The final week of September saw a busy week for the Sockeyes, playing a pair of games in the final week, with the first being a thriller that went to a shootout against the Delta Ice Hawks.
We continue to mention that penalties prove costly and such was the case that saw Delta jump out to the early lead on the power play with Gavin Bains sitting in the box serving a tripping minor.
The quick start saw a return goal at 17:05 in the first with Jonathan Soares getting his second of the season, pulling the Sockeyes even after one.
The strong forechecking of Richmond saw them dominate in the shot department, leading 19-11. A fast start to the second saw Ice Hawks Brandon Petrie getting a solo marker for the lead.
The third saw Delta continue to press with Nicholas Kolb giving the Ice Hawks a comfortable 3-1 lead at 3:33, only to have Teo Lin (4th) at 4:38, pulling the Sockeyes within one.
Richmond continued to press with William Huo pulling them even at three at the 5:28 mark that saw a momentum shift with the Sockeyes continuing to drive for the net.
The fast-paced game saw Gavin Sangara give them the lead at 9:59 while Delta’s Colin Jang put the game even at four, with the fans being entertained with exciting fast-paced PJHL hockey.
The game ended in a tie, forcing OT that saw Delta’s Connor Merriman put in the winner in what was nothing less than spectacular.
Game stars:
1st Connor Merriman 0 G 1 A
2nd Zach Shaughnessy 41 SA 37 Saves
3rd Thomas Popa 40 SA 36 Saves
The Sockeyes returned home facing the Port Moody Panthers in what the coach best described as a “must win’ game to end September on a winning note.
The front line of Port Moody had close chances in the opening only to be turned aside by Sockeyes’ rookie netminder Mathias Hasselmann, who came up with impressive close-in saves, keeping them off the scoreboard.
Focusing on their keys to the game saw Alex Kielmann open the scoring at 9:08 followed by goals from Nicholas Noren and Teo Lin at 11:10, giving the Sockeyes a comfortable 3-0 lead.
It wasn’t until the 13:03 mark that saw Connor Hughes get the Panthers on the board, having a man advantage, while Joel Elsaesser fought traffic allowing the Panthers to pull within two.
Richmond’s fire power is potent, as they dominated the first, peppering 16 shots at both Lucas Poratto and Ty Angus, who replaced Poratto after Richmond’s third goal.
The second was all Richmond with Noren continuing his record pace in the scoring department, getting a pair at 0:24 and his second at 13:24 on the power play.
The second was a penalty filled with referee Connor Simmons dishing out seven penalties that saw Richmond’s Bains assessed a misconduct while Panthers Connor Hughes handed both a misconduct and game misconduct.
The third was all Richmond as they continued to throw shot after shot at Angus that saw Rajun Parmar get his second of the season while Nicholas Noren got his fourth of the game.
September would end with the Sockeyes outsourcing the opposition 29-8 on home ice, finishing the month with 48 goals for allowing 22 through eight games.
Game stars:
1st Nicholas Norem 4 G 1 A
2nd Mathias Hasselmann 17 SA 16 SV
3rd Teo Lin 1 G 3 A
The Sockeyes next contest was against the Grandview Steelers Oct. 1 at the Burnaby Winter Club that saw them also manage a 5-2 win, with a full report next week.
Enjoy exciting Sockeyes hockey this Thursday night, Oct. 5, at the Minoru Arena as they host the visiting White Rock Whales at 7 p.m.
For more information, go to https://www.richmondsockeyes.com/
