DELTA, B.C. – The Delta Ice Hawks, coming off of a 6-5 stunner in Maple Ridge at the hands of the Ridge Meadows Flames, were eager to return to their winning ways. What better opponent to find that groove against than the team they bested the previous Wednesday, the Coastal Tsunami?
Though their comeback effort against the Flames fell shy of tying the game, the Hawks looked poised to carry over their momentum into a rare Sunday matinée effort.
Netminders Zach Shaughnessy and Brayden Burrows once again assumed their positions in opposing creases, mirroring the mid-week matchup that preceded this contest.
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1st Period
Coastal forward Lucas Lekakis was the first player from either side to impact the scoresheet, putting away his third goal of the season to break the game open just past the halfway mark of the first period.
Delta defenceman and affiliate player Samuel Harvey, back in the lineup for his fourth game of the season (and second against Coastal), was assessed the game’s first penalty, a cross-checking minor.
Veteran Hawks forward Brogan Kennedy caught a roughing penalty and a 10-minute misconduct in the closing seconds of the first frame, putting his team on the back foot. Delta forward and former Tsunami player Hudson May served the roughing penalty on Kennedy’s behalf.
The teams left the ice after 20 spirited minutes with Coastal nursing a 1-0 lead, armed with more power-play time carrying over to the start of the second period. Delta held a 13-6 advantage in shots, but had yet to break through.
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2nd Period
The Ice Hawks found themselves penalized again, with defender Ryder Dunn taking a boarding call in the first minute of the middle frame. His side would successfully kill off both his and Kennedy’s penalties.
Tempers further flared as Tsunami forward Nolan Caruso and Hawks forward Keeghan Dunn each earned a smattering of penalties. For Caruso: a roughing minor and a game misconduct; for Dunn: a charging minor and a 10-minute musconduct.
In amidst the bedlam, Coastal found the dagger they needed: forward Reegan Kominko sent his shot past Shaughnessy to double up his club’s lead.
The Tsunami were twice caught angling in the second period, with forward Tayvian Delorme and defender Lars Derstroff earning separate hooking penalties within a 91-second span. Despite the showings of special teams, Delta could not yet solve Burrows.
The Hawks were short-handed again, with forward Noah Hoglund joining the club on a hooking call of his own, alongside a 10-minute misconduct. However, this provided the spark that the home side was least-expecting: forward Beckett Cross broke Burrows’ shutout effort with a short-handed goal as the clock ticked down past five minutes to go.
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3rd Period
Newly emboldened, the Delta Ice Hawks had their work cut out for them to draw even with 20 minutes left to go. However, the momentum would swing back to the visitors, with Tsunami defenceman Deylan Watson scoring a seismic insurance goal within the first minute of the third period. Coastal forward Raydon Parkes followed suit with a goal of his own just 27 seconds later.
Backs against the wall, the Hawks had another chance on the power play as Tsunami forward Rocky Nordvie sat for a roughing penalty. Surely, it was Coastal’s turn to weather the storm.
Ryder Dunn made a return to the penalty box on a roughing call, and later sat alongside Coastal forward Luke Curtin on off-setting penalties (Curtin for interference, Dunn for embellishment).
The contest came to a close at exactly 4:00pm, with the Tsunami victorious by a 4-1 margin.
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3 Stars of the Game
- Delta Ice Hawks forward Beckett Cross scored his team’s only goal, a short-handed tally to boot, to keep the game close when it was most at risk of slipping away too early. Cross earned third-star recognition for his troubles.
- Coastal Tsunami goaltender Brayden Burrows locked in for the win, making 30 saves on 31 shots to earn second-star platitudes.
- Coastal Tsunami forward Raydon Parkes assisted on the eventual game-winning goal from Reegan Kominko and added a third-period marker of his own to put the contest out of reach, becoming the game’s first star in the process.
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Next Game
The Ice Hawks hit the road for a Friday night battle on October 17th at the Jon Baillie Arena, where they will face the Port Coquitlam Trailblazers. Puck drop is set for 7:00pm.
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