Dropping the first game simply wasn’t in the cards for the Ice Hawks and in conversation with Head Coach Darrin Naylor he mentioned “he thought the guy’s outplayed North Van, but never played a solid 60 minute game.”

Truer words were never spoken and this game was all about forgetting the previous game and moving on and playing their game, not the opposition’s game.

From the outset Delta managed to get two face-offs on net in the opening 15 seconds of the first forcing North Van to re-think what they were up against.

Both clubs stayed with the “tenders” that played in game one with Delta’s Naylor getting the nod between the pipes, while North Van stayed with Forster.

Delta started with much more urgency than the previous game getting shots from various angles and locations on the ice managing to capitalize.

Deyrmenjian got Delta on the scoreboard first after getting set up from Rubin and Wideski taking a 1-0 lead at 7:57 of the first.

North Van found themselves in penalty trouble allowing Trotman to get his first of the playoffs from the slot while on the PP at 9:52 after getting set-up from Dhaliwal and Bogress.

Jumping out to a 2-0 lead after one seemed to boost the team with confidence also dominating in the shot department leading by a 13-5 margin after one.

It’s wasn’t hard to know that the Wolf pack would come out with more jump in the second and that was exactly what they did.

The exploded with not only shots, but also managing to grab their first of the night a short 26 second in with speedster Ian Creamore hammering one past a somewhat surprised Jordan Naylor.

Both teams pressed, but it wasn’t until the 17:58 mark of the second when Delta Gary Dhaliwal got his first of the playoffs putting Delta up by a 3-1 margin taking a 3-1 lead to the dressing room after two.

North Van controlled the shots through two leading by a 15-12 tally and despite the score, the third would be anyone’s game.

The turning point of the second saw North Van assessed a penalty shot which could have made it a 3-2 game had they scored, but the shot was turned away by Naylor keeping Delta up by a pair of goals.

I for one don’t mind an aggressive style of game, but playing undisciplined is something that can and will be costly for any team, especially in the playoffs.

Delta (again) found themselves in penalty trouble giving the Wolfpack far too many chances with Naylor being forced to make some “key” saves to allow Delta to maintain the lead.

Delta’s Captain Quinton Wideski managed to give Delta a 4-1 lead at 6:12 of the third, which they were able to maintain for a period of time.

With the third winding down and Delta controlling all areas of the ice, it wasn’t long until North Van found the back of the net at 17:55 with the only thing against them being the clock.

Delta took an untimely minor at 17:44 giving  North Van the advantage, while at the same time pulling the “tender” for the added manpower.

Six on four isn’t the ideal style of play for any team, let alone Delta when North Van were getting numerous chances from various areas of the ice.

North Van managed to capitalize on the PP when Versluis popped in a PP marker at 19:02 of the third pulling within one making it a 4-3 game.

With tension mounting for both clubs, being realistic the pressure was clearly on Delta to see if they could not only maintain, but hold on to the one goal lead and pull off the victory or would North Van force O/T?

They had numerous shots from various areas of the ice, only to be turned aside, much to the delight of the Delta supporters.

While this game could see a momentum shift in the style of play for Delta, they can’t take the Wolfpack lightly as they have far too many explosive “tools” they can muster up.

Some might question the fact that Delta got two lucky breaks on disallowed goals they the Wolfpack put behind Naylor, but upon quick review on Delta TV, the call of “No-Goal” by the Referee was the correct call and like it or not – you can’t argue with the camera!!

The first was a no-goal with the net being off prior to the puck entering the net and the second on an off-side play at the blue line entering the zone.

Delta out shot North Van by a slim margin of 33-30 through three and interesting enough both teams went 1-5 on the night in the PP department, which is simply not good enough.

Game Stars:

1st Daniel Rubin (3 assists)

2nd Gary Dhaliwal (1 goal/1 assist)

3rd Tanner Versluis (1 goal/1 assist)

Delta now hit’s the road for two games in North Van at the Harry Jerome Centre with game 3 of the series played Saturday February 18th at 7 pm.

This is followed by game 4 played Monday February 20th at 8:30 pm.

Delta returns home for game 5 Friday February 24th at the Ladner Leisure Centre with the face-off set for 7:35 pm.

Make plans on coming to the rink and supporting your Delta Ice Hawks!!!!