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Sockeyes solve pesky Whalers

All three games with PJHL expansion team have been one goal battles with Richmond winning latest encounter
hockey
Richmond Sockeyes' Aidan Siebenga tries to step around White Rock Whalers defenceman Ben Hamel during Saturday's 2-1 road win.

The Richmond Sockeyes have learned to never look past the White Rock Whalers.

The latest franchise in the Pacific Junior Hockey League is enjoying a competitive inaugural season with a 7-12-0-0 record and seem to rise to the occasion every time they face the Sockeyes. That was evident again at Centennial Arena on Saturday afternoon where Richmond needed a late power play goal from rookie standout Marcus Pantazis to pull out a 2-1 victory and improve to 15-4-1-1.

The result came after the Whalers surprised the Sockeyes with a 2-1 win at Minoru one week earlier. Even their inaugural meeting in September went down to the wire with Richmond hanging on for a 4-3 road win.

“They play us tough. They play a trap system that suffocates us,” said Richmond head coach Brett Reusch. “We try to counter it by getting pucks deep, forechecking hard and trying to capitalize on it. On paper, we know we are the better team but give credit to them.”

The Sockeyes began the third period with a lengthy two-man advantage but failed to convert after blueliner Thomas Von Schoenberg had opened the scoring back in the first and Greg Porter answered for the Whalers early in the second.

Overtime was looming when an interference penalty to Praveen Dhaliwal gave the Sockeyes their eight power play of the afternoon. This time they capitalized as Pantazis wired home his club-leading 12th of the season on a nice cross ice feed from Jacob Keremidschieff with 4:45 remaining.

Richmond was coming off a big 4-3 home ice win over the Langley Trappers in a game that had significant implications on the overall standings. The hosts made the most of a late five-minute power play with goals from Pantazis and Kermidschieff with less than four minutes left to erase a 3-2 deficit.

“It was a funny game that was really three in one. We dominated the first and they came back and dominated the second. Then we each had five minute power plays in the third where we outscored them 2-1 and that was the difference,” said Reusch. “It’s nice that we didn’t let them get a point too.”

The Sockeyes host winless Surrey on Thursday before heading to Abbotsford on Friday night.

The club also has announced the signing of 19-year-old forward Nicholas Wilson. The Delta Hockey Academy product has spent the past three seasons in the B.C. Hockey League including most recently with the Nanaimo Clippers. He had 18 points, including 10 goals, with Cowichan Valley last season.

“He will bring a lot of experience and he skates well,” added Reusch. “I think he is going to fit in nicely and gives us another goal scorer.”