Richmond Sockeyes will be looking to close the gap on the North Vancouver Wolf Pack even further when the top two teams in the Pacific Coast Junior Hockey League collide again on Thursday night at Minoru Arenas.
The Sockeyes (20-5-0-2) moved within two points of North Vancouver (21-2-0-2) with a 4-1 road win on Saturday night. The result was just the Wolf Pack’s second regulation loss of the season and snapped its 17-game win streak.
Mac Colasimone’s unassisted goal at the 3:11 mark of the third period broke a 1-1 tie. Quinton Blois gave the Sockeyes some breathing room and Troy Kaczynski rounded out the scoring with his second of the night with just over a minute remaining. The PJHL scoring leader now has 30 on the season.
Kurt Russell was terrific in the Richmond net as North Vancouver enjoyed a 34-22 advantage in the short department.
The Sockeyes’ celebration was short-lived as, less than 24 hours later, the locals dropped a 3-1 decision to the Grandview Steelers at the Burnaby Winter Club.
This time it was the opposition doing the damage in the final period as a pair of goals from Matteo Belmonte, less than five minutes apart, broke a 1-1 deadlock. Jordan Andrews had the Richmond marker.
Game time Thursday is 7 p.m.
