The Sockeyes enter the second week in February after an impressive 6-3 win over the Trappers returning home to face the Jets who are struggling to climb up in the standings heading into the first round of the playoffs.
The Sockeyes have officially clinched first place in league play with one home game remaining against the visiting Trail Blazers who have struggled to advance in the standings as they currently sit in seventh in the eight team conference.
In conversation with a couple of players they knew that playing the Jets would be a “heated” contest only due to the aggressive play but regardless of what they might face on the ice the coaching staff had them well prepared as to what to expect.
It was Sockeye’s Dylan Nazareth starting things off, getting his 37th of the season at 9:25 with helpers to Kai Adano and David Yoon while the Jets were serving their third penalty of the game.
Brody Lindal continued the scoring with his 25th of the season at 13:27 with Dylan Nazareth and David Yoon continuing to add points to their productive season in a period that saw the Jets hold a 17-16 lead in shots with the teams each trading four penalties.
The second saw the scoring continue with Quinn Orr (9th) with Brody Lindal and David Yoon setting him up from the back-end followed by the Jets first of the game at 5:53 as Ryan McAuley got them on the board.
The aggressive play continued with both teams at times being “bated” into penalties that allowed Dylan Nazareth (38th) at 12:26 after taking a stretch pass from Solstice Tennant and Captain Teo Lin taking a 4-1 lead after two.
The third saw Sockeye’s Gavin Dacpano (2nd) open the third at 1:10 with Quinn Orr and David Yoon adding to his point total followed by Jonathan Zhang (6th) with Kai Adano and Keelan Wyke.
Given the frustration from the Jets they managed to get their second of the game with Thomas Harding (5th) at 9:55 followed by the final goal of the game with Dylan Nazareth 939th) for his “hat-trick” goal giving Richmond the 7-2 win.
The Jets finished with 13 penalties for 53 minutes while the Sockeyes were assessed 11 penalties for 33 minutes as the Sockeyes outshoot the Jets 47-35 through sixty minutes.
Richmond easily took all three stars with Dylan Nazareth (3G/1A) named first star, David Yoon (4A) second star and Brody Lindal (1G/2A) third star.
The players were given a “rare” day off to enjoy SuperBowl which was more of a “team bonding” experience with several players cheering the Seahawks who pulled out a 29-13 win over New England.
Next up would be a match-up against the Trappers who opened the scoring at 3:23 that was a motivation for the Sockeyes player who quickly got on the score board at 7:54 with Dylan Nazareth getting his 40th of the season.
While the game remained a close contest Brody Lindal gave them a 2-1 lead at 19:01 with the period coming to a close with only one minor penalty assessed as the home squad doubled up on the Trappers by 14-7 in shots.
The second saw the Sockeyes open the scoring 17 seconds with Dylan Nazareth (41) with Quinn Orr and California’s Jayden Shirk getting his first assist of the season setting up a 3-1 lead for the home squad.
The game at times was close checking only to have Langley’s Bryson Patkau pulling them within one on the PP that saw Langley narrowly outshot 11-10 in the middle period and being outshot 25-17 after two periods.
The third belonged to the Sockeyes dominating not only in the shots outshooting the Trappers by 15-5 but also scoring five unanswered goals finishing with an 8-2 win in a penalty filled period.
While the fans were being entertained on the ice by the talented play of the Sockeyes they were also entertained by the Lion Dance performers after the second period that had everyone mesmerized with the performance of the dancers.
While the dancers entertained the crowd after it was the play of the three stars that impressed everyone in the crowd with Dylan Nazareth (2G/1A) named first star, Teo Lin (1G/3A) second star while Calgary’s Keelan Wyke (1A) was named third star.
The following night the Sockeyes paid a visit to the Trail Blazers pulling out a 7-3 win in a contest they dominated, outshooting the home squad by a 51-38 margin setting up a return match for their last home game of the regular season.
The Sockeyes have one final home game against the Trail Blazers February 19th followed by their last regular season game in Chilliwack at the Sardis Sports Complex February 22nd against the Jets.
While the season draws to a close we have to thank the Parents who regularly stop by the broadcast area to thank both myself and Steve Daniel for calling the home games.
In addition they thank both Isaiah Hill for doing a remarkable job on the camera as well as Producer Dylan Dufresne who inputs all the graphics that make the production a first class professional broadcast.
It’s words that we hear from both the Parents and Players alike that make the production of the Richmond Sockeyes first class from the opening face-off to the final whistle.
All league playoffs are a best of seven series that sets up one vs eight, two vs seven, three vs six and the fourth place team playing the fifth place team.
With the season slowly coming to an end the Sockeyes have their sights set on continuing their winning ways in addition to winning the league championship.
League play-offs have yet to be set but we can mention that the Richmond Sockeyes have home ice given their impressive record.
Albeit a “tad” late the Sockeyes hope everyone had a Happy Family Day enjoying quality time with Family and Friends alike.
