The productivity of scoring continues to be one of the strong points for the Richmond Sockeyes as well as getting a strong performance in net from Calgary’s Thomas Popa.
His season started off playing in the first six regular season games, allowing 16 goals while facing 164 shots with a save percentage of 0.902 and a goals against average of 2.67.
Entering game five of the regular season would be a real test for the squad knowing that in order to maintain their domination meant staying focused and playing a full 60 minutes.
North Van had ideas of their own, knowing that they were facing a team that has explosive fire power from all areas of the ice and continues to chase rebounds that might be kicked out.
Vernon’s Nick Noren continued to set a record pace, opening with his first of three on the night at 1:42 with assists from Lin (5) and Matthew Stewart’s second of the early season.
The lead was short-lived with the Wolf Pack getting two of their own as Hunter evened the game at one at 3:12 followed by Cruz getting his first of the season on the power play with North Van holding a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes.
The first saw penalty trouble for Richmond, taking five of the seven minors assessed while North Van was outshot 18-12 after one.
The second saw Stewart (first of the season) at 13:47 followed by Justin Grant’s fourth while both teams traded a pair of minors and Richmond outshooting North Van by a 17-7 margin and 35-19 after two.
The third saw Teo Lin get his third on the PP at 3:28 with McIntyre and Grant doing all the hard work setting him up while on the PP only to have North Van’s Matthew Carniel make it a 4-3 contest.
With the game on the line, discipline would play a key role in the outcome that saw both teams trade three penalties that would see North Van pull Bencsik a couple of times looking for the equalizer in the late stages.
With the net empty, Lin jumped on a loose puck in front of the penalty box breaking in on the right side and sliding one across to Noren, who got his second of the game and the insurance goal at 18:38.
Give credit to North Van, as they never quit pulling Bencsik again, only to have Noren get his hat-trick goal at 19:28, giving Richmond its fifth consecutive win and maintaining the perfect record.
The third saw Popa face 18 shots while North Van’s Bencsik faced 14 with Richmond outshooting North Van 53 to 33 through 60 minutes
Three stars:
1st Nicholas Noren (3G/0A)
2nd Teo Lin (1G/3A)
3rd Matthew Carniel (1G/0A0
Continuing a winning streak isn’t easy for any team but having the motivation to keep the “streak alive” says it all and for the Sockeye’s it’s playing a full 60 and having a no-quit attitude.
Playing rivals White Rock Whalers, they knew it wouldn’t be an easy task considering their last meeting was a 5-3 win on home ice, outshooting the Whalers 44-23.
Playing perfect in the first five games, grabbing 38 goals while allowing 16, was one key that the coaching staff was focused on entering a game that more than ever they needed a win to keep even with the Ice Hawks.
This game saw Thomas Popa get his fifth start while Keegan Maddocke started in his fifth game for the Whalers, who were in need of a win.
Alex Kielmann started the scoring off for Richmond, getting his second of the season with Lind and Grishin giving the visitors the early lead.
The Whalers were looking to have a repeat of last season that saw Nathan Bran open the scoring at 11:34 followed by one from Max Lyons getting a solo goal at 14:25 taking a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes.
Richmond continued to outshoot the opposition 18-10 after one that saw the Whalers Jeevin Bal get his first of the season, putting them up 3-1 in a contest that had the look of an early win for White Rock.
Penalties proved costly, allowing Richmond to pull within one at 5:09 with Noren continuing to be the scoring machine getting his eighth on the PP, quickly followed up with the tying goal from Mattias Uyedia who got his first of the early season.
Daniel Zhou got his first of the season, finishing the second with a 4-3 lead and outshooting the Whalers by a 36-18 margin.
The Whalers continued to find their way to the penalty box giving the Sockeyes another PP that saw Gavin Bains get his second of the season at 11:39, with helpers from Rajun Parman and Willian Huo.
Nicholas Noren later got his ninth of the season, giving the Sockeyes a 6-4 win keeping their six-game winning streak alive.
The true task for the Sockeyes comes as they play their cross-town rival the Delta Ice Hawks in the first “tunnel” series contest Sept. 26 at Delta’s Ladner Leisure Centre with the face-off set for 7:35 pm
The Sockeyes next home game is Sept. 28 against the Port Moody Panthers with a 7 p.m. start time.
Game Stars:
1st Nicholas Noren (2G/0A)
2nd Rajun Parmar (0G/2A)
3rd Jeevin Ball (1G/1A)
