The start of the season simply couldn’t come soon enough for the players, the coaches as well as ownership who have all worked tireless hours to put a winning team on the ice as they chase the Championship Stonehouse Cup.

Finishing three points behind the Delta Ice Hawks simply wasn’t enough considering the work that went into the season, but given the changes in the off-season with players as well as new coaches, having their sights set high. 

Opening night was filled with excitement as well as electricity throughout the building along with a fan frenzy night for everyone that went along with the free hot dogs and entertainment for everyone attending.

Starting goalies for the home opener for Richmond saw Massimo Urbani play the full sixty while the visiting Tsumani started Triston Stephens who was replaced 58 seconds in the second period after Teo Lin’s second goal and he was replaced by Braxton Becker who finished the game. 

This season the roster is made up with players from not just the lower mainland but also Calgary, Vernon, Belgium, Sofia Bulgaria as well as Melbourne.

Given the success of the Sockeyes, their success story is at a world-wide success level dating back to the early 70ties and named by long-time Richmond resident and leader Bruce Allison in 1972. Continuing with a winning tradition saw several Richmond dignitaries on hand which included Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie, Councillor’s Bill McNulty, Alexa Loo, Andy Hobbs, Kash Heed, Michael Wolfe and Laura Gillanders. 

Representations from the Federal Government included MP’s Parm Bains and Chak Au and the Provincial Government Hon Chan, Teresa Wat, Kelly Greene and Steve Kooner.

Once opening ceremonies finished the Sockeyes welcomed the 7th player Mack Downey from the Richmond Jets in the pre-game warmup as they started the season off with second year Coastal Tsunami to the “fish tank.” 

With the Sockeyes playing under the direction of new head coach Scott Hewson and assistants Matthew Stewart, Bob Delorme, Brad Essex and Andrew Wolf they are all on the same page noting in order to win they have to gel as a unit.

It was ironic that the opening goal for the season came off the stick of Captain Teo Lin a short 4:18 into the period with assists handed out to Mattias Uyeda and Kai Adano while on the power play.  They held the lead and added to it with Willian Huo putting them up by a pair at the 10:40 mark followed by their third of the period thirty nine seconds later at 11:19 with Dylan Nazareth getting his first of the season putting the Sockeyes up 3-0 after twenty minutes that saw the teams trade a pair of penalties. 

The second period saw Teo Lin get his second goal of the game while on the powerplay 58 seconds in while the Tsunami team were playing one player short. 

Playing physical is one aspect of the game but also playing disciplined is a key role for any team, and some players are still working on that aspect of the game which will eventually come around. Up by four goals wasn’t enough that saw the Sockeyes continue to press allowing Calgary’s Carter Voll to get his first goal of the season at 14:03 that saw Orr set him up for the lone assist taking a 4-0 lead to the dressing room after 40 minutes. 

Not only were the Sockeyes dominating the shots 31-24 after two periods they added to the score at 7:42 with Calgary’s Keelan Wyke giving them a secure 6-0 lead giving them the win in their home opener.

Richmond outshot the Tsunami by a commanding 49-26 margin in a contest that saw the visitors unable to capitalize on any of the five chances while the Sockeyes were able to only manage on two of the eleven they had. 

To no surprise Sockeyes took all three stars with “tender” Massimo Urbani named first star, Teo Lin second star and David Yoon named third star.

With one win in the early season they would face the Delta Ice Hawks playing at their new home ice, the Delta’s Sungod Arena who now play on Saturday which is a change from all previous season’s which was Tuesday’s in Ladner—but regardless it’s still the “Tunnel Series.” 

Game two would see the Sockeyes start with Massimo Urbani while the Ice Hawks started returning goalie Zach Shaughnessy who would both play a full sixty minutes that saw Urbani stop 19 of 21 shots that he faced while Shaughnessy stopped 24 of the 29 he faced.

With Delta focused on putting together a winning season while attracting a new fan base they managed to get the first marker of the contest with Noah Hoglund opening scoring at 1:54 to the delight of their fans on hand. Sockeye's William Huo tied the game at 5:15 while on the power play with Uyeda and Yoon getting assists only to be followed at 1:15 later, when Delta took a 2-1 lead after twenty minutes. The first period was physical, a period that saw Delta collect three penalties while the Sockeyes were assessed five as each team was trying to set the tone for the remaining two periods. 

There must have been the “pep talk” from the coaching staff that encouraged the Sockeyes, Brody Lindal to tie the game at 6:53. Penalties proved costly that allowed Teo Lin to put the Sockeyes up 3-2 on the power play at 18:59 taking a 3-2 lead.

Delta came out with a jump only to be turned aside by Urbani from various areas of the ice that saw Delta’s Bruce McLead giving Richmond another power play that saw David Yoon get his first of the season goal putting the Sockeyes up 4-2 at 1:15 in the third period.

The third period for both teams was more physical than the first two periods with both clubs trying to set the tone which gave Richmond the advantage with Kai Adano getting a shorthanded, unassisted goal at 17:56 giving the Sockeyes a 5-2 win for the early first week of the season.

The road win saw Richmond take the first two stars while Delta grabbed third star in a contest that saw the Sockeyes dominate the shots by a 29-21 margin also managing to get three power play goals on seven chances while Delta was unable to capitalize on any of the nine they were allowed. 

Let’s fill the “Fish Tank” for a game of fun and excitement cheering on the Sockeye’s.