January 25 – Hawks Bit by Wolf Pack

NORTH VANCOUVER, B.C. – Anyone worried that the Delta Ice Hawks and North Vancouver Wolf Pack wouldn’t have any goals left in the tank after their combined 18 goals in Tuesday’s duel in Delta has their worries eased, slightly, during Saturday night’s North Shore showdown.

With Remy Quintoro assuming the North Van crease and Merik Erickson stationed between the pipes for Delta, the matchup in net closely resembled a previous meeting on October 29th. A speedy goal from Colin Jang opened the scoring in the first minute of play, cleaning up on a net-front chance after Nick Goyer caught a pass from Mateo Sjoberg. Sjoberg, earning apple number 47 on the opening goal, wasted no time extending his points-streak to 26 games. North Van found their response later in the frame, with Jack Jobst-Smith serving up an answering goal. A late holding penalty to Wolf Pack forward Lucas Davidson put Delta on the power play, setting up for a golden chance as the Wolf Pack attempted to clear the zone, finding Goyer instead who dished the puck to a probing Ryden Mathieson. Mathieson’s shot slipped past Quintoro and returned the lead to Delta in the final five seconds of the first, a tentative 2-1 advantage for the Hawks.

A pair of Ice Hawks penalties in the second period laid the framework for the Wolf Pack to sink their teeth into their opponents, beginning with Marcus Bromhead’s slashing penalty turning into a David Yoon goal and ramping up with Goyer, assessed a hooking call on the same stoppage as the goal, in the box as Ryan McAuley seized his team’s first lead of the game. The terrible trio of Yoon, McAuley, and Matteo Pero combined for another two goals, Yoon’s second and an insurance tally from Pero, to push the Ice Hawks to the brink in a 5-2 cliffhanger.

The third period seemed to mark a slight shift in the winds, with North Vancouver spending time in the penalty box and Delta poised to peck away with more special teams play. Tye Hemenway collected the puck at the blue line off a face-off clearing attempt, wiring a shot on net that went off of Jang and past Quintoro to pull the Ice Hawks within two goals of destiny. However, even with Max Dorodnov off for slashing and Erickson to the bench for an extra attacker in a 6-on-4 man advantage, the Ice Hawks couldn’t muster any further response. The Hawks pulled Erickson again, twice more in the fading minutes of regulation, but neither team could capitalize on their chances. The final buzzer sounds on a 5-3 final in favour of North Vancouver.

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NOTABLE NOTES

• The Wolf Pack take the season series, earning a 3-1-0-0 record against Delta’s 1-2-1-0. In a series most often controlled by the road team, North Van’s home win was the first of such in the four-game battle.

• An amusing quirk of the Hawks’ late-season schedule sees them move from one home-and-home series to another. After wrapping up a mini-series with North Vancouver, the Hawks are gearing up to host the Port Coquitlam Trailblazers on Tuesday, January 28th at the Ladner Leisure Centre, spinning around for the rematch on Friday, January 31st at the Jon Baillie Arena.

• Delta maintains its perch atop the Tom Shaw Conference, helped in part by the Grandview Steelers defeating the Richmond Sockeyes on Thursday and keeping the Ice Hawks’ closest competition from gaining any ground as Delta aims to return to the win column.

• If the playoffs started tomorrow: No change from Tuesday’s update. (4) North Van vs. (5) Port Coquitlam in the Survivor Series, (2) Richmond and (3) White Rock in the first round, (1) Delta awaiting the Survivor Series victors.

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THREE STARS

• North Vancouver Wolf Pack forward Ryan McAuley was a major factor in his team’s breakout second period, notching a power-play goal and two even-strength assists and earning third star honours.

• North Vancouver Wolf Pack goaltender Remy Quintoro was stellar against his former club, saving 35 of Delta’s 38 shots in a second-star performance.

• North Vancouver Wolf Pack forward David Yoon was prevalent in the win, continuing his scoring-at-will ways with two goals and an assist to reach 85 points on the year and lock in as first star.

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