The Richmond Sockeyes will be riding an 11-game win streak into the new year and are leaving their current coaching staff intact for the balance of the season.
The Sockeyes closed out 2017 with a 4-1 win over the visiting Mission Outlaws on Thursday night at Minoru Arenas to improve to 21-5-1-2 on the season. They have not lost in regulation time since Oct. 20 — a stretch of 16 games — and are the only team in the Pacific Junior Hockey League to have taken points off the Delta Ice Hawks (27-2-0-1) in the last two months with a pair of wins.
It was back on Dec. 7 when team ownership decided to part ways with first-year head coach Steve Robinson over his hockey workload that also included guiding Seafair Minor’s top-ranked Bantam A1 team. Assistant Brett Reusch was appointed interim head coach while co-owner Ronnie Paterson joined Mike Ball and Jordan Andrews to round out the staff.
Now, the club has decided to leave the group in place moving forward. Reusch, 31, instantly becomes one of the youngest junior hockey coaches in the province. The former Ice Hawk had been cutting his teeth with rep teams at the Midget and Bantam levels in Cloverdale and Semiahmoo before joining Robinson’s staff this season.
Ball, 26, and Andrews, 22, are Sockeyes alumni. Paterson provides experience and will have a similar role to back in the 2012-13 season when he joined Aaron Wilbur on Richmond’s run to the Cyclone Taylor and Keystone Cup championships. Wilbur was 32 at the time.
“The big thing is Ronnie being able to make the commitment,” explained Sockeyes’ co-owner Doug Paterson. “We recognize they are young but this is very similar to when Ronnie helped out Aaron. We thought let’s do it again.
“It is working well. Brett has some head coaching experience. It is a far cry from this level but, you know what, he is doing a remarkable job. At the end of the day, that’s all that matters.
“He had been running our power play the last couple of months and is responsible for the line combinations now. Mike has the defence and Jordy is looking after the stats. Ronnie is making sure everything is stable and is motivating the guys too. So far so good.”
It also helps having a motivated and veteran loaded line-up that will see a number of players end their junior careers when Richmond hosts the Cyclone Taylor Cup in April.
Captain Tyler Andrews is having a MVP calibre season. He had a pair of goals in the Sockeyes 4-3 overtime win over the Langley Trappers on Wednesday night and sits second in league scoring with 52 points in 24 games.
Arjun Bath is another 20-year-old on torrid clip of late. He had a hat trick against Mission and the overtime winner in Langley. That gives him eight goals over the last nine games.
The Sockeyes will now enjoy a break over the holidays before hosting the Second Annual PJHL Winter Classic, Jan. 5-7. The showcase event will feature all 11 teams in action at Minoru Arenas over three days with games starting as early as 10 a.m. Richmond will take on the Grandview Steelers on Jan. 5 and the Langley Trappers on Jan. 7. Both games start at 7 p.m.
