It took the Richmond Sockeyes all of two games to be dealt some significant adversity in the Pacific Junior Hockey League playoffs.
The Sockeyes entered Monday’s game three home ice tilt with the North Vancouver Wolf Pack minus three of their top forwards but still managed to produce a 2-1 win to take the lead by the same margin in the best-of-seven quarter final series. Game four goes Wednesday night on the North Shore and the teams return to Minoru Arenas on Thursday (7 p.m.).
First-year head coach Brett Reusch must have wondered what else could go wrong after last Saturday’s 4-2 game two loss.
He watched a potential opening goal be disallowed and Mitchell Newsome go down with a significant injury on the same play. Then in the dying seconds, Jordan Funk inadvertently bumped an official which resulted in an automatic three-game suspension. Funk has compiled 29 points since joining Richmond 15 games ago.
With Noah Wozney already sidelined to start the playoffs and Brett Gelz missing for game two, one of the league’s powerhouse teams looked to be in a precarious position.
Gelz was back in the line-up Monday and the Sockeyes produced a solid performance that was much more dominant than the final score suggested.
“I’m proud of the boys. They battled through adversity and every team has to go through that at some point of the playoffs. It’s how you respond and you have to be resilient,” said Reusch.
“Everything that could go wrong went wrong on Saturday. To score the first goal then have it taken away and lose Newsome on the very same play. But it’s playoff time and you still have to find a way.”
To help fill out their roster, the Sockeyes called-up Michael Tersigni from the major midget Greater Vancouver Canadians. It was an 18th birthday he won’t soon forget.
“He had a good camp here with us and we have kept a close eye on him since,” continued Reusch. “He didn’t get a lot of shifts but, when he was called upon, he played well, made some key plays and even had a couple of scoring opportunities.”
The Sockeyes hope to have Wozney back soon. In the meantime, they are dealing with an opponent that doesn’t seem interested in exchanging scoring chances all night with the league’s second highest scoring team. Richmond dominated puck possession and only some key saves from Alex Forster kept the visitors in striking distance. Still, they had their moments and Jacob Latrace needed to be sharp when called up at the other end of the ice.
“They have been playing a 1-3-1 from the get go,” added Reusch. “We are trying to adapt to that, find ways to breakthrough and get pucks deep to apply pressure.”
Braeden Gurney scored both Richmond goals Monday. His wraparound effort in the opening minute of the second period proved to be the winner. Captain Tyler Andrews assisted on both tallies and now has five points in three games.
The winner will play the Delta Ice Hawks in the Tom Shaw Conference finals. Delta eliminated Grandview in four straight. That series will start sometime next week in Ladner.
