DELTA, B.C. – The Delta Ice Hawks, all moved into their new home at the Sungod Arena in North Delta, kicked off their 2025-26 Pacific Junior Hockey League season with guts and gusto, skating once again into battle against their perennial rivals, the Richmond Sockeyes. Both clubs featured a glut of returning players from last season, alongside a smattering of new faces to bolster their squads. Ultimately, It took very little time for the Ice Hawks and Sockeyes to renew acquaintances.
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1st Period
Re-acquired by the Ice Hawks in the off-season, 2005-born netminder Zach Shaughnessy assumed the starter’s role, squaring off against Richmond’s goaltender, Massimo Urbani.
The hometown squad, clad in their gold alternate jerseys, seized control early on with the first goal coming off the stick of former affiliate-turned-full time forward Noah Hoglund, just under two minutes into the contest. Devun Olfert, a junior hockey veteran and newly-minted alternate captain, and Cohen Smith, a fellow ex-affiliate, notched the assists on the Hawks’ first goal of the season.
Delta’s fortunes would turn shortly thereafter, with rookie Hawks defenceman Bruce McLeod dispatched to the penalty box for tripping. Richmond’s power play got to work swiftly, as William Huo’s goal balanced the scales for a 1-1 deadlock.
With tempers flaring early, the on-ice officials set out to quell the burgeoning animosity. Ice Hawks sophomore Miller Bruckshaw and veteran Quinn Orr of the Sockeyes, both defencemen by trade, found themselves in the box on off-setting roughing penalties. Amidst the additional on-ice space, returning forward Lucas Jakubec stormed in and scored an unassisted tally to restore the home side’s one-goal advantage.
Mere seconds after Jakubec’s goal, Richmond would find themselves short-handed further. Huo caught a tripping penalty, followed a minute later by teammate Josh Mytton, penalized for holding the stick.
Less than five minutes remained on the first period clock, as Hoglund got into a spirited exchange with Sockeyes’ Gavin Dacpano, each earning roughing calls with Dacpano earning an extra minor for slashing. Time would catch up to the first period, with the teams retiring to a 2-1 Delta advantage and a dead-heat on the shot counter of 9-9.
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2nd Period
Down a goal, the Sockeyes could not have been thrilled to be short-handed against a vaunted Ice Hawks power play and all its ammunition, yet Orr’s return to the sin bin would facilitate such a chance. Nonetheless, Delta’s special teams weren’t able to convert.
Instead, Sockeyes forward Brody Lindal finished on a chance to bury the tying goal, pulling alongside the Hawks and yanking the momentum firmly to their side.
Additional penalties would come against Richmond’s Matthias Cheung (tripping) and Delta’s Brandon Petrie (hooking) and Bruckshaw (interference).
Once again making quick work of the man-advantage, Richmond got their go-ahead goal via returning captain Teo Lin. A show of displeasure earned the Hawks’ bench a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, leading to the second period ending in a cliff-hanger. Richmond, now leading in goals (3-2 after 40 minutes) and total shots (20-13 through two periods), looked poised to spoil Delta’s housewarming party.
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3rd Period
Seemingly unable to get out of their own way, the Hawks landed in the box as Bruce McLeod was assessed a hooking penalty.Hawks freshman forward Liam McLeod, who had been serving the bench minor, returned to the ice but was unable to prevent Sockeyes ace David Yoon, acquired from the North Vancouver Wolf Pack, from capitalizing on yet another power play and expanding the lead to 4-2.
Both Delta and Richmond exchanged power play chances, with plenty of special teams scenarios unfolding. Dacpano sat for another slashing penalty, successfully killed off by the Sockeyes. Roughing penalties handed down on the same stoppage to Bruckshaw, Brogan Kennedy, and Sockeyes returnee Max Shin, brought about a Richmond power play, only to be truncated by Lin’s interference penalty. The teams played four-on-four, marking another spot on the special-teams bingo card.
Late into the final frame, Sockeyes forward Dylan Nazareth was called for tripping, lending to a potentially crucial turn for the Ice Hawks. With the face-off in the attacking zone, Shaughnessy waited until the Ice Hawks gained possession of the puck before dashing to the bench for an extra attacker. The last gasp would fall short, as Kai Adano sealed the game with an empty-net goal, the eventual final score now showing 5-2 for the visitors.
Further niceties were no longer necessary, as Hawks third-year defender Dylan Stafford exited the game alongside Adano, each earning a minor penalty (roughing for Stafford, clipping for Adano) and a 10-minute misconduct. Sockeyes d-man Mattias Uyeda, sitting on a four-point night, added a pair of PIMs to his stat line, ending his game in the penalty box for roughing. The final buzzer cut through the atmosphere, signalling a 5-2 final score in Richmond’s favour.
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3 Stars of the Game
- Delta Ice Hawks forward Lucas Jakubec, with his unassisted goal, set the pace for his Ice Hawks squad and played in all situations to earn third-star recognition.
- Richmond Sockeyes defenceman Mattias Uyeda contributed to 80% of his team’s goals, etching four assists and feeding the engine of his team’s power play to earn second-star accolades.
- Richmond Sockeyes forward David Yoon racked up a goal and two assists, setting a solid first impression with his new team to earn first-star honours.
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Next Game
The Ice Hawks have a quick turnaround, with less than 17 hours between the end of tonight’s game and the start of their next, a 4:00 PM puck drop at Burnaby Winter Club against the recently-rebranded Burnaby Steelers.
The next game at Sungod Arena is set for Saturday, September 20th at 7:00 PM , where the Ice Hawks will face off against their opponents from the previous season’s finals, the defending Stonehouse Cup champion Ridge Meadows Flames.
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