The previous weekend saw the Richmond Sockeyes pull out a narrow 3-2 win over the White Rock Whalers.
But instead of a rematch on home ice on Thursday, the game was postponed due to inclement weather.
Weather delays are not a regular occurrence, but in this case both teams felt it was in the best interest of the teams, the players, volunteers and officials to postpone the game until a later date.
In addition to this game being postponed, the league also postponed games between Mission and Surrey as well as between Ridge Meadows and Aldergrove.
The Sockeyes then had their sights set on a re-match against the Port Coquitlam Trailblazers.
There is no question the trek to Port Coquitlam was long and arduous, fighting the snowy conditions to the rink. But they made it and put on an impressive display pulling out a 14-3 win.
Full credit to the Trailblazers who were down early, only to rebound and pull even in just over three minutes. This forced Sockeyes' captain Mathew Stewart to add his 7th of the season, taking a 3-2 lead before heading to the dressing room after the first period.
The old cliche of “never say never” comes to mind at the start of the second period when the Trailblazers' Nicholas Ferraro-Howling got his first of the season, evening up the score at three.
From there it was a collection of the Sockeyes' scoring machine with Jonathan Soares starting the ball rolling at 7:51 on the power play, followed by the second of the game from Stewart at 9:30, also on the power play.
The remainder of the second period saw six goals from William Huo, Noah Gibbons, Justin Grant, Bryce Strandt, Gavin Bains and Teo Lin in three minutes and 58 seconds, which has to be a record of some sort.
The Sockeyes outshot the Trailblazers 36-15 in the first two periods, a trend that would continue in the third.
Try as they might, the third period saw the Sockeyes continue to dominate in the goal department with William Huo starting the scoring off at 7:21 and a second off the stick of Justin Grant.
The final goal in the game saw Nicholas Noren get his 30th of the season at 13:31 handing the Trailblazers a 14-3 defeat.
Overall, the Sockeyes outshot PoCo by a 54-16 margin with Oliver Read stopping 13 of the 16 shots he faced while PoCo’s Gregory Sichitiu played 35:30 facing 30 shots stopping 22.
He was relieved by Nick Mayne who stopped 18 of the 24 shots, playing a total time of 24:30 in a game that saw total dominance by the Sockeyes.
Gavin Bains named first star of the game, Justin Grant was named second star and Trailblazer’s Matias Fisher was named third star in a contest that saw nine minors assessed by the officials.
The Sockeyes returned home that featured a “fun night” as they hosted their Annual Alumni game that saw the current team pull out a 9-5 win.
The Tunnel Series against the Delta resumes Tuesday Jan. 23 at the Ladner Leisure Centre with the face-off set for 7:35 p.m., followed be a home game against North Vancouver Thursday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m.
Stop in at the “Fish Tank” and enjoy the fast-paced action as the Sockeyes have their sights set on a championship season.
- Steve Erickson handles media relations for the Richmond Sockeyes
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