Tom Shaw Conference Finals Preview

Here we go, for the fourth consecutive time in the PJHL playoffs, the Delta Ice Hawks and Richmond Sockeyes will resurrect their historic rivalry in the Tom Shaw Conference Finals. In the last two years, the team which has won the installment of the renowned "Tunnel Series" has gone on to be crowned as league champions.

So, any excitement? This series is the perennial hype fans around the league wait for all year.

At the end of the regular season, the Sockeyes emerged as the top contender in the PJHL, but not by much as they pulled through their last ten games with a 5-2-0-3 record and edge Delta by two points atop the Tom Shaw Conference and the overall league standings. Meanwhile, on the other hand, the Ice Hawks were playing some of their strongest hockey down the stretch, and going into the playoffs were the hottest team in the league boasting an 8-1-0-1 record in their last ten regular season tilts.

In that critical ten game span, the Sockeyes and Ice Hawks split the two late season matchups with a win a piece, the latest which ended in a 3-2 OT win for Delta on home ice, but gave Richmond the final edge in the season series with the overtime point. 

In the regular season series, the Sockeyes ended with a 3-2-1 record in the six games played versus their divisional foes, meanwhile the Ice Hawks sat at 3-3-0. Remarkably, both teams scored 14 goals a piece against one another in this period.

Below is how it all broke down in the regular season between the two powerhouses:

• October 4th: 4-0 Delta win in Richmond
• October 9th: 4-1 Richmond win in Ladner
• November 8th: 3-0 Delta win in Richmond
• November 27th: 5-2 Richmond win in Ladner
• January 31st: 3-1 Richmond win in Richmond
• February 12th: 3-2 Delta OT win in Ladner

Delta Ice Hawks (31-9-2-2)	Richmond Sockeyes (32-8-0-4)
3rd offensive ranking (187 GF)	2nd offensive ranking (197 GF)
Goals For Average: 4.25	Goals For Average: 4.48
2nd defensive ranking (96 GA)	3rd defensive ranking (97 GA)
Goals Against Average: 2.18	Goals Against Average: 2.20
PP goals: 36 – SH goals: 10	PP goals: 46 – SH: 3
Penalty Minutes: 1124	Penalty Minutes: 894
Feb. record: 3-1	Feb. record: 1-4
Last 10: 8-1-0-1	Last 10: 5-2-0-3
Top scorer: Barden (26G, 46A)	Top scorer: Allison (25G, 34A)
Top goalie: Lapp (17-8-1) & 2.40 GAA	Top goalie: Alder (20-10) & 2.51 GAA

In the last three years of this spirited seeming Tom Shaw Conference Finals tradition, this is how past series broke down:

• 2011-2012: 4-2 Delta series win (Delta would go on to win PJHL Championship) 
• 2010-2011: 4-3 Rich series win (Richmond would go on to win PJHL Championship)
• 2009-2010: 4-1 Delta series win

In 2008-2009, Richmond also beat Delta in the playoffs, although it came in the semi-finals and in the form of a four game sweep. That first series win catapulted them to that tremendous run, which ended with their first Keystone Cup coronation in franchise history.

Well, there's only one thing left to note, and that's the game schedule - this year's chapter of the Tom Shaw Conference Finals which remains unwritten for now:

GAME 1: March 5th - 7:30 PM - Ladner
GAME 2: March 7th - 7:30 PM - Minoru
GAME 3: March 10th - 5:45 PM - Minoru
GAME 4: March 12th - 7:30 PM - Ladner

IF NEEDED:

GAME 5: March 14th - 7:30 PM - Minoru
GAME 6: March 16th - 7:30 PM - Ladner
GAME 7: March 18th - 8:45 PM - Minoru

Be sure to follow all the latest on the series at the Richmond Sockeyes twitter feed: @R_Sockeyes.