The host club for 2014-15 B.C. Hockey Female “A” Championships is looking like it will be a serious contender.
The Richmond Devils are off to a terrific start in the South Coast Female Hockey League as they work their way through a 22-week regular season — leading up to the provincials March 26-29 at the Richmond Ice Centre.
The Devils will take a 5-1-1 record into their 7 p.m. Saturday encounter with the B.C. Thunder at RIC’s Igloo Rink.
The Devils are coming off a weekend split on the Island against the Victoria Phantoms. They opened the series with a 4-0 win, before falling 2-0 on Sunday morning.
Alex Yallouz paced the Devils with two goals and an assist in the opener. Sabrina Wong, Jodie Wong and Simran Sidhu added one each.
Kasey Schell earned the shutout, making 12 saves.
In the rematch Sunday, the Devils fired 34 shots at Melinda Choy, but the Victoria netminder stopped them all for her first shutout of the season.
The results leave the Devils (5-1-1) one point back of South Fraser TNT (6-0-0), while the defending league champion Meadow Ridge Moose are lurking in third.
Yallouz currently leads the league in scoring with 14 points in five games, including eight goals.
She had a five point night, including a hat trick, in Richmond’s 8-3 win over the Thunder back on Oct. 18. She then added four more points, with a pair of goals, in a 9-1 win the next day over the Trinity Western University Titans. The productive weekend earned her player of the week honours.
Richmond will also host the league all-star game, slated for March 21 at the RIC. The showcase event will feature 30 players from the SCFHL’s nine teams.
The Devils were launched five years ago to provide local graduating minor hockey players an opportunity to continue careers and realize their full potential. The team is coached by Tony Cheema, with franchise founders John and Pat Korenic looking after the management and administrative duties.
