Opening Weekend

The official season opener between the Langley Thunder and Port Coquitlam Saints got underway on Friday night, and after the first twenty minutes it seemed to be anyone’s game.

Matt Cruickshank would open the scoring for Langley, beating Saints goalie Carson Michaud just ninety seconds into the game. Both teams would trade goals back and forth in the first, and the score was all tied up at four going into the first break. Once the second period got underway it seemed as if it was a completely different game altogether; Poco appeared to have more control, and Langley couldn’t seem to generate more offense to keep them in the game.

Only ahead by one goal to start the final period the Saints finished the game strong, making sure to take advantage of their time on the power play, as Langley got called for seven penalties in the final twenty. Finally, four power play goals and one at even strength from Cory Cop would be enough for the Saints to double the Thunder 10-5 at full time. Unfortunately for Langley their game was done after just one period of play, which is a shame considering they played quite well in the first. The combination of not scoring in over thirty minutes and letting Poco work their magic with the man advantage, made the end result which is painfully familiar to the Thunder- a loss.

Saturday afternoon the reigning BC champion Adanacs took the ferry over to Nanaimo to start their season, in a game that needed overtime to decide a winner. After a tight first period with a slim one goal advantage for the A’s, three goals for Coquitlam in the second period and none for the T-Men seemed to weigh the game in favour of the visitors.

Not to be out-done in their barn the Timbermen staged a huge comeback in the third, led by Cody Bremner and Ryan Forslund who had two goals each in a span of just ten minutes in the third. Even with forced overtime Coquitlam was on their game thanks to a short-handed goal from Wesley Berg, and a power play goal from Brandon Bertoia. Nanaimo had the answer for both those goals, and just when it seemed the overtime period would end in a tie as well, Ryan Johnson played the role of hero for the A’s as he got a feed from Ed Patron and buried the game winner past Scott Bannister with just forty seconds to go.

A heartbreaker for the Timbermen to lose but when you look on paper it could have gone the other way and been a blowout considering the A’s hammered 65 shots at Nanaimo’s net. Zach Boychuk started between the iron for the T-Men, and was relieved by Bannister about halfway into the second. At the other end of the floor Dan Lewis was getting a workout as well, facing all 48 shots the T-Men threw at him. Besides the goalies, impressive numbers from this match came from Nanaimo’s Kyle Hofer with six assists, and Ryan Forslund with four goals; for the A’s, Kevin Chelcznski won an impressive eighteen faceoffs, and Ryan Johnson had two goals and two helpers, including of course- the game winner in the 12-11 final at the NIC.

Saturday would also see the Thunder play their second road game in as many nights, this time inLadner to face the Islanders. Delta seemed to be in control of the game from the beginning, jumping ahead 3-1 in the first and managing to outscore the Thunder in the second and third as well. The final period is where the game took the physical route, with three players from each team getting fighting penalties and game misconducts. Even being a man down Delta would still find ways to beat Devon Winter, with Mike Mallory and Eric Tuura scoring short-handed goals in the third. The final score was 12-7 for the Islanders, with Mallory posting the best numbers for the home team: four goals, four assists, and fifteen PIM’s. Nick Stone would be the only multiple goal scorer for the Thunder with two markers, and Brandon Bull has started the season impressive in the faceoff circle winning 12 of 20 tonight, and 12 of 18 on Friday.

Sunday’s double header would start on the mainland in Poco, where Victoria was visiting for their first match of the season. Both teams played a cautious first period, and of the five goals scored between the two squads, four were special teams goals (3PPG, 1SHG). Victoria would take a slight edge in the middle frame, but only retain a two goal advantage heading into the third.

As we’ve seen in a couple of games for opening weekend, the third would be a revolving door for the penalty box. The ‘Rocks managed to stymie the league’s best power play in the third, only allowing one goal from Keigan Scharnberg with the man advantage, even with their eight chances. Darcy Cummings and Trevor Evans would each have four point nights for the Saints, and for Victoria the point leader of the game would be shared between Blair Pinnock and Ryan Sage who each had five points. Shamrock goalie Adam Hickey had a good jumpstart to his season, having the Saints pepper him with 55 shots over three periods. His quick lateral movements saved the day in more than one instance for Victoria, and despite giving out quite a few rebounds, he played a focused game to help his team to their first victory of the season- a final of 13-7.

The last match of the weekend was out at Bill Copeland Arena to see the Islanders take on theBurnaby Lakers. Delta would start Kyle Fredrick in net, but after just half a period and six goals against from the Lakers, Blake Duncan would be sent in to relieve him. Down by six goals and being outshot 18-8 after one period, the Islanders had a tough time coming back with enough power to match the Lakers, and in the third didn’t manage to get on the scoreboard at all.

Burnaby declined in both shots and goals as the game went on, but the damage was done in the first period and set the tone for the rest of the match. Jordan Jarvis had an exceptional game for the Lakers, scoring three goals and five helpers, with eleven shots on goal. Chase Clark and Josh Simons weren’t far behind on the scoreboard, with five and four points respectably, easing the Lakers into their first victory of the regular season and the final score of 12-5.