Gleaming Additions

Submitted by League Reporter, Jen Mutas

Along with Coquitlam and New Westminster, the Delta Islanders were one of the teams who benefitted most from the trade deadline in the BCJALL, picking up four third year players from Poco and adding Nanaimo goaltender Zack Boychuk and runner Steve Higgs at the last minute. Saturday night in Ladner Boychuk and Higgs would face their old club as the Timbermen paid a visit to the mainland for their final stretch of the regular season where they play three games in four days.

Prior to tonight’s game the Islanders sat two points behind the Lakers who are fourth in the standings but Delta also had a game in hand so they had the opportunity to tag up in points. The four players brought in from Port Coquitlam (Scott Jones, Matt Laustrup, Darcy Cummings, and Trevor Evans) had done their job in their first game as Islanders on Wednesday against Langley, scoring a combined total of 24 points in the 21-8 win. Saturday night was another game time opportunity to mesh even better with their new teammates, as well as the new additions of Boychuk and Higgs.

Nanaimo on the other hand came into the match on a four game losing skid and playing two men down with only eighteen dressed in the game roster; it would also be the first game played without their top two scorers (Cody Bremner and Colton Clark) who were traded to New Westminster at the deadline.

From the opening faceoff the Islanders came out with fire, scoring on both the power play opportunities in the first period as well as a short-handed goal and five more at regular strength. The T-Men beat Blake Duncan twice in the period, but the eight goals and twenty five shots that peppered Nanaimo goalie Scott Bannister weighed the game heavily in the Islanders favour after the opening frame.

The scoring would ease up a bit in the second period with Delta scoring five but Nanaimo could not catch a break and they only managed one goal from Joey Fendick and were down by ten goals after two periods of play.

Delta eased up on shots and goals in the third and let the opening period speak for itself, and while the Timbermen gathered some momentum and scored five goals it wasn’t enough to make it a close game and the final score was 15-8. Boychuk did come in and relieve Duncan with about ten minutes to go in the third where he faced nine shots off his former teammates and surrendered the final Nanaimo goal from Fendick (his fourth goal of the night). For the second game in a row Evans led the Islanders in points with two goals and three assist, followed by Cummings, Jones, Logan Schuss and Mike Mallory with four points each.

Nanaimo will be looking to put the game behind them and rest up before they host the Salmonbellies on Sunday afternoon, followed by a trip back to the mainland to face the Adanacs on Tuesday night.