Following Saturday’s 6-4 loss to Ridge Meadows, White Rock is set for a difficult week ahead with a tricky pair of games within the Tom Shaw Conference.
First up is a trip to Minoru Arena to face the Richmond Sockeyes, who currently share top spot in the Tom Shaw Conference with the Whalers. The two sides are currently the highest scoring teams in the PJHL so far this season, with Garrett Wicks (Sockeyes) and Matthew Burry sharing the league’s scoring crown with nine points.
Despite sharing Minoru Arena last season, the Pod hasn’t faced Richmond since February of 2020. However the Whalers lost all four match ups with the Sockeyes that season, with their last win over Richmond coming in January 2019. Thursday’s clash is the first of six games between the two, with the puck dropping in Richmond at 7:00pm.
With several players away for training camps of BCHL and WHL teams, Rogers addressed the difficulty of nailing down a line up.
Then, White Rock returns home for a rematch of the season opener against the Delta Ice Hawks on Saturday night.
Delta will have played two games this week before the Whalers clash, so the Tom Shaw conference could look a little different come Saturday. However, their lone win over Port Moody and an opening night shoot-out loss to the Pod has delta sitting in 5th.
Daniel Zuvic was lights out in that’s season opener in the White Rock goal, stopping all three chances in the shoot-out back on September 7th. A pair of short handed goals for White Rock helped them force the game past 60 minutes. An exciting rematch is in store for Saturday night, with the puck dropping at 7:30pm from Centennial Arena. A vaccine passport and mask will be required at the game, with capacity limited so arrive early to guarantee yourself a seat.
