MAPLE RIDGE, B.C. – With the Stonehouse Cup Finals tied two games apiece, the Delta Ice Hawks had their work cut out for them as the series shifted back to enemy territory on Friday night.
The Tom Shaw Conference champions had split the previous two games at the Cam Neely Arena, home to the Harold Brittain Conference-winning Ridge Meadows Flames, dropping Game 1 in overtime 4-3 and earning redemption in Game 2 with a 3-1 victory.
The Hawks muscled their way into the driver’s seat as the series moved to their home ice at the Ladner Leisure Centre, taking Game 3 with a 5-2 victory propelled by a Mateo Sjoberg hat-trick. However, the Flames gave them a taste of their own medicine in Game 4 by tying the series in a 4-3 decision.
Each team demonstrated they could do what needed to be done on the road. The next step for the Ice Hawks: replicate that Game 2 magic once again and retake the reins.
Starting Lineups
Ridge Meadows Flames
3 Jakob Loewen • 6 Lukas Ravenstein
21 Nolan Bowsher • 27 Joshua Bettesworth • 88 Zack Lagrange
Delta Ice Hawks
11 Danylo Bereza • 10 Mateo Sjoberg • 8 Grady Lenton
18 Jonathan Soares • 3 Tye Hemenway
First Period
As with each previous game in the finals, Merik Erickson took his position in the Delta Ice Hawks’ crease, opposite Matthew Candusso across the way.
Flames defender Morgan Clark took the game’s first penalty, a delay of game call for putting the puck over the glass.
Despite controlling much of the early possession play in the game, the Ice Hawks found themselves behind the eight ball as the Flames grab an early goal from affiliate forward Colin Jamieson who corralled a juicy rebound in front of Erickson. Deadline acquisition and veteran defenceman Justin Sumners collected his first point of the playoffs with the primary assist.
Flames captain and d-man Lukas Ravenstein provided the Hawks with another chance on the power play, skating off on a tripping minor. Delta levelled a barrage of shots against the Flames, with veteran centerman Mateo Sjoberg notably out on the ice for the entirety of the power play, but Candusso saw all of it through to keep the game tilted in Ridge Meadows’ favour.
Following the first period’s media timeout, Ice Hawks blueliner Brandon Petrie was called for a holding penalty, sitting for two minutes and giving the Flames their first action with the man-advantage.
Seizing control, the Flames connected for a power play goal off the stick of Ravenstein, collecting his seventh goal of the playoffs with a perfectly-placed net-front presence.
The Hawks and Flames went tit-for-tat, with each side shooting and blocking shots en masse. No further action would take place on the scoresheet, with a 2-0 advantage in goals and 13-12 edge in shots on goal both going to the Ridge Meadows Flames.
Per Ice Hawks statistician Steve Daniels, the Delta Ice Hawks were notably dominant in the faceoff circle, winning 16 first period draws to the Flames’ eight.
Second Period
The physicality in the game ramped up in the middle frame, with Sumners throwing a heavy hit against his former Langley Trappers teammate and fellow defender Nick Goyer.
Flames forward Pierce Whyte snagged the Flames’ third goal, at 3:03 of the second period, to keep the Hawks at bay and keep control of the contest.
Hawks forward Beckett Cross took a tripping call, and the Flames needed minimal time to convert on their second power play as Ravenstein cashed in his second goal of the contest to lift his club up 4-0.
Another tripping call, this time going to Flames’ winger Matteo Appezzato, granted Delta their next chance on the power play. Putting the puck over the glass during the penalty kill, Flames center Joshua Bettesworth skated to the box for delay of game, prompting a minute and 35 seconds of 5-on-3 power play for the Ice Hawks.
Working efficiently on the power play, Sjoberg worked the puck back to winger Grady Lenton at the point, who cycled to defenceman and captain Tye Hemenway at the side of the net. Hemenway unleashed a shot on Candusso, with the rebound coming cleanly back to Sjoberg who made no mistake for his 14th goal of the postseason.
The Flames had a response at the ready, killing off the remaining penalty time and restoring their four-goal lead off of Jakob Loewen’s second of the series. This goal would spell the end of the line for Erickson, with Thomas Popa entering the game to lock things down the rest of the way.
Delta was bullishly determined to keep this game competitive, earning their second goal of the game from forward Lucas Jakubec for his fifth playoff goal. Sjoberg and defenceman Owen Cooper recorded the assists on Jakubec’s goal, a spark to keep the Hawks’ hopes alive.
Time was ticking away on the second period, and the Hawks pressed onwards. Seizing on a golden opportunity, Lenton picked off a Flames clearing attempt, sending the puck to defender Jonathan Soares in front of Candusso. Soares, the former Richmond Sockeye, ripped his shot past the Flames netminder with 62 seconds remaining in the middle frame to hoist his club within two goals.
A late penalty to Flames blueliner Tyler Blatz, a roughing minor incurred during a spat behind the Ridge Meadows net, set up the balance of another Delta power play to pick up in the third period. The teams ended 40 minutes of play with the Ridge Meadows Flames leading a surging Delta Ice Hawks by a score of 5-3.
Another exemplary stat gathered by statistician Steve Daniels revealed that by the end of the second period, the Ice Hawks had recorded a whopping 60 shot attempts to the Flames’ 31.
Third Period
The Ice Hawks couldn’t convert on the power play, but held their own nonetheless as the third period rolled onwards.
Facing heat from the Flames, Popa, another former Richmond Sockeye, made a stunning save on Ridge Meadows forward Samuel Allen. Popa and Soares, both of whom played in last year’s finals for Richmond against these same Flames, were poised for vengeance as they led their current club into battle.
A pair of coincidental penalties brought the game to a spell of four-on-four, as Hawks forward Louie Sim and Flames winger Nolan Bowsher both sat in the sin bin for roughing.
Commanding much of the play in the third period, the Ice Hawks applied a metric ton of pressure as they sought the goals necessary to tie the contest. Every once in a while, the Flames would escape the zone and put the Hawks on notice. Thankfully, Popa was very much up to the task, making stellar saves as needed.
Popa came out of his crease to challenge a streaking Jonah Power Smith, and withstood even more pressure from the Flames as the sun began to set on the third period.
Eventually, the Hawks pulled Popa in favour of the extra attacker with just over two minutes left in the game. An errant puck with eyes for the empty cage was chased down by Hemenway, who put in an Atlas-like effort all throughout the final frame, but could not escape a determined Zack Lagrange who put away the empty-netter for a 6-3 score with 2:02 left.
The home side Ridge Meadows Flames came away victorious, picking up a 3-2 series lead over the Delta Ice Hawks, with a dramatic Game 6 set for 5:30 PM on Sunday, March 30th at the Ladner Leisure Centre.
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NOTABLE NOTES
• The Ridge Meadows Flames brought affiliate forward Colin Jamieson into the fray on Friday night, wearing jersey number 20. The 2007-born Semiahmoo Minor Hockey product had completed his fourth campaign in the BCEHL’s Valley West Hawks system, notching 40 points in 33 games with the U18 squad.
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THREE STARS
• Delta Ice Hawks forward Mateo Sjoberg gave his club their best chance, with a goal and an assist to keep the Hawks in the game. Sjoberg finished the game with third-star honours.
• Ridge Meadows Flames forward Zack Lagrange put the nail in the coffin for his team, scoring the empty-netter as well as assisting on the eventual game-winner to secure second-star accolades.
• Ridge Meadows Flames defenceman Lukas Ravenstein walked the walk and talked the talk, scoring twice on the power play to lock in the win alongside first-star platitudes.
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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: 4-3 L, series tied 2-2
• 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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