The North Van Wolf Pack will be looking to show that they’re young and hungry as they take their final charge of 2016 during a rare weeknight showcase game Wednesday at Harry Jerome Arena.
The junior B Pacific Junior Hockey League squad has had an even season so far as they look to fill holes left by a number of top dogs who graduated from the junior ranks over the past two years. The Pack won back-to-back regular season titles coming into this season but now they’re in a dog fight for the fourth and final playoff position in the PJHL’s Tom Shaw Conference.
They have shown a lot of life, however, including a 2-1 road win over the third-place Richmond Sockeyes Thursday. North Van is currently two points up on fifth-place Port Moody with one game at hand.
“It’s been up and down for sure,” said general manager and associate head coach Elias Godoy. “We’re young, so there’s going to be a lot of growing pains. … It’s nice to see that we can be competitive with some young guys. They’re stepping up and playing big minutes. It’s what we want for sure. Going into any year with a young team, you’re going to be a little worried about can they step up and play at this level, play a full season, play 20 minutes a night, play against older, more experienced teams. You never know until you get into those situations. We’ve found that our guys can do that, and we’re happy with that for sure.”
On Wednesday the Pack will look for a win against the Mission City Outlaws, last year’s league champions who currently sit in fourth place in the Harold Brittain Conference. Coming into this weekend’s action, both teams sat at 24 points through 28 games in the 44-game schedule.
The Wolf Pack will also look to score off the ice as the team will be collecting non-perishable food items at the gate that will be donated to a food bank. Wednesday will also see some of the stars of the past few seasons return to be honoured with alumni awards.
Puck drop is at 7 p.m. at Harry Jerome.
