The Delta Ice Hawks ran out of gas and into a determined opponent in their bid to repeat as Pacific International Junior Hockey League champions.
The Hawks season ended with a a 5-1 game seven loss to the Richmond Sockeyes on Monday night at Minoru Arena in front of about 600 fans. Delta had climbed back from a 3-1 series deficit to force a deciding game in the Tom Shaw Conference final but failed to match the same level of desperation of their opponent when both seasons were on the line.
The locals got off to a promising enough start with a couple of excellent shifts in the opening minutes, especially from the top line of Anthony Brito, Aaron Merrick and Mak Barden. Some key saves by Kootenay Alder set the stage for Richmond to open the scoring when Jeremy Hamaguchi jumped on a turnover and beat Alex Anhert.
The Sockeyes came out storming to start the second with only the solid work of Anhert keeping it a one goal game. The Hawks were on the verge of killing off a four-minute high sticking penalty to Dave Rudin when Rudi Thorsteinson converted a cross-crease pass. Richmond kept coming and would soon add two more goals, chasing Anhert and all but sealing the final outcome.
I think we came out kind of flat tonight, said Ice Hawks general manager Peter Zerbinos who watched his team throughly dominate two nights earlier in a 4-2 game six victory. Dont know if it its because it took so much emotion to come back from being down 3-1. Sometimes it drains the tank.
Give credit to the Sockeyes. They forechecked us hard and made it difficult for us to get out of our own end. It was important to get the first goal to put them on the edge and we couldnt get it.
It was only fitting the Ice Hawks most dangerous player on the night was their most snake-bitten too. Barden was denied on at least three terrific saves by Alder. The PIJHL regular season scoring champion had no puck luck and was held without a goal in 11 playoff games.
Sockeyes coach Aaron Wilbur watched his team blow a chance to end the series in a 5-4 home ice loss in game five then come out flat in game six. Facing elimination for the first time this season, his players answered the challenge.
We talked a lot about each game has a life of its own. When the puck dropped tonight we had to go and write the history of this game, said Wilbur. At the start, a lot of people would have bet this series would go seven games.
Thats a really good hockey team. They fought their way back and you have to give them credit. But I thought our guys responded with maybe their best game of the year.
