Delta Ice Hawks will look to close out a solid October when they travel to the Fraser Valley Saturday night to take on the Mission City Outlaws.
The Hawks improved to 5-2 this month with a 4-2 home ice win over the Ridge Meadows Flames on Tuesday. The win vaulted Delta (8-6-0-0) back into second place in the Pacific Junior Hockey League's Tom Shaw Conference in what is shaping up to be an interesting race this season.
Just four points separate four of the five teams thanks to the much-improved play of the Port Moody Panthers (6-7-0-0).
Ice Hawks head coach Darren Naylor, in his first full season behind the bench, is doing a solid job with a line-up that features 15 rookies, including 12, 17-yearolds and two 16-year-olds.
Among the first-year players is Alex Suprynowicz who led the way with a goal and an assist against the Flames. Mark Trotman, Henry Rhyu and Mark Epshtein had the other goals. It was Trotman's 11th goal of the season, surpassing a careerhigh for the 20-year-old who has been highly productive since being moved to forward on a line with rookies Jordan Bogress and Jonathan Stein.
Goaltender Jordan Naylor improved to 4-2 since joining the club, making 32 saves. The 16-year-old has a 2.67 goals against average and .916 save percentage.
The Ice Hawks also host Port Moody on Tuesday night at 7:35 p.m.
Icing... The club made a pair of trades this week, including sending veteran goaltender Jacob Latrace to the Richmond Sockeyes for future considerations. The 19-year-old Richmond native played two full seasons in Delta and backstopped the team to an upset win over defending champion North Vancouver in last year's playoffs.
The Hawks also traded defenceman Arjan Cheema to the Aldergrove Kodiaks for future considerations.
