The busiest man in junior hockey was behind the Delta Ice Hawks bench Tuesday night for the first time in a month.
Darren Naylor watched his team skate to a 3-1 home ice win over the Abbotsford Pilots before racing down Highway 17 to catch the 10:45 p.m. Duke Point ferry.
Back on Dec. 22 Naylor was named head coach and general manager of the B.C. Hockey League’s Nanaimo Clippers. It was decided he would continue on in the same roles with the Ice Hawks although his availability would be limited.
His longtime assistant Ken McPhalen is in charge most game nights while former captains Quinten Wideski and Cam Cuthbert were added to the staff. Naylor will be making the trip over again this coming Tuesday when the Ice Hawks host rival Richmond Sockeyes at 7:35 p.m.
“It’s going to get easier now. Things settled down over there now, although I will still just be doing Tuesdays here,” said Naylor in a brief post-game interview before he quickly exited the Ladner Leisure Centre.
As for the Ice Hawks, they continue to pile-up wins albeit not in the same dominating fashion of late. The Pilots came to town with just 12 skaters after three were suspended following a brawl against North Vancouver last Friday. Still, they gave Delta all it could handle.
“I thought they were a little slow at the start and maybe they have been getting away with not getting barked at lately,” smiled Naylor. “They got going in the second and I thought as the game went on they were the better team.
“You have to remember it’s a change for them too. It’s like having a substitute teacher for the past four weeks but they responded well. It also helped having Cam and Quinten there tonight and they saw how it goes (with me coaching). Young guys don’t know their boundaries but these players want to be pushed as hard as they can. They are going to be a couple of good young coaches.”
As for the Clippers, after four straight wins under Naylor, they have dropped seven in-a-row. Injuries have played a major factor in the recent slide.
“We are finally going to be healthy this week. We lost our top goalie, captain and leading scorer, along with our second leading scorer. Not many teams could handle that. I’m not worried. We are going to be fine.”