You know you’re having a pretty decent hockey season when you clinch first place in your conference without even realizing it.
The junior B North Van Wolf Pack wrapped up top spot in the Pacific Junior Hockey League’s Tom Shaw Conference with a 5-1 win over the Grandview Steelers Jan. 24, giving the Pack first place with six games left in their 44-game season. North Van was already running away with first place – they’re now 14 points ahead of second place with two games to play – and so the clinching game came and went with little fanfare.
“It wasn’t part of our game plan, like we need to win this to clinch,” said general manager and assistant coach Elias Godoy. “We didn’t really realize it until after that we’d clinched the conference. But our work obviously isn’t done yet. We’re moving on to the playoffs where it really counts.”
Before they get to the playoffs, however, North Van has their sights set on wrapping up top spot in the entire league. The Wolf Pack plays the Port Moody Panthers – last place in the Tom Shaw Conference – tomorrow night and Saturday night at Harry Jerome Arena and North Van only needs to register a single point in those two games to clinch the PJHL regular season title, giving them home ice advantage throughout the playoffs. That would be a big playoff boost for the club considering that their home record currently stands at 15 wins, three losses and two overtime losses.
“We take pride in being a tough team to play against, especially at home,” said Godoy. “We’ve got great fans and we’ve got a great setup with the room and everything, the guys are comfortable at home. … A big part of the game is having that home ice in the playoffs.”
Talk of clinching first place overall shouldn’t seem out of place considering the Wolf Pack are defending PJHL champions, but it does bear mentioning that this is not the same club that won the first title in franchise history last year. North Van lost their top seven scorers after that championship run as well as head coach and general manager Matt Samson, who took a job in the BCHL. The team seemed destined to take at least a small step back this season but instead they’ve just kept on marching to the top. North Van has won eight of their last 10 games and, if they win their final two contests, would set a new franchise record for points.
“The team is looking good,” said Godoy. “We’ve got a lot of depth this year, especially up front, which is nice. We have 15 forwards that can all play, so obviously there’s some tough decisions for us every night on who is going because we only dress 12.”
The talented Wolf Pack got even deeper in January with the acquisition of Cole Todd, a North Vancouver native who was playing for the Fort McMurray Oil Barons of the A-level Alberta Junior Hockey League. Todd, a 20-year-old in his final junior season, requested a trade out of Fort McMurray and the Barons obliged by sending him to play with some old friends on his hometown team. He’s picked up 10 points in his first seven games with the Pack.
“He’s a huge asset for us,” said Godoy. “He obviously brings leadership and knowledge of the next level. He brings a lot of energy, a lot of speed – just a highly skilled offensive player that can play both sides of the puck too … he plays on the penalty kill, key defensive-zone faceoffs. It’s nice to add a player that can add to both sides of the puck.”
Todd joined a forward crew that is led by the high-scoring trio of Mitchell Cobby, Ram Brar and Nyshan Basra, 20-year-olds who rank third, fourth and fifth in the league in points.
“They’re having great years,” said Godoy. “They’re huge leaders for us, on and off the ice. We couldn’t ask for anything more from them this year. They’ve done an outstanding job for sure.”
Cobby, with 66 points, is four points away from breaking Spencer Quon’s club record of 69 points in a season set in 2013-14.
The Wolf Pack have shown they can get it done on both ends of the rink as well, leading the league in goals scored while also sitting in a three-way tie with Mission City and Abbotsford for fewest goals allowed.
The defence is led by workhorses Scott Munro and Shane Kumar, with Jivan Sidhu, Connor Pasco and Shane Kime also playing big roles. The goaltending has been strong with veteran Trevor Withers and rookie Brock Leach-Moore forming a formidable duo. Withers, last year’s playoff goalie, will be counted on to shoulder the No. 1 load again this post-season.
“He’s been down the road in the playoffs with us last year,” said Godoy. “He was a rookie last year so now obviously he’s a veteran guy, he’s been down all the way to the Cyclone (Taylor Cup). We’re expecting him to step up and lead us back there.”
The Wolf Pack have known for weeks that they’re No. 1 in the conference but they may need to wait until the last day of the season to find out who they’ll be facing in the playoffs. Grandview, Richmond and Delta have been waging an extended battle for second place in the conference. Grandview holds the edge entering the final week of play but nothing has been locked up yet. Whichever team falls to fourth will face the Wolf Pack in a seven-game series to open the playoffs.
“They’re all obviously good teams – we have a really strong conference this year,” said Godoy. “Whoever we play, we have to be prepared. Each team has fought hard against us every time we’ve played them this year. There are definitely no easy outs in the first round, second round or moving forward after that. We’ve got to be prepared, and we’ll be ready for whoever we face first round.”
No matter who they face, the Wolf Pack will be chasing another PJHL title and berth in the Cyclone Taylor Cup provincial championship tournament, said Godoy.
“Making it to the Cyclone is our first goal,” he said. “I don’t see why we couldn’t. We have everything a championship team needs. In the playoffs it’s all about performing. One game at a time – you’ve got to be ready every game.”
The winner of the Cyclone Taylor Cup gets a shot at the Keystone Cup Western Canadian Junior B championships, a tournament that has so far eluded the Wolf Pack.
“The guys are committed, I think we have the team, we have the coaching staff that we could make it all the way to the Keystone,” said Godoy. “We’ve got a great mix of young guys and returning guys. We got very fortunate with some of the returning guys that we didn’t expect to get back – they help us out huge. But at the same time, our younger guys are really stepping up. … They know that we have a deep team so they’re not playing every day. They’re not playing what they’re used to in midget, playing a whole bunch of minutes, and everyone has committed to the success of the team as a whole. That’s really been a huge part of us – no one is an individual here, we’re all together working towards one goal and doing whatever it takes.”
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The Wolf Pack end their regular season with two matchups against the Port Moody Panthers. Puck drop Wednesday night is at 8 p.m. while the regular season finale will be held Saturday starting at 7 p.m. Both games are at Harry Jerome Arena.
