The Delta Ice Hawks head into October looking to re-establish some momentum at the Ladner Leisure Centre.
The defending Pacific International Junior Hockey League champions closed out the first month of the season with a 6-1 road win over the expansion White Rock Whalers on Saturday night to improve to 5-2-1-1. That’s good enough for fourth place overall in the new league playoff format that sees the top eight advance to the playoffs regardless of which conference they are in.
Delta has put together a solid 3-1-1 record on the road but is just .500 at home, including a 3-2 loss to the Port Moody Panthers last week despite outshooting the visitors by a 37-16 margin. The Hawks will look to snap the mini-skid when the 2-7-0-0 Aldergrove Kodiaks visit on Tuesday at 7:35 p.m.
They rebounded 24 hours later with a 3-2 at Langley behind a pair of goals from the red hot Alex Suprynowicz. The third-year forward also led the charge in White Rock with two more goals and four points. He now has a league-leading 10 goals, four more than his nearest rival.
Andrew Kemp enjoyed his biggest outing since joining the club two weeks ago with three points, including a pair of tallies. Jonathan Rees and rookie Jihwan Kim also scored while Jordy Engelson made 28 saves.
The Whalers have a significant local flavour with longtime South Delta Minor head coach Jay Rogers behind the bench.
His roster includes nephews Matt and Tyler Rogers, along with SDMHA grad Greg Porter. Jay guided the Vancouver Thunderbirds to the Midget A1 provincial title last season.
Icing…
It’s still a little over three weeks away but the second instalment in the Tunnel Cup season series is looming large.
The Ice Hawks and Richmond Sockeyes battled to a 2-2 draw back in the opening week of the season. Since then, the surprising Sockeyes have reeled off seven straight wins and are the last remaining unbeaten team in the PJHL (7-0-1-0).
Richmond closed out its September schedule with a 9-0 drubbing at Port Moody on Saturday. Its line-up features just three players back from last year’s Cyclone Taylor Cup championship team.
The Ice Hawks will host the Sockeyes on Oct. 23 in Ladner.
