DELTA, B.C. – For the first time in the 2025 Stonehouse Cup Playoffs, the Delta Ice Hawks did not have home ice advantage. The finals series that has pitted the top-ranked Ridge Meadows Flames against the third-place Hawks shifted from the Cam Neely Arena in Maple Ridge to the familiar confines of the Ladner Leisure Centre, where Sunday’s battle commenced.
First Period
Ice Hawks netminder Merik Erickson and his Flames counterpart Matthew Candusso skated to their respective creases, ready to duel once more. Erickson, playing his 12th game of the playoffs, sported a .925 save percentage, while Candusso entered his tenth post-season contest with a .952 save percentage.
The Flames were quickest to the draw, dominating the early play and forcing the Hawks into a modified form of trench warfare. Every zone entry brought about high-danger chances for Ridge, while Delta struggled early on to establish steady or consistent zone presence.
Zack Lagrange struck first for Ridge Meadows, scoring his tenth goal of the playoffs to open the scoring. Lagrange’s goal shifted the typical script, in which Delta had mustered the opening salvo of the previous two contests.
Later in the initial frame, Hawks forward Colin Jang found himself sent to the penalty box on a tripping minor. Though unable to generate any further offence from the power play, the Flames continued to sustain pressure and turned up the heat on the Hawks.
Delta got a man-advantage of their own later into the period, with Ridge forward Jacob Douglas off for cross-checking. While the first period came to its conclusion, Douglas’ penalty was set to carry into the next period for 58 seconds.
Second Period
Shortly after getting Douglas back on the ice, the Flames doubled their lead off of Drury-committed forward Nolan Bowsher’s eighth playoff goal, initially received as a crushing blow to the hopes of the Hawks. However, fate would have other plans.
Two minutes and change after Bowsher’s blast, Delta defenceman Nick Goyer muscled his way in and put his team on the board with his ninth goal of the campaign to match his jersey number. Declan Warburton and Dawson Toledo picked up the apples on Goyer’s goal.
Merely sixteen seconds after Goyer’s heroics, Jang tied the game at two goals apiece, assisted by Dylan Stafford.
The action picked up in pace rather exponentially, as only 72 seconds elapsed before the Flames had to send forward Samuel Allen to the sin bin on a tripping call. The Hawks’ power play would not last long, as an interference call to Warburton brought the game to four-on-four.
With plenty of extra space and ice, Delta’s key players stepped up for two expedient goals. 36 seconds into four-on-four, Mateo Sjoberg knocked home the go-ahead goal, assisted by Grady Lenton and Tye Hemenway. The same trio of players united once more, as Sjoberg went post-and-in to extend the newfound lead for the home side after 41 seconds of game time had elapsed.
Rattling off four unanswered goals, the Ice Hawks chased Candusso from the Flames’ cage, pressing backup goalie Josh Vallee into action for the first time since February 27th, the Flames loss to the Surrey Knights in the Harold Brittain Conference Semifinals.
The next penalty went against the Ice Hawks, with Brogan Kennedy assessed an interference minor, his first infraction of the night.
Vallee, appearing in 7:24 of game action, faced no shots from Delta and was supplanted by a refreshed Candusso re-assuming his duties.
Kennedy made a return trip to the box, this time for slashing, as the second period neared its curtain call. Once more, the teams would exit the ice with further power play promises awaiting them on the other side of the ice clean.
Third Period
With a new complexion and an outlook on the game, the Ice Hawks entered the final period with a renewed sense of confidence and a swagger that more closely resembled their previous playoff victories. The final mission objective was set: keep control, box out Ridge, swing the momentum.
A final chance at power play glory was presented to Delta, as Ridge defenceman Tyler Blatz skated off for high-sticking.
Candusso, buoyed by his second period reset, faced further barrages from the Hawks. Likewise, Erickson was nothing short of phenomenal as he kept the Flames in check, having cleansed his palate after the Flames’ prior two-goal lead.
Tensions flared late into the third, as Hawks winger Danylo Bereza was dispatched initially for a high-sticking call. Making his opinion known to the officials, he was treated to an early exit from the game as the referees added a 10-minute misconduct to his bill and sat Lucas Jakubec for Bereza’s two-minute minor.
All eyes turned to the Flames crease, which Candusso vacated with 1:05 remaining on the clock in favour of an extra attacker.
Following some scrambles and scattered attempts at the empty net, it would be Sjoberg completing the natural hat-trick into the open cage with exactly 20 seconds left that sealed the deal. Rajun Parmar and Lenton had the assists on Sjoberg’s twelfth playoff goal. A handful of hats and toques made their way over the full-rink netting to commemorate the occasion, crystallizing a 5-2 win for the Delta Ice Hawks as they seize the series lead by two wins to one over the Ridge Meadows Flames.
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NOTABLE NOTES
• For the second consecutive game, the Flames dressed affiliate forward Charlie Robinson. The 2008-born forward from Coquitlam was not able to impact the scoresheet as effectively as in his debut where he scored a goal, but was present in the play and logged significant minutes.
• Fellow Flames affiliate forward and Coquitlamite Callum McSherry dressed in warmup, but did not appear in game play.
• The Ice Hawks also dressed 21 players in warmup, opting to scratch 2006-born Vancouverite forward Louie Sim as the final roster decision.
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THREE STARS
• Delta Ice Hawks defenceman Nick Goyer sparked the second period comeback effort for the hometown club, rallying his teammates to a massive 4-goal outburst. The graduating 2004-born blueliner from Langley earned third-star recognition for his troubles.
• Delta Ice Hawks forward Mateo Sjoberg met the moment and scored two swift goals, both assisted by Grady Lenton and Tye Hemenway, and sealed the deal with an empty-net goal to complete the natural hat trick. The graduating 2004-born center from Surrey secured second-star status.
• Delta Ice Hawks goaltender Merik Erickson kept his club in control after erasing a two-goal deficit
Ridge Meadows Flames forward Zack Lagrange opened the scoring on Sunday, and while he was not named an official star in the game, he deserves recognition for his efforts.
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STONEHOUSE CUP PLAYOFF SERIES SCHEDULE
Stonehouse Cup Finals (league seeding in parenthesis)
(1) Ridge Meadows Flames vs. (3) Delta Ice Hawks
• Game 1 @ Ridge Meadows: 4-3 OTL, RM leads 1-0
• Game 2 @ Ridge Meadows: 3-1 W, series tied 1-1
• Game 3 @ Delta: 5-2 W, DEL leads 2-1
• Game 4 @ Delta: Tuesday, March 25th, 7:35 PM @ Ladner Leisure Centre
• Game 5 @ Ridge Meadows: Friday, March 28th, 7:30 PM @ Cam Neely Arena
• Game 6 @ Delta: Sunday, March 30th, 5:30 PM @ Ladner Leisure Centre*
• Game 7 @ Ridge Meadows: Wednesday, April 2nd, 7:30 PM @ Cam Neely Arena*
* = if necessary
Tom Shaw Conference Finals (conference seeding in parenthesis)
(1) Delta Ice Hawks vs. (2) Richmond Sockeyes (a.k.a. Tunnel Series 2025)
• Game 1 @ Delta: 5-4 W, DEL leads 1-0
• Game 2 @ Richmond: 8-4 W, DEL leads 2-0
• Game 3 @ Delta: 3-2 OTW, DEL leads 3-0
• Game 4 @ Richmond: 4-2 L, DEL leads 3-1
• Game 5 @ Delta: 7-3 W, DEL wins 4-1
Tom Shaw Conference Semifinals (conference seeding in parenthesis)
(1) Delta Ice Hawks vs. (5) Port Coquitlam Trailblazers
• Game 1 @ Delta: 7-3 W, DEL leads 1-0
• Game 2 @ Port Coquitlam: 7-4 L, series tied 1-1
• Game 3 @ Port Coquitlam: 4-2 L, PC leads 2-1
• Game 4 @ Delta: 9-1 W, series tied 2-2
• Game 5 @ Delta: 5-1 W, DEL leads 3-2
• Game 6 @ Port Coquitlam: 7-1 W, DEL wins 4-2
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