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Fighting, emotion, animosity and frustration filled the Minoru Arena on Thursday night as the Harold Brittain division leading Aldergrove Kodiaks payed the Sockeyes a visit. In a game which could be a possible PIJHL championship showdown, both teams layed all their cards on the table engaging in one of the year's most exciting games.
The Kodiaks came into the game two points up on Abbotsford with a game at hand and they wanted to put it to good use. But the Sockeyes stood in their way, a team tops in the PIJHL standings with a red-hot goaltender in Tyler Klassen backstopping them. Despite the thought that with a win the Sockeyes could move the magic number to two games to clinch first place in the PIJHL standings it would be Aldergrove who opened the game with their offence. From the first faceoff drop and first shift for the Kodiaks they were all over the Sockeyes getting a couple good scoring chances, their hard work would be rewarded with a power play as Scott Wessa took a hooking minor. It didn't take the Kodiaks long to capitalize with Thomas Hardy tipping a Jordan Pughe slapshot past Tyler Klassen to open the scoring. The Sockeyes this year when scored on first were 4-5 heading into this match and they would try to make it 5-5 come the games end.
Then came the physical side of the game, the emotion kicked into high gear as both teams got under each-others skin. Justin Rai who was coming back from his long injury which left him out of 17 games and prevented him from playing in 74 days. Early on his offence was halted by the Kodiaks ability to play the body against him. One play frustrated the Sockeyes bench as Rai appeared injured and skating to the bench was given a two-handed crosscheck right in the numbers which wasn't called by referee Ron Dietterle.
The Sockeyes got on the board for the first time around the midway mark of the first period. Dominic Centis made a huge play to prevent the puck from getting past the blue line and kept the puck in the offensive zone. With a power play expiring, Keenan Webb fired a puck on net which deflected off Patrick Hunter and past former Sockeyes goalie, now a Kodiak Ross Baadsvik. A strange goal in a strange period which saw 12 minor penalties and two ten minute misconducts given out.
So we head to the second period where much of the same was seen between the two clubs, adrenaline fueled emotion and physical play. Another 8 penalties would be called in this period but no power play goals. The Sockeyes got their first lead of the game at 9:18 with Jeremy Hamaguchi finding Rudi Thorsteinson wide open in the slot. Thorsteinson wired a hard shot on net which Baadsvik couldn't handle and it went into the net for a 2-1 lead. The Kodiaks weren't sitting back though, they capitalized off of a shorthanded opportunity to tie the game at two goals. Ryan Procyshyn got the puck at the blueline and fed Stephen Ryan at the point and he scored the shorthanded marker. Before the period was out Richmond regained the lead with Carter Popoff's twentieth goal of the season. A lot of credit has to be given to Michael Ball who got the puck in deep and continued pressing until he sent a gorgeous centering feed tape-to-tape on Popoff's stick as he had a wide open net to give Richmond another lead.
With the second period starting it almost seemed strange that there had not been a scrap up to this point, but Clayton Wright and Daniel Higgs would answer that call. At the opening faceoff drop of the third period the two were "chatting" and as soon as the period started the gloves and elbow pads came off. Wright landed a huge uppercut and few good shots, late in the fight Higgs managed a couple good rights, pardon the pun. They both came crashing to the ground and it seemed as if the hostilities were renewed. The Sockeyes would be the one who took the momentum from that fight as just three minutes later, Justin Rai putting a shot on net which deflected off Colby Rosner's skate and into the net for a insurance marker.
Then a scary scene as Michael Ball who had been playing great in this game came across the middle of the ice near the blueline and suffered a knee-on-knee collision with Kodiaks captain Jordan Pughe. Ball could not even skate off the ice on his own weight and had to be helped into the dressing room. Pughe would be ejected from this game with a match penalty for the dirty and vicious knee. Rudi Thorsteinson got involved with Pughe after this and he was also ejected for fighting and will be unable to play the next game.
At this point the Sockeyes offence silenced the Kodiaks by scoring to late goals including a blast from Dominic Centis and Keenan Webb scored his first of the game and fourth point of the night with three assists as Richmond took a 6-2 contest. After the game Michael Ball appeared to be okay but was obviously frustrated at what happened.
Three stars of the contest were Rudi Thorsteinson(first), Keenan Webb(second) and Michael Ball(third). Richmond vastly outshot their counterparts as they normally do 42-27. Tyler Klassen picked up his fifth straight win since joining the Sockeyes and has only allowed six goals against in those five games for a GAA of 1.2
With this win the Sockeyes now only need a a regulation win and overtime loss to clinch first place with the magic number to get to being 69 points and they now have 66.
The next Sockeyes game will be a road game...but in Richmond. The game will be part of the Hockey Day in Canada festivities at the Richmond Olympic Oval. Gametime will be 1:30 and it's free to be sure to head on out to support the Sockeyes as they battle their rival North Delta Devils. The Devils are the only team in the league with a winning record versus the Sockeyes and the only team to have beaten Richmond more than once. If you can't make the game be sure to check out the broadcast which will start around 1:15 on SockeyesTV at
www.richmondsockeyes.com
