THE North Van Wolf Pack junior B hockey team is headed to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history after clinching the final berth in the PIJHL's Shaw conference with a 4-1 road win over the Ridge Meadows Flames Friday.
Quin Buckellew scored twice in the first period while Marco Finucci, on his way to a threepoint night, and Marcus Houck scored in the second to give the Wolf Pack a commanding 40 lead. The Flames answered back late in the second but the Pack threw up a defensive wall the rest of the way, holding on for the win to book their spot in the post-season.
"It was sort of surreal for me from the bench," said Wolf Pack head coach and general manager Matt Samson. "Everyone I talked to said it seemed like we had it pretty much in hand after the first period up 2-0 . . . (but) until you get like a five-or six-goal lead, especially with so much on the line, all of us on the bench were just waiting. That third period went by pretty slow for me, for sure. We just sort of locked it down. We had a 4-1 lead, I think we only ended up with four or five shots. We just wanted every puck in deep and make sure we had everyone back in the middle of the ice and protecting our net when they got it in. It was a huge win."
The Wolf Pack, formed in 2008, played three years in Squamish without ever making the playoffs, finally sinking to the depths of a six-win season (out of 44 games) last year. Following that season, however, the club moved to North Van and this year they reached new heights, finishing with a record of 20-21-1-2 to tie the Grandview Steelers for fourth in the conference with 43 points, advancing to the playoffs based on a better winning percentage.
"That was the goal - to definitely make playoffs this year and establish ourselves," said Samson after the team's final regular season game, a 4-2 loss to Grandview that came after the playoff race was already settled. "(Making the playoffs) helps us with recruiting; for our organization it's the first time we've made it so that's big for us. We're very happy that we've made it and now it's time to give Richmond all we can."
That would be the Richmond Sockeyes, the team North Van will face in the opening playoff round and a team that is, by most measures, the best in the league. Defending league champs, they have 12 more points than the next-best team in the PIJHL and they scored the most goals and allowed the fewest during the regular season.
"They're a big challenge for us - their team speed, they move the puck very quickly through the middle of the ice, they're very disciplined in their defensive end, they don't give up a lot of chances, their D keep us to the outside," said Samson, adding that to stand a chance the Pack will need to win the special teams battle.
"I think our power play is going to have to click at a pretty high clip if we expect to beat them," he said. "We need to stay out of the penalty box ourselves, they've got a lethal power play - it's No. 1 in the league. They've got a lot of skilled players. We have to keep our game a little more simple, get pucks in deep, get on our forecheck, take advantage of the opportunities that they'll allow us and play these guys tough every shift, whistle to whistle."
Judging by the season series, the Wolf Pack will be big underdogs given that they lost all six of their meetings against the Sockeyes. They can take some consolation, however, in knowing that they've been getting closer and closer all year. In the first three games the teams played, Richmond outscored the Wolf Pack 24-3. In the final three games that combined total dropped to 11-7, including a pair of 3-2 games in their final two meetings in late December and early January.
"I think we can give them a run for their money," said Wolf Pack captain Garrett Woodside. "We're really coming together as a team right now. We're just trying to find that final piece that really makes us click."
Woodside played half a season in Squamish last year and is thrilled with the turn the club has taken after moving down the Sea to Sky Highway. "It's the first time I've ever made playoffs so it's pretty exciting," he said.
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The series begins Thursday night at 7: 30 p.m. at the Richmond Arena before returning to North Van's Harry Jerome Recreation Centre for game two on Friday (time TBD) and game three on Saturday at 7 p.m. Games four and (if necessary) five will be in Richmond with a potential game six scheduled for Wednesday, March 7 (time TBD) in North Van.
