Sockeyes Douse Flames

       VS       

Christmas came early by two days this year for the Richmond Sockeyes as they walloped the Ridge Meadows Flames 11-0 Thursday night to leap frog the Delta Ice Hawks for top spot in the Tom Shaw Conference and the PIJHL.

This marked the fourth and final time that the Sockeyes would meet the Flames this season, having dropped 3-2 to the Flames back on December 10th. However, on this night, the Sockeyes came out guns a blazing. At 1:31 of the first period Jessie Siemens scored his 5th of the season from Hunter and Pare. That was just the start of what would be a fabulous night for that line. Sebastien Pare then scored at the five minute mark to make 2-0. Then Mitchell Smith tallied his 9th to chase starting goaltender Tyler Klassen. Mackenzie Skapski came in to replace Klassen, but he didn't fair much better. At 14:23, Patrick Hunter scored his first of four goals on the night and 14th of the season to make it 4-0 and that is how it would finish after one period of hockey.

In the second, the game continued in the wrong direction for the Flames. At 4:25, Hunter scored his second of the night on a beautiful move to the backhand and putting it crossbar and in. Then, Eli Wiebe would score on a great shot off the left wing to make it 6-0 for the Sockeyes. That would spell the end of the night for Mackenzie Skapski, and back in came Tyler Klassen. Though, Klassen would unravel after that. Four more goals in the second period for the Sockeyes from Keenan Webb shorthanded; Patrick Hunter's 3rd of the night; Kyzen Loo; and Jessie Siemens second and 6th of the season. The score at the end of 40 minutes was 10-0 for the Sockeyes.

In the third, Klassen remained in the net and made a handful of marvelous saves that kept the score 10-0. Though, it wasn't a perfect period, as Patrick Hunter tallied his 4th goal of the game at 19:27 to tie Jake Roder for the team lead in goals with 17. That was also the second four goal game of the season for the Captain, both of them coming at home.

Eight players would finish the night with two or more points lead by Hunter who had four goals and one assist; Sebastien Pare, who had one goal and four assists; and Jessie Siemens who had two goals and two assists, as that line combined for 14 points in the game. Other players with two or more points included Keenan Webb, Kyzen Loo, Mitchell Smith, Brayden Low, and Eli Wiebe.

Lost in all the goal scoring, was the outstanding play of starting goaltender for the Sockeyes, Devin Nijjer. Nijjer wasn't tested much, but made the saves that he needed to. He stopped all the shots directed his way in the game by the Flames recording his second PIJHL shutout, and second of the season.

With the victory, Sockeyes sit atop the PIJHL with an overall record of 24-4-3, for 51 points, one point ahead of the Ice Hawks, at the Christmas break.

Next action for the Sockeyes comes December 30th as they head to the Sungod Arena to face division foe the North Delta Devils. Next home game will come January 6th when the Sockeyes with entertain the Grandview Steelers.

For everyone within the Richmond Sockeyes organization, we wish you a fun and safe holiday season.

Preview of Sockeyes vs. Ridge Meadow Flames

                             vs.         

The Sockeyes will play host to the Ridge Meadow Flames this Thursday at Minoru Arena at 7:30. Coming into tonights game the Sockeyes hold a 2-1 series lead. This will be the last meeting and the Sockeyes are hoping to extend their lead on the Tom Shaw conference.

Sockeyes took the first two games by scores of 6-1 and 3-1. Brayden Low and Sebastien Pare have a goal and two assists and Ryan Cooper has a pair of assists in those two games. Aaron Oakley started both games and made 50 saves on 52 shots.

The last game was a tough one for the Sockeyes when they lost by a score of 3-2. Richmond came into the game on a 11 game win streak having one 9-0-0 in November. But the Flames forward Paul Piluso turned his game up scoring two goals including the eventual game winner. Mackenzie Skapski was peppered with 46 shots and saved 44 of them, he was named first star.

The shots have been the story of the 3 meetings this season. Sockeyes have outshot the Flames 135 to 77. Oakley has stopped 72 of 77 shots.

The Flames come into the game after having defeated the North Delta Devils 5-4 in a shootout win  at the Sungod Arena. Both teams should be riding high as the Sockeyes hope to extend their lead on their division rivals the Delta Ice Hawks.

Game time is 7:30 with Dustin Forbes and Conor Hammond calling the game, pre-game show starts at 7:15. Tune into Sockeyes TV at http://www.richmondsockeyes.com/ Follow the tweets at www.twitter.com/R_Sockeyes

Aaron Oakley plays great in 4-3 Victory over Grandview

                               AT          

Thanks to some great goaltending and a balanced scoring attack, the Sockeyes once again moved ahead of the Delta Ice Hawks for first place in the league. En route to a big 4-3 victory over their division rivals at the Burnaby Winter Club.

Things started off well for the Sockeyes with Mitchell Smith getting his 8th goal of the Season with Kyzen Loo and Scott Wessa getting the assists. But the Steelers reponded with Marko Gordic adding his team and league leading 23rd goal of the season. Simon Horlick added an assist on the play. The sfish just kept swimming though when Drew Spencer ripped a blast past Steelers goalie Norbert Biszczak to take a lead into the 2nd period. Aaron Oakley made 12 stops in the 1st period for the Sockeyes while Biszczak made 11 saves.

Coming out of the dressing room the Steelers tallied very quickly tying the game up just 2:52 into the 2nd period. Curtis Rochetti scored an unassisted goal. It was his 13th on the season. Sockeyes would kill off 2 penalties, and in dying minute of the 2nd period got a huge goal. Jeremy Hamaguchi scored from Brayden Low and Keenan Webb to give the Sockeyes a 3-2 lead heading to the final frame.

After killing off the previous three penalties, the Steelers offence managed to get the tying goal on the power play at the 7:35 mark of the 3rd. Marko Gordic got his 2nd goal of the night from Danny Merth and Kyle Golz. The Sockeyes captain Patrick Hunter answered the call with just 4 minutes left in the game scoring the eventual game winning goal. Sebastien Pare picked up his team leading 34th point off the assist. Time would tick down and Richmond would have its 3rd straight victory and 12th in its past 13 games.

This was only the second time on the entire season the Sockeyes didn't outshoot their opponents. The only time they were outshot was in a 5-1  loss to the North Delta Devils on October 9th 2010. Showing that the Sockeyes use any chance they can to fire that puck towards the net.

Aaron Okaley got his 14th win on the season in net, stopping 28 of 31 shots. While Norbert Biszczak stopped 27 of 31 shots. Three stars of the game were Aaron Oakley(First), Marko Gordic(Second) and Patrick Hunter(Third).

The Sockeyes have been flying high since the start of October collecting points in 23 of 26 games and have only lost once since Halloween. With the win the Fish jumped over the Delta Ice Hawks for 1st place in the Tom Shaw Conference and the league.

Richmond will be looking for a bit of revenge as they face the Ridge Meadow Flames. The last time the two teams faced eachother the Flames walked away with a 3-2 win. Giving the Sockeyes their first loss in 11 games. Game-time will be 7:30 as always. Join Dustin Forbes and Conor Hammond for the call on Sockeyes TV. http://www.richmondsockeyes.com/

Sockeyes offence freezes the Icebreakers

                   VS.           

After a 9-2 trouncing of the Mission Icebreakers on Thursday night, the Sockeyes find themselves in First place.

Coming into the game the Sockeyes trailed the Delta Ice Hawks by one point in the tough Tom Shaw Conference. But the thanks to some exciting offence and line changes by head Coach Judd Lambert the Sockeyes absolutely dominated this game.

Goaltender Devin Nijjer got the start for the fish and in this game he didn't really have to stand on his head. Because the Icebreakers offence showed spurts of energy but for the most part just couldn't generate any sustained pressure.

The First period started out very well as Mitchell Smith scored at the 2:37 mark as Kyzen Loo sent a beautiful pass to him. Smith was streaking to the net and ripped it low on Michael Barr. The offence just kept going as two more goals were added by the Sockeyes as Patrick Hunter and Sebastien Pare tallied. Mission ended the period well when they scored with just two seconds left, thanks to Trevor Schmidt who just forced the puck up and over Nijjer's pad.

Dustin and Aaron alluded to it in the 1st intermission that for the Icebreakers to comeback they would need a quick goal, and they got it just 1:40 into the period. A beautiful move by Daniel Higgs who deked around a Sockeyes defenceman and roofed it under the bar to make it a one goal game. But unfortunately for Mission that would be the last of their offence. Sockeyes would score four unanswered goals in the second including two power play goals. Goals were scored by Chichak(pp), Low, Pare and Wiebe(pp). Sebastien Pare's goal was caused by a beautiful as Aaron called it "sweet apple sauce" saucer pass to Pare from Kyzen Loo. That goal would chase Michael Barr as he was replaced by Lucas Simpson who did not fair much better. Despite the early scare in the second the Sockeyes were just relentless in that period to lead 7-2.

The final 20 minutes were fairly slow as both teams just tried to let the clock wind down. But before it ended the Sockeyes would get two goals, with Chichak and Popoff giving the Sockeyes an important 9-2 victory.

It was a offensive flurry for as there were 9 players from the Sockeyes with 2 or more points, including Pare with 2 goals and an assist. Jessie Siemens and Drew Spencer had 3 assists a piece. Devin Nijjer finished the game with 12 saves on 14 shots for his 8th win this season.

The Sockeyes next game is at the Burnaby Winter Club as they will face the Grandview Steelers this Sunday. Next home games is December 23rd when the Ridge Meadow Flames will come to town. It will be a chance for redemption as the last game played between the two teams was a 3-2 Flames victory.

Join Dustin Forbes and Conor Hammond next week for all the action at http://www.richmondsockeyes.com/

Preview of Sockeyes vs. Mission Icebreakers

                   VS.           

The Richmond Sockeyes are coming into tonight’s game having won one and lost one on the road. After losing a squeaker 3-2 to the Ridge Meadows Flames Friday night, the Sockeyes bounced back strong Tuesday with a monstrous 6-3 victory over the Delta Ice Hawks. Now the Sockeyes sit one point back from Delta with a game at hand. Tonight, the Sockeyes will look for two points to leap frog Delta as they welcome the Mission Icebreaks

The last meeting between the Sockeyes and the Mission Icebreakers came back on October 31st as the Icebreakers spooked the Sockeyes by a score of 3-2. Jake Roder and Kamesh Goundar scored for the Sockeyes while Kurtis Wiens, Dylan Lynum and Keagan Hunter scored the winner tallied for Mission. Sockeyes went 1/6 on the power play while Mission went 1/5.

This game will be huge for the Sockeyes as they will have a chance to finally move into top spot in the Tom Shaw conference. They have been chasing the Delta Ice Hawks for the 1st place spot for over a month. Games like this are always important but they can't underestimate a tough Mission team.

Catch all of the action live on Sockeyes TV at http://www.richmondsockeys.com/ pre-game show at 7:15, puck drop at 7:30. We will be tweeting with period by period updates. www.twitter.com/R_Sockeyes

Sockeyes Double Up Ice Hawks

                                    AT          

The Richmond Sockeyes after dropping their first game in over a month to the Ridge Meadows Flames Friday night, bounced back in a strong way Tuesday.

The Sockeyes were playing for a valuable two points against the league leading Delta Ice Hawks at the Ladner Leisure Centre.

The game didn't start out on the right foot for the fish as Alex Martin of the Ice Hawks tallied the first goal of the game at 2:01. But the Sockeyes answered right back. At 6:23, Eli Wiebe scored to tie the game at one before Jeremy Hamaguchi netted in to take the lead for the Sockeyes. However, their lead didn't last very long. The Ice Hawks were quick to respond with a goal of their own in the last eight seconds as David Kemp tied the game at two.

In the second, the Sockeyes took control. The Captain Patrick Hunter scored an unassisted goal at 1:38 to regain the lead for Richmond. Mitchell Smith would score at 6:34 to create some breathing room. But, the Ice Hawks didn't let it phase them. They scored just over 12 minutes later to bring the game within one as Liam Harding extended his league lead in points. However, Sebastien Pare restored the two goal lead 31 seconds later as he scored from Turner Popoff.

In the third, both team played strong defensively until Kyzen Loo broke free winning a foot race and rippled the mesh into the empty net to put the nail in the coffin of the Ice Hawks at 19:06.

Aaron Oakley stopped 27 of 30 shots directed his way. Sockeyes outshot the Ice Hawks 44-30 and went 0/4 on the power play. Hawks went 0/5.

Sockeyes now sit second in the Tom Shaw Conference with a record of 21-4-3 for 45 points. One point back from the Delta Ice Hawks with a game at hand.

Sockeyes back in action Thursday night as they welcome the Mission Icebreakers to Minoru Arena Thursday night. The only time these two teams met this season was Halloween when the Icebreakers tripped up the Sockeyes by a score of 3-2. Richmond looks for revenge Thursday.

You can catch all the action between the Sockeyes and Icebreakers on SockeyesTV with Dustin Forbes and Aaron Mackay at www.richmondsockeyes.com. Pre-game starts at 7:15, puck drop 7:30.

Sockeyes Make Move

The Richmond Sockeyes announced Sunday, December 12th, that they have dealt rookie goaltender James Davison to the Comox Valley Glacier Kings of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League for Future Considerations.

Davison, a Coquitlam native, was signed by the Sockeyes last month and appeared in one game with the Sockeyes recording a 3-2 victory over the Abbotsford Pilots. Davison leaves the the Sockeyes with a 1-0-0 record, a goals against average of 2 and a save percentage of .928.

With the move, the Sockeyes have, for now, solidified the goaltending situation sticking with Aaron Oakley and Devin Nijjer.

Good luck to James Davison with his future endeavors with the Glacier Kings.

Richmond Sockeyes vs. Grandview Steelers Game Report

                            VS.             


Last night the Grandview Steelers rolled into Richmond to battle the Sockeyes in a clash of two teams from the Tom Shaw Conference. The game started slow, but saw a crazy second period which opened the door for the Sockeyes 5-2 victory and their 20th win this season.

The first period started out slow as neither team could muster any solid scoring opportunities. Until Kyzen Loo broke in around Steelers defenceman Nicholas Gushue and had it in all alone and was hauled down resulting in a penalty shot. This would be his 4th opportunity on the penalty shot this season. He took it in fairly slow on the goaltender Norbert Biszczak and made one too many moves and the puck hopped off his stick and went wide. Despite it being a slow period, both teams got a fair amount of shots with the Sockeyes getting 12 and the Steelers getting 10. The hit of the game came with about 4 minutes to go in the 1st when Michael Ball caught Jeffrey Coi with his head down at the red line and stopped him in his tracks.

Needless to say it was a crazy second period at the Minoru Arena. The powerplay which struggled for the Sockeyes early in the year really turned it on in this game when Clayton Wright made a beautiful move at the blueline to pull the puck around Simon Horlick to get in all alone. Wright then roofed a shot over the glove of Norbert Biszczak to make it a 1-0 game. Shortly after, the puck was behind the net at the Sockeyes end, it was sent out front to Marko Gordic and he shot a laser towards Aaron Oakley. But Oakley's glove hand was too quick for Gordic and he had the save of the game right then and there. This was a huge turning point as it prevented a goal and led to another powerplay goal for the Sockeyes, off the stick of Sebastian Pare when Kyzen Loo fed him a nice pass and he got around the defenceman and put it five hole on Biszczak. To wind up the period, the Sockeyes added a third goal. This time by Jake Roder after Clayton Wright's shot was deflected off Thortsteinson and went right to Roder's stick with the wide open net and he made no mistake burying his 15th goal of the season.

Its always important to come out strong from an intermission especially one where you leading, and just 41 seconds in, the Sockeyes did just that. They got their fourth goal of the game when Jeremy Hamaguchi's shot rebounded right to Roder and he backhanded it over Biszczak's left pad and in the net. But tough Tom Shaw Conference teams never show any quit, as a a minute and twenty five seconds later Curtis Rocchetti fired a shot that hit Michael Ball and got past Aaron Oakley to break his shut out bid. The Steelers notched another one just after the eight minute mark when Kentaro Tanaka streaked to the net and Curtis Rocchetti was able to send a beautiful pass tape to tape and Oakley had no chance. This seemed like the time the Sockeyes woke up after giving up two straight goals, and played strong the rest of the period preventing any good scoring chances for the Steelers. Jessie Siemens netted a late goal showing hard work and even while on his knees forced it under Biszczak and ended the game as a 5-2 victory for the Sockeyes. 


The Sockeyes next opponent will come Friday, December 10th when they play the Ridge Meadow Flames at Planet Ice. Next home game will be next Thursday when they host the Mission Icebreakers for the first time at Minoru Arena this season. It should be a great game as the last time the two teams played, Mission upset the Sockeyes in a Halloween thriller. Remeber to tune in at www.richmondsockeyes.com and if you have any questions or comments contact us at sockeyes@live.ca 

Preview of Richmond Sockeyes vs. Grandview Steelers - December 9th/2010

                       VS.           
  
On Thursday, December 9th, the Richmond Sockeyes will play host to Tom Shaw Conference foe, the Grandview Steelers. This will be the fourth meeting of seven between these two teams this season and the second time that Grandview has visited Richmond.

The last time these two teams met came back on November 14th at the Burnaby Winter Club. The Sockeyes skated to a 5-1 victory. The team was led by Drew Spencer who scored a hat-trick, while Captain Patrick Hunter and Mitchell Smith tallied the other goals for the Sockeyes. The lone Steelers goal came off of the stick of Matt Martin.

Currently, the Sockeyes sit second in the Tom Shaw Conference and the PIJHL with a record of 19-3-3 for 41 points; only behind the Delta Ice Hawks who have 44 points. Sockeyes will come into the game with an 8-game winning streak and a 9-1-0 record in their last 10 games.

Catch all the action live from the Minoru Arena with Dustin Forbes and Aaron Mackay on SockeyesTV at www.richmondsockeyes.com. Pre-game show starts at 7:15; Puck drop 7:30