Still Undefeated

Submitted by League Reporter, Jen Mutas

Tuesday’s game between the ‘Bellies and the visiting Delta Islanders would take a few minutes to establish a good flow after a few strange penalties for both sides, including illegal equipment and unsportsmanlike conduct all within the first couple of minutes; but once the ball got rolling it was a tight first period that would see the visitors jump ahead for the second straight game at Queen's Park.

After Keegan Bal opened up scoring on the power play for the ‘Bellies, Matt Messenger returned the favour for the Islanders as he scored with the man advantage on a holding call against Leif Mydske. Just one minute later Mike Berekoff caught the New West defense off guard as he slipped one past Brandon Mulligan unassisted. Just to get an idea of the burst of energy Delta had in the period, their final goal in the first from Eli McLaughlin was their fourteenth shot on net versus just eight for New West with five minutes to go. Realizing they needed a jump of their own, New West started to pepper Drew Duncan with shots in the final minutes of the opening period, evening up the shots and resulting in another beauty goal from Bal where he was running backwards across the top of the crease and managed to pick out the top corner over Duncan’s shoulder.

The second period was a different beast for the ‘Bellies, making quick work to take the lead as Trevor Sproule was left all alone to the left of the crease to tie the game up at three. Bal would then have his third highlight reel goal of the night, launching down the floor on a fast break catching Delta on a change and had everyone in the building believing he was going to shoot right from the way he was cutting in on net, only to pull back at the last second and shoot to the left side to take the lead. The ‘Bellies cushioned their lead in the middle of the period with three straight possessions resulting in three goals, and would head to the second break with a 6-3 lead.

The third period was much of the same for both teams, New West would spend a little more time in the penalty box than Delta in the final twenty minutes but their PK did a good job of keeping the Islander offense at bay. McLaughlin would be the only scorer for the Islanders in the third, beating Mulligan with just four minutes left in the game, but two more regular strength goals from New West and a short-handed goal from Reid Mydske with twenty five seconds left would solidify the 9-4 win for the ‘Bellies and move them ahead of Nanaimo for second place overall in the BCJALL standings.