An opportunity for the Richmond Sockeyes to take an early stranglehold in the latest chapter of their junior "B" hockey playoff rivalry with the Delta Ice Hawks was lost before game two was barely 10 minutes old.
Coming off 4-2 series opening win one night earlier, the well-rested defending Pacific International Junior Hockey League champions looked to be in great shape Sunday night.
Their opponent was playing their third game in as many days and didn't even have home ice advantage due to an arena conflict, forcing the Fraser River rivals to play at the Harry Jerome recreation centre in North Vancouver.
However, the Sockeyes came sluggish out of the gate, surrendered a pair of early goals then battled their way back, only to lose 3-2 in double overtime.
The result makes the Tom Shaw Conference final now a best-of-five affair with game three slated for last night in Ladner, before the series returns to Minoru Arena for game four Thursday (7: 30 p.m.) and Friday (7 p.m.).
A power play goal by Alex Martin gave Delta a 1-0 lead and Spencer Traher doubled the margin 74 seconds later when the Sockeyes were caught running around in their own end.
The goal prompted Richmond head coach Judd Lambert to call a timeout to settle down his team.
The strategy worked as Jeremy Hamaguchi cut the margin in half before the first intermission and the Sockeyes dominated much of the territorial play the rest of the way.
However, the slow start was significant given the extent of the damage and how both teams have taken a "defence comes first" approach to this series.
"We were a team of individuals in the first period. It costs us two goals and that was the difference," said Lambert. "We can't play any length of time like we did in the first and that's the bottom line.
"They don't want to open up against us and to be honest we don't want to against them. It was like that last year too and I think you are going to see more of the same situation. No one wants to give up an odd man rush."
The Sockeyes managed to tie the game near the midway mark of the third period when rookie standouts Justin Rai and Carter Popoff combined to beat Ice Hawks goaltender Glenn Ferguson.
Despite enjoying a wide margin in shots (66-43) and a power play in overtime, Richmond couldn't beat Ferguson again. Ice Hawks captain Cody Smith ended the drama when he blasted a shot from the right faceoff circle past goaltender Kootenay Alder.
It was a huge win for an Ice Hawks team that 48 hours earlier was battling just to keep its season alive, prevailing 6-3 in a game seven encounter with the North Delta Devils.
"As a general manager, I feel tired from doing all the stuff over the past few days so I can't even imagine how the players feel," said Delta's Peter Zerbinos. "We couldn't ask much more from the guys. As an organization, we are very proud of them."
Icing...
The Sockeyes were the class of the regular season in the PIJHL and they also dominated the league awards. The winners included: Carter Popoff (rookie-of-the-year), Kootenay Alder (top goaltender) and Judd Lambert (coach-of-the-year).
