Preseason | Pod Earns Weekend Split

Zac Sherwin notches shoot-out winner vs. Sockeyes

CENTENNIAL ARENA – The 2022-2023 Whalers opened their exhibition slate with a 2-1 shoot-out victory over the Richmond Sockeyes that felt similar to a gritty playoff matchup.

The Whalers were whistled for a total of 75 penalty minutes; the Sockeyes for 57.

Thankfully for the Pod, veteran Zac Sherwin took charge of a largely rookie line-up on Aug. 27.

Sherwin – who spent half of last season in Jr. ‘A’ with the BCHL Langley Rivermen – tied the game on a power-play marker on a feed from linemate Chris Fortems.

Later in the shoot-out, Sherwin was the only player to light the lamp when he coolly skated down the right wing and snapped the puck past Richmond goalie Marcus Cumberworth’s glove.

White Rock head coach Jason Rogers pointed out that the Whalers were interested in adding speedy players to the roster.

Aug. 28: Whalers vs. Delta Ice Hawks

CENTENNIAL ARENA – The next day, the second exhibition game saw the Whalers put together the perfect start as Zach Johns scored 56 seconds in for a 1-0 lead.

But the savvy Delta Ice Hawks rebounded and comfortably skated to a 6-2 win.

Ice Hawk Carson Hemenway put Delta on the board when he beat rookie Pod netminder Ben McLeod to a loose puck.

The next shift, McLeod rebounded and showed some grit as he went down to rob Delta’s Kyle Robinson on a breakaway. Delta notched two goals on back-to-back shifts in the middle frame to put the game away.

Defensive ‘jobs available’

The Ice Hawks iced an experienced squad that outskated the Whalers in the offensive zone and caused havoc among White Rock’s defensive corps on breakout passes.

There will be changes on the Pod’s blueline, as captain Tyler Price and “Butch” La Roue, the franchise leader in games played, have completed their junior careers.

Coach Rogers said that with the possibility of four defencemen back from last season, “there’s jobs available for those players that want to compete.”

Woodward: Training camp stand-out

Now that training camp has ended, Rogers praised forward Max Woodward for his “youthful enthusiasm and energy. He’s a competitive kid.”