The Richmond Sockeyes are proving to be one slippery fish to catch.
The defending Pacific International Junior Hockey League champions made it 14 consecutive wins to start the season with a 3-2 victory over the Delta Ice Hawks on Sunday at Minoru Arena.
The Ice Hawks have also come strong out of the gate with an 11-3-1-1 record and have given the Sockeyes their two toughest battles to date. However, the gap between the two crossriver rivals appears to have widened since last season's seven-game conference playoff series won by the Sockeyes.
Sunday's score flattered the visitors as only the brilliant 47-save performance of rookie netminder Glenn Ferguson kept them within striking distance. It means Ice Hawks coach Dave McLellan will be doing his homework prior to the teams meeting again on Nov. 22 in Ladner.
"I think they are a better team than last year," said McLellan, who got his first look at the Sockeyes after missing Richmond's 5-3 win back in mid-October.
"They have some hidden skill that you have to respect. One is their ability to draw players and chip pucks past people and make successful puck support plays.
"They made it tough in the neutral zone on us and our decision making wasn't good tonight. We got caught in between the play a few times, which is a classic mistake in junior hockey."
McLellan also knows his team has to get off to better starts to solve the Sockeyes' puzzle. They trailed 3-0 in the first meeting of the season and fell behind 2-0 after 20 minutes on Sunday.
"Against a team like that, you want get the lead and establish your own rhythm," he added. "But give them credit. They are good at what they do and we need to be better defending it.
We have to get a book on these guys and learn how to play against them. Just how to set up to play them better. Hopefully we can figure it out by the end of the year."
While both teams brought back a core of veterans, they went somewhat different routes with their off-season recruiting.
The Ice Hawks added more experience by acquiring forwards Sam Vikich and Byron Maxwell, giving them a whopping nine 20year-olds on their roster.
The Sockeyes turned to the youth with key additions being 17-year-old Justin Rai and 16-year-olds Carter Popoff and Kevan Kilistoff. Rai is second in league scoring with 31 points, while Popoff and Kilistoff are well above a point-agame pace with 22 and 17, respectively.
It was an impressive 72-hour statement by the Sockeyes who began the weekend with a 5-1 road win in Abbotsford Friday against the 10-3-0-0 Pilots.
"This is a more skilled team that is deeper," admitted Richmond head coach Judd Lambert. "What has yet to be determined is how our character is. We won two close games against Delta but wins in November really don't mean all that much."
Rookie Troy Kaczynski's second period goal stood as the game winner, although the Ice Hawks did make things interesting when Anthony Brito cut the deficit to one goal with three minutes remaining. Clayton Wright and Kilistoff also scored for Richmond, while John Proctor replied for Delta.
"We were missing passes and over skating pucks tonight and their two goals were a direct result of that," added Lambert. "We also didn't capitalize enough on our chances and that's why it was a 3-2 game with three minutes to go."
Icing...
Both teams were also involved in trades this past week involving Seafair Minor Hockey graduates. The Sockeyes shipped goaltender Aaron Oakley to the Abbotsford Pilots in exchange for 19-year-old forward Justin LaChance. Oakley began the season playing junior "A" back east and returned home to find his former team had found two solid rookie stoppers in Jonah Imoo and Kootenay Alder.
Meanwhile, the Ice Hawks acquired former Sockeye Mitchell Smith from the Sicamous Eagles for future considerations. Smith played for Richmond before leaving late in the season to sign with B.C. Hockey League's Victoria Salsa. He is now affiliated with the BCHL's Prince George Spruce Kings.