Sunday Double

Submitted by League Reporter, Jen Mutas

Coquitlam 6, Delta 5
After sweeping the Burnaby Lakers in the quarter-finals the Delta Islanders had exactly one week to prepare for their semi-final matchup with the league leading Coquitlam Adanacs. Delta came into game one of the semis riding a seven game winning streak which has proven to be a great morale booster for the club who has never made it past the opening round of the post-season. Coquitlam and Delta were also the two highest scoring teams in the regular season and despite quality goaltending for both teams, speculation has been made this will be a series filled with offensive flair and high scores.

Offensive flair- yes, high score- not so much. Even with Delta goaltender Zack Boychuk was facing the majority of the shots in the beginning of the game, the first goal was in favour of the visitors as Nathan Clare snagged the rebound and while Adanac goalie Chris Seidel was down, managed to tuck the ball in nicely up top. For the third time in the opening period the A’s pulled Seidel in favour of the extra attacker, but some smart defensive work from Cody Hawkins who snatched up a loose ball and ran it down the floor for the empty netter ensured the Islanders went into the break with a 2-0 lead.

Coquitlam’s first goal of the evening took 18 shots and twenty five minutes to beat Boychuk, but Robert Church made no mistake as he caught Delta on a bad change and made them pay five minutes into the second period. After killing a checking from behind penalty and then drawing a high sticking call at the tail end, Eli McLaughlin converted a goal for Delta which washed out the penalty against Clay Miller and extended the Islanders lead yet again. Consequently a penalty would be the result of the A’s next goal as Riley Loewen capitalized with just four seconds left on a holding call.

After another couple of goals for each side time was winding down in the game and the score was still just a one goal difference with Delta ahead. With just one minute and two seconds left in the third it was Church again who would grab a big rebound and rifle a shot through traffic from the top of the shooting circle to tie the game at 5 and send it to overtime.

In the ten minute OT period Church picked a heck of a time for his hat trick as he gave the Adanacs their first lead of the game three minutes in and was followed by another goal from Matthew Dinsdale for a two goal cushion. Darcy Cummings would answer back for the Islanders just forty seconds later but the A’s held on to take game one by a tight score of 6-5 after seventy minutes of game time.

After leading the game for the entire length of regulation time against a team like the Adanacs, this loss is no doubt a tough pill to swallow for the Islanders but they can hardly be disappointed with their performance. The Delta defense and most notably the incredible play of Boychuk, managed to keep the Adanacs scoreless for over a period, which is something the A’s haven’t experienced since June 2nd verses the Port Coquitlam Saints. Boychuk looked like a man on a mission with his key saves, calm demeanour, and was all around incredible between the iron for Delta making 51 total saves including 18 in the second period alone.

Game two in this series will go down this Tuesday July 20th at 7:00pm at the Ladner Arena in Delta.

New Westminster 14, Victoria 6
In the other semi-final matchup between the Shamrocks and Salmonbellies, New West caught the afternoon ferry over to Victoria on Sunday for game two after winning the first game of the series the night before at Queens Park by a score of 12-8.

After jumping out to a three goal lead after one period the ‘Bellies would be challenged more in the middle frame as the Shamrocks equalled the ‘Bellies goal total of three, but seven goals in the third- including three on the power play- would dampen the hopes of the Shamrocks obtaining a come from behind take-down of game two. The penalty totals were surprising in this game with Victoria being handed 68 total PIM’s and New West with 52, showing the emotional and physical feeling this series has between the two teams who are used to seeing each other in the post-season. Blair Pinnock led the ‘Rocks with one goal and three helpers and Jake Emms managed one goal and two assists to add to his 17 penalty minutes. For the ‘Bellies, no surprise Tyler Digby led in points with two goals and five assists, followed by Jay Card and Cody Bremner who each had hat tricks and two helpers.

Game three in which New West has the opportunity to sweep the series is scheduled for Saturday July 24th at 5:00pm at Queen's Park Arena, if the Shamrocks win on the Saturday then game four will be played in Victoria on Sunday the 25th at the same time.