January 28 – Hawks Go Shot for Shot with Trailblazers

DELTA, B.C. – Rolling from one late-January in-conference home-and-home miniseries to another, the Tom Shaw Conference-leading Delta Ice Hawks are plotting a course to return to the win column sooner rather than later. Perhaps one of their next two matchups against Survivor Series-bound Port Coquitlam Trailblazers will provide them the chance to do just that.

Tuesday night’s contest was delayed by 20 minutes, finally kicking off at 7:55 PM after ice issues earlier in the day permeated into the evening hours. With the game underway at last, the Hawks wasted no time as Colin Jang put the puck past Trailblazers goalie Keiran Caughran for his 23rd goal of the campaign. The Trailblazers had a decent chance midway through the first frame, with Matthew Biros passing across the crease to Derek Leroux, but the opportunity was denied by Ice Hawks netminder Thomas Popa. Delta measured its attack throughout the opening stanza, with Grady Lenton setting up Ryden Mathieson for the Hawks’ second goal. Two fast goals from the top line followed soon after, as Mathieson notched another and Lenton added a tally of his own to put the Hawks up 4-0 in the first 14 minutes of the game. Port Coquitlam tested Popa often, with Biros, Tait Humphries, and Bailey Ewonus each trying their luck, only to be denied by Popa. Things got heated in the late stages of the first, with Miller Bruckshaw driving hard to the net and trying to corral a rebound. A scuffle ensued that saw Bruckshaw get his helmet ripped off, sending Port Coquitlam’s Blake van Straten to the penalty box for grabbing the face mask. The Trailblazers nearly got on the board with a shorthanded breakaway chance by Ewonus, but it would be Delta with the last laugh as Brogan Kennedy scored a hotly-debated buzzer beater of a goal to send the home team to the dressing room on a 5-0 high.

Keiran Caughran’s night ended with the first period, as the Trailblazers sent Blake Micucci in to weather the storm. Port Coquitlam found plenty of opportunities to apply pressure and force the momentum to shift their way, as leading scorer Markus Jack hammered away, but Hawks’ veteran defender Nick Goyer added his name to the list of Delta goal scorers. Port Coquitlam’s goalless drought ended swiftly after, as Humphries got the puck past Popa. The Trailblazers got closer in their pursuit, as Biros connected with Ewonus and Leroux to cut their deficit down to four goals. Lenton carried the puck into the attacking zone, forcing Micucci to step up quickly with the Ice Hawks eager to stop the bleeding and regain a stranglehold on the contest. Thomas Popa was extra sharp, stopping an initial shot from Ewonus before swallowing up a doorstep chance from Charlie Gardiner. Evan Fedele found his way to the sin bin on a high sticking call, but the Trailblazers were unable to convert on their first power play opportunity. Next up to score for Delta was affiliate forward Noah Hoglund, notching his second goal of the season and his first since his season debut on September 24th versus Coastal. A flurry of penalties ensued immediately after, with Hoglund in the box for roughing, Port Coquitlam’s Humphries off for slashing, and Delta affiliate Tyson Schamerhorn off for slashing and a 10 minute misconduct. Biros notched another goal, but only after the power play had freshly expired.

Nursing a 7-3 lead into the third, the Hawks had their work cut out for them to restrain a Port Coquitlam squad ready to break out. Brandon Petrie added his team’s eighth tally, his seventh personally, in the first minute of the period. Port Coquitlam was expedient in their response, rattling off three straight goals from Jack, Ryan Caughlan, and Robbie Toor before Delta affiliate Cruz Waltze put away his first goal of the year to go with his trio of assists from previous call-ups. The score now sitting at 9-6 in favour of the Ice Hawks, the offensive outburst levelled off as the back half of the third approached. Schamerhorn made a return to the penalty box, this time for interference, sending Port Coquitlam onto a power play. Popa, dialled in, made save after stunning save with the Trailblazers bearing down, keeping pressure on the Delta net after the penalty expired. Mateo Sjoberg, sitting on three assists, was stopped on a partial break by Micucci in the Port Coquitlam net. Another late penalty to the Ice Hawks, this time a hooking call to Goyer, set up the Trailblazers for another power play opportunity, yet again they would be denied. The Hawks and Blazers burnt the midnight oil, wrapping up a 9-6 final and a win for Delta.

The Ice Hawks are set to seal up their final four games of regular season play in the next week and a half: another date with the Trailblazers this Friday at Port Coquitlam’s Jon Baillie Arena, a Sunday night sojourn to the Burnaby Winter Club to face the still-hopeful Grandview Steelers who chase Port Coquitlam for the fifth seed, a Tuesday night tussle in Ladner next week with the eighth-seeded Port Moody Panthers, and completing the regular season gauntlet in White Rock’s Centennial Arena on February 8th.

~~~

NOTABLE NOTES

• Delta iced a quartet of affiliate players, with returning affiliates Cruz Waltze (#14), Noah Hoglund (#78), and Tyson Schamerhorn (#27) up front and defender Alex Savoy (#5) of the Vancouver North East Chiefs making his debut in an Ice Hawks uniform.

~~~

THREE STARS

• Port Coquitlam Trailblazers forward Matthew Biros sprung his team’s offence with two goals, earning third star honours.

• Delta Ice Hawks forward Ryden Mathieson propelled the goal-scoring with two goals, recognized as second star.

• Delta Ice Hawks forward Grady Lenton put in a powerhouse performance, putting in a goal and three assists to lock in as first star.

NOTE: The league’s website erroneously lists Mateo Sjoberg as first star, though his three assists on the night were nothing to dismiss.

~~~