The Richmond Sockeyes came home Saturday from Port Moody with a 9-0 win in their pocket, their second win in a week.
The Sockeyes played their first December home game against the Grandview Steelers in a game that saw them double up by a 6-3 tally while outshooting their opponents by a commanding 56-22 margin.
They opened the scoring at 9:04 of the first period with Joseph Iannacone collecting his third of the season, only to have the Steelers’ Ben Ruthven get an unassisted marker at 9:19 to even the score.
The close checking contest continued until Gavin Bains put the Sockeyes up by one at 13:42, a goal that was followed by one from Willian Huo giving the home team a 3-1 lead.
The tight checking contest continued and it wasn’t until 17:21 that Steelers’ Lucas Cox pulled them within one, only to have Colby Longeau even the game at three at 19:10 sending the teams to the dressing room tied.
The Sockeyes controlled the shots leading 19-11 after 20 minutes with Referee Brad LeBus assessing three minors in what was a tight checking period.
The second period saw the Sockeyes come out strong with Teo Lin giving them a 4-3 lead at 1:59 until Justin Grant put them up by two at 14:41 which remained a 5-3 game after 40 minutes.
The second period saw the Sockeyes assessed three minors with the Steelers having a pair while Richmond outshot the Steelers by 15-7 managing to control the shots leading 34-18.
The third period was entertaining for the fans with the Sockeyes getting the only goal of the period at 10:44 as Callum Lind gave the home team a 6-3 win.
Captain Matthew Stewart was named first star with Callum Lind named second and Jonathan Soares named third star.
9-0 win over Port Moody Panthers
Two nights later and fighting the snow saw the Sockeyes travel to Port Moody to play the Panthers in a game that was controlled by the Sockeyes from the opening faceoff.
The Sockeyes opened the scoring at 3:08 with Daniel Zhou giving them the early lead. This was followed by a pair from Justin Grant with the first at 10:33 and his second at 19:29 making it his 16th and 17th goals of the season.
The Sockeyes controlled the shots in the first period, outshooting the home squad and giving the Panthers’ Lucas Poratto a sunburn after facing 28 shots while Sockeyes’ Oliver Read had it easy facing only four through the first 20 minutes.
Keeping the momentum going, the Sockeyes again managed three goals with William Huo giving them a 4-0 lead a short 43 seconds in and Teo Lin giving them a 5-0 lead at 6:49.
Despite being outshot and dominated in all areas of the ice, the Panthers had various chances until Sahib Basra was assessed a minor for cross-checking at 8:29.
This again opened up the ice for the Sockeyes that saw Gavin Bains give them a controlling 6-0 lead at 10:17, sending the teams to the dressing room outshooting the home squad by 18-3 and 46-7 after 40 minutes.
Try as they might, the Panthers were unable to manage any strong offence, allowing the Sockeyes to add three more goals in the final 20 minutes.
The third period saw Gavin Sangara put the visiting Sockeyes up by seven at 10:16.
Zach Zapanta scored at 11:34 and Gavin Bains got his second of the game at 12:17 and the Sockeyes headed home with an impressive 9-0 win.
The third period saw the teams trade four penalties while the Sockeyes managed only 10 shots in the final period while the Panthers managed eight and the overall shot total with the Panthers finishing with 15 while the Sockeyes finished with 56.
Game stars in this contest saw Justin Grant named first star with Bryce Strandt and Gavin Bains named third star.
The Sockeyes return home for their “Teddy Bear Toss” Thursday, Dec. 14 as they host the PoCo TrailBlazers with a 7 p.m. faceoff.
League expands with Gibsons-based team
The Pacific Junior Hockey League's newest franchise, the Coastal Tsunami, will be playing on the Sunshine Coast starting in September 2024.
The group is owned and known as Coastal Sports and Entertainment Group Ltd. and will be playing out of Gibsons and begin playing in 2024-2025 PJHL season.
Getting a jump on the season, they started by naming Brad Wingfield as head coach and general manager.
Wingfield was raised on the Sunshine Coast and the first Sunshine Coast MHA grad to play pro hockey.
Following his junior career, Wingfield played 12 years professionally with stops with the New York Islanders, Columbus Blue Jackets, Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild.
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