January 21 – Hawks Fall to Wolf Pack in Goal-Filled Affair

DELTA, B.C. – The goals were frequent and flying throughout Tuesday Night’s contest at the Ladner Leisure Centre, as the North Vancouver Wolf Pack challenged the Delta Ice Hawks in a gruelling in-conference showdown.

The Ice Hawks were quickest to the draw, as Grady Lenton pushed the puck up the wall towards Mateo Sjoberg before cutting off to cover the middle, picking up the pass from Sjoberg to aim his shot past Shayan Kermany for his 25th goal of the season. The Wolf Pack, charging up to full attack power, responded swiftly as David Yoon tied the game and drove a dagger into the Hawks’ hopes of building up early momentum. Wolf Pack defender Seth Mozes gave his club their first lead of the game through his first goal of the campaign. North Van protected their early lead effectively, but got caught on their back foot with Max Dorodnov penalized for tripping and Delta’s power play getting a chance to feast. Lenton carried the puck in, taking his time to find the right moment to test Kermany before shooting through traffic. Kermany made the save but couldn’t corral the rebound, with Danylo Bereza on the doorstep to find more open net past Kermany and tie the game at two-all.

The campaign to regain the lead commenced into the closing minutes of the opening frame, as Colin Jang corraled the puck in the corner deep in Wolf Pack territory, and found Sjoberg stationed behind the net. Lenton, streaking in, caught a snipe-pass from Sjoberg that he put on net in tight, then snagged his own rebound mid-stride to crack the game back open. The reign over the scoreboard would not last, as Wolf Pack forward Rayne Jameson scored a buzzer-beater goal to close out the first period.

Things were due to get more intense, with the Ice Hawks and Wolf Pack both stoking the coals on a chilly January night and turning up the heat in the second period. Yoon scored quickly, just 70 seconds into the period, to break the tie and lead the Wolf Pack ahead 4-3. Passing around the perimeter, Tye Hemenway went back and forth with Bereza, seeking the best chance to get through the defense. Hemenway boomed a shot through traffic that slipped through to tie the game 4-4 amidst some mild chaos in front of the crease. Brogan Kennedy got tangled up with Mozes, crossing in front of Kermany right as Hemenway took his shot. Kennedy would be sent off on a four minute double-minor for spearing, though the Ice Hawks would swing the momentum in their favour during the penalty kill. Lenton chased Wolf Pack forward Andrew Casellato in behind the North Van net, snagging the puck as he skated out in front of Kermany. Instead of taking his own shot, he found a streaking Sjoberg to complete a short-handed goal for the ages and make it 5-4 for Delta.

The Iatter half of the period would be dominated by North Van, regaining control of the game by sheer volume of goals. First, it was Tanner Terness, followed by Matteo Pero, whose goal chased Thomas Popa from the Delta net, sending in Merik Erickson in relief. Erickson had little time to get acclimated, as another goal from Jameson would help his Wolf Pack commandeer the game with a 7-5 grip. Working in behind the Wolf Pack net, Lenton tossed the puck to Jang who controlled briefly, before finding a perfectly-positioned Sjoberg to cash in and cut the deficit to one, now 7-6 North Van.

The Wolf Pack lived up to their branding as they sank their fangs into the contest, with Terness striking for a sudden goal, his second of the game. Erickson would be pulled, bringing Popa back into the fray. Facing a similar ‘North Van welcome’ to what Erickson got back in the second, Popa once again faced down Matteo Pero, who put away a dagger of a goal, setting a 9-6 advantage that faced staunch resistance from the Ice Hawks the rest of the way. It would be Brandon Petrie who scored the home side’s final goal of the game, a sci-fi railgun of a shot through a flawless cone of traffic that resembled a particle beam being fired. That last bit of resistance would be stomped out with a goal from North Van’s Lucas Davidson, and eventually extinguished by Dayne Henry scoring an empty-netter with Popa on the bench for the extra attacker.

The two squads will not be strangers to each-other in January, as the North Vancouver Wolf Pack are set to host the Delta Ice Hawks this Saturday, January 25th at 7:00 PM at the Harry Jerome Arena.

The Delta Ice Hawks’ next home opponent comes to town Tuesday, January 28th at 7:35 PM in the form of the Port Coquitlam Trailblazers.

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NOTABLE NOTES:

• A week after playing against former Wolf Pack goalie Sam Bastien and the Grandview Steelers, the Ice Hawks faced the netminder that Bastien was traded for, goaltender Shayan Kermany.

Though only appearing in a total of six minutes and two seconds of game time, Merik Erickson assumes the loss as the goaltender of record, as Tanner Terness scored his team’s eighth goal, the eventual game-winner, against Erickson before Delta tapped Thomas Popa to return to the crease.

• Despite the loss, the Ice Hawks maintain their hold on first place in the Tom Shaw Conference with 65 standings points, holding a two point advantage on the Richmond Sockeyes. Delta have six games remaining in the regular season.

• North Vancouver’s win gives them a boost in the standings, moving them one point ahead of the Port Coquitlam Trailblazers and swapping into the fourth spot in the Tom Shaw Conference. Most crucially, they are within spitting distance of hopping into the top three of the conference, bypassing the Survivor Series.

• If the playoffs were to begin tomorrow: (4) North Vancouver and (5) Port Coquitlam would duke it out in the Survivor Series, whilst (2) Richmond and (3) White Rock would duel in the first round. (1) Delta would get a partial bye, as they would await the winner of the Survivor Series as their first opponent in the postseason.

• Since I’m feeling saucy, here’s the Harold Brittain Conference too: (1) Ridge Meadows edges out Chilliwack for the top seed in the East, with (3) Abbotsford poised to play (2) Chilliwack in a Fraser Valley throwdown. (4) Langley and (5) Surrey would meet in the Survivor Series for the chance to advance

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THREE STARS:

• North Vancouver Wolf Pack forward Tanner Terness was prevalent and voracious throughout the game, putting up two goals and two assists and earning third star accolades.

• Delta Ice Hawks forward Mateo Sjoberg was Mr. Right-Place-Right-Time as he spurred his team onwards with two goals (one of which was scored short-handed) and an assist on Grady Lenton’s second goal to secure second star honours.

• North Vancouver Wolf Pack forward David Yoon continued his strong play with two goals and two assists, catalyzing the offense and locking in as first star.

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