunity to take control of the game. Nonetheless, with three minutes and change left in the game, Whalers defenceman Ethan Whiton skated off on a boarding minor, leaving his team short-handed at a critical juncture. This provided the opportunity needed for White Rock’s Justin Osborne to take matters into his own hands, scoring an unassisted, game-tying, short-handed goal to eventually force overtime.
With three-on-three hockey on deck to close out the regular season, the Hawks grabbed the reins and didn’t look back. Lenton only needed 88 seconds to score in extra time, potting goal number 32 alongside 30 assists to nab 62 points in 30 games. Erickson turned aside 21 of White Rock’s 23 shots, and the Ice Hawks completed the 48-game gauntlet of regular season play, closing things out with 34 wins and 72 points in the standings.
Delta’s high-flying roster will get a brief reprieve, earning a partial bye in the playoffs as they await the victors of the Survivor Series play-in round between the North Vancouver Wolf Pack and the Port Coquitlam Trailblazers.
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NOTABLE NOTES
• Aaron Zulinick suited up for the Delta Ice Hawks, wearing jersey number 5. Zulinick, a 2008-born defenceman from Kamloops, had previously played this season for the KIJHL’s Kamloops Storm, posting seven goals and six assists for 13 points in 18 games before being called up to the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks for four games. Returning to the Storm for two more games, Zulinick made the switch to Delta Hockey Academy in January, cashing in for four assists in seven games thus far. He also played in the BCHC Prospects Game in Langley on November 19th, scoring the KIJHL’s only goal and earning player of the game honours for his team.
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THREE STARS
• White Rock Whalers forward and captain Travis Smythe scored a crucial tying goal in the second period, earning third star honours in his final regular season game.
• Delta Ice Hawks forward and alternate captain Mateo Sjoberg reached the century club at last, opening the scoring early in the second period and pitching in two assists to cement his single-season franchise scoring records and catch second star accolades.
• Delta Ice Hawks forward Grady Lenton, the human cheat code, also factored into all three of his team’s goals. Assisting on Sjoberg and Hemenway’s goals, he struck early into overtime to lock in the win alongside first star recognition.
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