Monday, April 22, 2013

A View from the Stands: The Richmond Sockeyes 40th Year – A Season to Remember




The Richmond Sockeyes Junior Hockey Club played their first season in 1972-1973 and the franchise has been a positive feature in the Richmond sports community for four decades. The Sockeyes have also been one of the most consistently excellent junior hockey programs in all of British Columbia. Originally a Junior B franchise, the Sockeyes also competed as a Junior A hockey club in the PAC-A and BCJHL leagues from 1974 to 1990. The Sockeyes won British Columbia Junior A championship titles in 1977, 1979 and 1987. In 1987 the team also won the Centennial Cup (now the RBC Cup), awarded to the best Junior A team in Canada. In 1990, the Sockeyes moved back to Junior B and have been a model of excellence in the Pacific Junior Hockey League (PJHL) for over two decades. The Richmond Sockeyes celebrated their 40-year legacy of excellence by winning the PJHL, B.C. and Western Canadian championship titles again in 2012-2013.

After a very talented Sockeyes team was upset in the second round of the PJHL playoffs in 2011-2012, the franchise entered this season having lost 14 regular players from their roster, including three of their top four scorers, and their head coach Judd Lambert. With the full support of the ownership group, dedicated general manager Richard Petrowsky went to work trying to build another deep roster of talented junior hockey players.

After hiring new head coach Aaron Wilbur in the spring, the GM and coaching staff went to work, adding key players and filling out the roster. With an outstanding leadership group in place, including returning 20-year olds Jeremy Hamaguchi, Rudi Thorsteinson, Scott Wessa, Matt Wagner, team captain Sam Chichak and younger, emerging leaders in Dean Allison, Dominic Centis, Kootenay Alder and the speedy Daniel Tate, the team carefully looked to add talented players, but just as importantly, the right kind of people. The Richmond Sockeyes are always on the lookout for skilled hockey players, but more importantly, they strive to build their team with responsible young men with a strong work ethic and a selfless, team-first attitude. They added some highly skilled players from Major Midget, including scorers Daniel Lange and Danton Heinen, hard working center Justin White, power forward Brett Higham and promising D-men Trevor Lima and Derek Hughes. Other rookies included clever forward Liam Lawson and smooth skating defenceman Jordan Andrews.

The Sockeyes got off to a quick start and once again established themselves as one of the better teams in the competitive PJHL, but they appeared to be a couple of players behind the talented Delta Ice Hawks and Abbotsford Pilots, who led the two divisions of the ten team league early in the season. As is the case every year, the GM quietly went about tinkering with the roster, looking to add key pieces to the puzzle. Injuries, depth issues and player movement all require the GM to be on his toes until the January 10 trade deadline each year. For the second season in a row, the Sockeyes lost one of their talented goaltenders when young star Peyton Lee was added to the WHL Vancouver Giants roster full time. Enter William Latimer, who at 6’4”, joined returning starter Kootenay Alder and formed one of the biggest and best goaltending tandems in the league. Other key additions included smooth skating defender and classy Adam Nishi, a Richmond Minor Hockey product who returned from Junior A in Alberta. Promising defender and former Notre Dame Hound and Major Midget player Trevor Stack joined the team and versatile forward Stephen Campbell and rangy d-man Eben Norman came in separate trades with the North Delta Devils. The biggest addition saw the return of Jake Roder, the Sockeyes leading scorer from the 2010-2011 season. Roder agreed to take a semester off his studies at the University of Victoria and he rejoined the team in late December.

All of the other teams in the PJHL were also improving and clearly the Delta Ice Hawks, Abbotsford Pilots and Aldergrove Kodiaks had built rosters designed to win the PJHL title. Despite a 32-8-4 record, Richmond lost four of their final six regular season games and played inconsistently at times during the season. However, the Sockeyes captured first place overall with a win in their last game of the regular season to ensure home ice advantage in the playoffs and this proved to be crucial. Unlike most teams, the Sockeyes used four lines and six defencemen consistently and enjoyed balanced scoring throughout the regular season. Strong two-way center Dean Allison played consistently all season and he led the team in scoring (4th in league scoring), while rookies Daniel Lange (1st in league goals) and Denton Heinen rounded out the top three, while Sam Chichak and Daniel Tate also enjoyed their most productive seasons. The all 21-year old “Red Line” of Hamaguchi, Thorsteinson and Roder had a fairly quiet regular season, but were becoming increasingly dominant as the playoffs neared.

Facing the gritty and determined North Delta Devils in the first round, the Sockeyes 4-0 sweep was deceptive. The series included an overtime victory on a huge goal by Trevor Lima and a couple of very tough games, but their depth and solid goaltending from Kootenay Alder proved to be too much for the Devils. The Sockeyes then faced the defending league champions and very fast and physical Delta Ice Hawks in the second round. After dropping the first game on home ice, the Sockeyes took a 3-1 series lead before losing two in a row, forcing a Game 7 against the Hawks for the second time in three years. To ease the tension and regroup after back-to-back losses, the veterans organized a players-only team barbecue at Jake Roder’s home two days before Game 7. After two straight wins, the tenacious and hard hitting Hawks seemed to have the advantage and came out flying in Game 7 in front of the biggest crowd in years at Minoru Arena. However, the Sockeyes stayed calm, fired home three goals in the first period and cruised to a 5-1 victory. The phrase (and Twitter hashtag) “must be the barbecue, #MustBeTheBBQ” became a rallying call for the team and the refocused players went on to sweep the Aldergrove Kodiaks in four games to capture the PJHL championship. Dean Allison again led the team (and league) in playoff scoring with 20 points, including an impressive 13 goals in 15 hard fought games. The Red Line was beginning to rumble, combining for 46 points in the playoffs while Lange, Heinen and Tate continued to score consistently. The Sockeyes powerplay was also heating up and both units, anchored by Dominic Centis and Adam Nishi, were a serious threat to score while the PK groups became increasing aggressive, nullifying the opponents scoring chances.

The Sockeyes traveled to Comox from April 11-14 to compete for the Cyclone Taylor Cup against the champions from the Vancouver Island (VIJHL) and Kootenay/Okanagan (KIJHL) leagues. They continued their calm and confident play and defeated the Victoria Cougars 5-2, Comox Valley Glacier Kings 6-2 and edged the gritty Castlegar Rebels 3-2 in the round robin games before facing off against Victoria again for the B.C. championship title. The talented Cougars were the heavy pre-tournament favourites after compiling an amazing 45-1-2 record in the regular season while outscoring their Island opponents by over 200 goals. Victoria started well in the final and held a 1-0 lead into the second period, but again, the Sockeyes never got rattled and they continued to press and play with confidence. They scored four goals in the second period and went on to win 4-1. It was the Sockeyes’ first provincial championship since 2009 and fifth Cyclone Taylor Cup (second most all time – Cranbrook Colts - 7). Jake Roder was named tournament MVP while he, Lange and Allison finished one-two-three in Cup scoring and the Red Line notched 16 points in four games. However, it was the depth of Sockeyes that proved to be the difference and the team also got tremendous contributions from William Latimer, Liam Lawson, Justin White, Scott Wessa, Matt Wagner and Trevor Lima.

After four tough games in four days in Comox, the team had only a couple of days of rest before flying to Winnipeg and boarding a team bus to St. Malo, Manitoba to represent British Columbia at the 2013 Keystone Cup – the Western Canadian Junior B Championships. Facing a daunting travel and game schedule that included six games in four days, the Sockeyes proved to be the class of the tournament. They went 5-0 in the round robin and outscored the provincial championship teams from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario by a total of 39-10. They faced the Saskatoon Royals for a second time in the final on Sunday, April 21. After a fast paced first period that ended 0-0, the Sockeyes depth and focused, persistent play once again led to some quick goals and a 3-0 lead after two. The big Saskatoon team battled hard in the final frame, but the Sockeyes held on for a 5-2 win and their second Keystone Cup championship in franchise history. The Sockeyes depth was again a big factor in their success in the grueling schedule as valuable contributions from Jordan Andrews, Derek Hughes, Bret Higham, William Latimer and affiliate player Austin Adamson proved crucial. The Red Line torched the tournament and MVP Rudi Thorsteinson scored an incredible 11 goals in 6 games (after scoring 7 in the regular season). Thorsteinson led the tournament in scoring with 16 points while he, Roder and Hamaguchi combined for an amazing 39 points. Super rookies Heinen and Lange also notched five goals apiece while veteran Stephen Campbell scored four. Allison and Chichak played exemplary two-way hockey, typically shutting down the other teams top forwards. All of the teams at the Keystone Cup had some very talented players, but the Sockeyes two deadly powerplay units, stellar penalty killing and their ability to roll four lines and play both goaltenders separated them from the other provincial champions. In total, 19 different Sockeyes notched at least a point in the tournament, and every player contributed with key shot blocks, face-off wins and strong, team-first play.

The Richmond Sockeyes 40th season was a huge success and the 2012-2013 team will be remembered among the best in the proud history of the franchise. Their nine-month journey began in late August and ended in late April. Their overall record was 54-11-4, their playoff record was an incredible 22-3 and the team concluded their season on a 15-game winning streak while competing against the very best teams from B.C. and across western Canada. The team leaders were all positive people and tremendous role models and every player on the roster contributed to the group’s success. Like all championship teams, they found a way to put the team’s success ahead of individual goals. Over the course of a long season, there are always ups and downs, injuries and key turning points. The roster moves by GM Richard Petrowsky and incredible preparation of head coach Aaron Wilbur were instrumental. The addition of assistant coaches Rajan Sidhu and then Ronnie Paterson late in the regular season, were very positive and timely additions to the group. The dedication and care of the training and support staff are always critical to a team’s success, especially in a long playoff run, and Cam Smith was tireless. Finally, the players getting together for a barbecue before Game 7 against the Delta Ice Hawks saw them evolve from a talented group of hockey players into something both rare and special – a cohesive team bonded by love and an unwavering desire to genuinely sacrifice for one another.

The Richmond Sockeyes owners speak to the sense of family that permeates the organization. The ownership group includes the very first Sockeyes captain Doug Paterson, former Sockeyes star goaltender Ron Paterson, former Sockeyes star defenceman Bruce Mathers, former Sockeyes head coach Maurice Lambert and passionate hockey man and business professional Barry Watson. They are a dedicated, caring and passionate group who can be seen at most league games and were present every step of the way on the difficult journey to the PJHL, Cyclone Taylor Cup and Keystone Cup championships. Similarly, throughout the playoffs, messages of support poured in from former Sockeyes and Alumni, including the Vancouver Canucks’ Jason Garrison. Current players soon realize they are part of something special, part of something bigger than themselves. They understand that playing for the Richmond Sockeyes is an honour and they have a responsibility to play with all their heart, for the franchise, for the team, and, most importantly, for one another. Congratulations to every member of the 2012-2013 Richmond Sockeyes. PJHL, British Columbia and Western Canadian champions today and friends and Sockeyes forever.

2013 Keystone Cup

5-3 over Alberta (Okotoks Bisons)
9-1 over Hosts (St. Malo Warriors)
10-2 over Saskatchewan (Saskatoon Royals)
7-3 over Ontario (Northern Hawks)
9-1 over Manitoba (Peguis Juniors)
5-2 FINAL over Saskatoon Royals

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