The Richmond Sockeyes failed to take advantage of an easy path back to the Cyclone Taylor Cup provincial junior "B" hockey championships.
After a dominant regular season and making short work of the North Vancouver Wolf Pack in the opening round of the Pacific International Junior Hockey League playoffs, it turned out all the Sockeyes had to do was get past the Delta Ice Hawks to book their spot into next month's tournament.
Richmond owned its cross-river rival in the regular season, winning five of six games and took a 2-1 series lead back to Minoru Arena where the locals had lost just three times in 26 games. However, few would have predicted what would happen next.
It was the Ice Hawks that produced convincing 5-2 and 6-3 road victories, setting the stage for game five last Sunday where they relied on the outstanding 45-save performance of goaltender Glenn Ferguson to escape with a 2-1 win and take the series in six games.
The Ice Hawks now meet Abbotsford in the PIJHL finals and since the Pilots are also hosting the Cyclone Taylor Cup, they gain an automatic berth into the four team event.
The consistency which has been such a huge part of the Sockeyes dominance the past few seasons was simply lacking in these playoffs.
Head coach Judd Lambert watched his team get off to a poor start in game two, only to rebound with a dominating game three road win. Just when Richmond looked to be in control of the series, they dropped two straight at Minoru.
"We were terrible. We definitely didn't show up in game four," said Lambert.
"Game five I thought we deserved a little bit better but they made the plays and we didn't.
"We prepared and went through the same routine we always have done. For whatever reason the intensity and emotion wasn't there. We had in our mind all year long that our record was a bit dangerous. Definitely there was the possibility of complacency. Bottom line is we didn't make enough plays in this series to win."
The Sockeyes might have played their best two periods of the series with their backs against the wall on Sunday but only had Connor Wilson's power play goal to show for it.
First period goals by Kolten Grieve and Grange Gordon gave the Ice Hawks a two goal lead they managed to nurse through the final 50 minutes but not before plenty of anxious moments.
The Sockeyes' best chance came off the stick of PIJHL rookie-of-theyear and Vancouver Giants prospect Carter Popoff who just failed to convert a spectacular end-to-end rush in the final minutes of the third period.
"We played with a level of desperation that I expected our team to have from the very beginning," added Lambert "We also told them not to be dumping the puck in anymore.
They had to carry the puck across the blueline or chip and chase. It definitely led to more chances. I'm kicking myself right now for not saying that earlier."
The Ice Hawks avenged last year's seven game conference final loss and it was two Richmond players who stepped up big time for them. Seafair alumni Cody Fidgett had an outstanding series with six goals, while Richmond Minor grad Mitch Pacey thrived with more ice time, scoring twice in game four.
"We didn't show up in game three and we rallied our group and felt strong of what we were going to do in games four and five," said Ice Hawks coach Dave McLellan. "We also felt very comfortable in their arena.
"Those wins built some confidence in our players too. We hadn't done that all year against them. Just to get that many goals against them as they don't usually give up many."
