The Delta Ice Hawks will ring in 2022 with their first game in nearly three weeks at the annual Pacific Junior Hockey League Winter Classic at Richmond’s Minoru Arenas.
The Ice Hawks (19-7-1-1) will take on the Tom Shaw Conference leading North Vancouver Wolf Pack (25-6-1-1) in a marquee Saturday morning battle at 10 a.m.
Delta will then take on the Aldergrove Kodiaks on Sunday (4 p.m.) before returning to the Ladner Leisure Centre for a Tuesday night (7:35 p.m.) encounter with the expansion Chilliwack Jets.
The three-games-in-four-days stretch comes after home dates with Chilliwack (Dec. 20) and Mission (Dec. 21) were postponed due to precautionary reasons as the Ice Hawks dealt with a small COVID outbreak. The team had its first practice since the holiday break on Tuesday night at Sungod Arena and will be close to full strength this weekend with just three players remaining in COVID protocol and all eligible to return Sunday.
“We’re in good shape to ice a full squad and get back at it,” said general manager and head coach Steve Robinson. “It’s a shame (the Langley game) isn’t in a better time slot to bring out the best in both teams but it’s the same for Langley.
“We love the adversity and are excited for the opportunity to rebound from our recent couple of losses in big games (against conference rivals Richmond and North Vancouver) and get things going in the right direction for the stretch drive.”
The PJHL Winter Classic started Thursday (Dec. 30) and features 13 games over four days.
