LANGLEY, BC – They don’t ask how, they ask how many. On a night of lopsided scores throughout the Pacific Junior Hockey League, the Delta Ice Hawks managed a 9-1 victory over the hosting Aldergrove Kodiaks.
Less than a minute after Aldergrove’s first penalty of the night expired and Matthew Russell left the penalty box, Delta forward Brogan Kennedy picked up where he left off the night before. He followed his overtime winner at home over the Surrey Knights by opening the scoring at the Aldergrove Community Centre. His dominance extended with a second straight goal; both Kennedy’s 11th and 12th goals of the season were assisted primarily by the equally red-hot Grady Lenton. Before closing out the first frame, Mateo Sjoberg added his 25th of the campaign to send the Ice Hawks back to their dressing room with a three goal advantage.
A relatively quiet second period would re-ignite after the midway mark with more Delta goals, these times coming from Marcus Bromhead (1st of the season) and Danylo Bereza (4th). Bereza’s tally would be the one to chase Kodiaks netminder Matthew Crotenko and bring out Sam Weinstein-Smith.
Perhaps one of the more impressive feats from the game was Delta’s discipline, staying out of the penalty box and leaving Aldergrove to their own devices. Ryden Mathieson only needed ten seconds at the top of the third period to extend the score to 6-0 in Delta’s favour. Shortly thereafter, Kodiaks forward Taran Biring would snap Merik Erickson’s shutout bid with his team’s only goal, assisted by his twin brother Jayan. The Ice Hawks continued to flex their scoring prowess, with Bromhead collecting his second of the game with a goal that would be Delta’s first and only Power Play marker. Eric Lee would notch his second goal in as many nights, followed swiftly by newly-minted PJHL top prospect Miller Bruckshaw putting this one far out of reach.
The Hawks departed from Aldergrove triumphant, winning 9-1. Erickson only needed to make 17 saves on 18 shots, allowing his team to do the heavy lifting. Delta returns to action this Saturday as they travel across the Boundary Bay to visit the White Rock Whalers, puck drop is 7:15pm.
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THREE STARS
3rd: DEL 77 Chayse Hainz with two assists (on Kennedy’s game-winning goal and on Bromhead’s first)
2nd: DEL 71 Brogan Kennedy with two goals (opening the scoring and the game-winner) and one assist (on Lee’s 8-1 goal)
1st: DEL 10 Mateo Sjoberg with one goal (extending his hold on the goal-scoring race) and two assists (on Bereza’s and Mathieson’s goals)
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Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhrlKJkb3Bg
