The Ice Hawks remain undefeated so far in the 2023-24 season following a game in Port Coquitlam Friday night, beating the Trailblazers 8-2 in the first game ever between the two teams.
Goalie Remy Quintoro stopped 32 of 34 shots in his second start of the year, and Michele Romeo scored two of the four Hawks power play goals as a part of a hat trick in the win.
The first Hawks power play goal came from Declan Warburton in the first period, after Danylo Bereza kept the puck in PoCo’s zone at the blue line and skated down the left wing, passing to Warburton in the middle for a quick shot.
Conner Merriman doubled the Hawks’ lead on a highlight-of-the-night-type goal, going end to end and making a nifty move around goalie Evan Paul to find the back of the net.
The Trailblazers got on the board before the end of the frame on a goal from Markus Jack to cut Delta’s lead in half, 2-1 after 20 minutes.
Colin Jang reclaimed the Hawks’ two-goal lead just 25 seconds into the middle frame, kicking a rebound onto his stick and sliding the puck past the goal line. And the Hawks never looked back after that.
Hawks AP Jack Ferguson was in the right spot at the right time to tally his second goal in two games, picking up the puck in the slot after Paul poke-checked it away from Jang. Ferguson was right there to send it into the open net to make it 4-1 after two periods.
In the third, PJHL Player of the Week Carson Merriman added on to his fast start to the season with his eighth goal, wide open in the right corner. He skated up past the goal line for a sharp angle shot that went in far side on Paul for a 5-1 lead.
Romeo scored his first of three of the night just 19 seconds after Carson Merriman’s; Conner Merriman wove his way through the PoCo defense and snuck a pass to Romeo out front for an easy tap-in.
Romeo’s second and third goals were both power play goals and he nearly had a natural hat trick, if not for a Trailblazers goal in between. He was in just the right spot to punch in a rebound after a shot went wide, pushing it in at a sharp angle.
PoCo’s Foster Marsh doubled the Trailblazers’ total to two with a goal with five minutes left in the game, and then Romeo completed the hat trick with just five seconds left on the clock.
He was open on the left side for a pass and was able to rifle home a shot before time ran out on the clock to complete the hatty for an 8-2 Hawks win.
Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pU6hotgh6Xs
