Squamish Wolfpack net minder Jordan Liem faced down dozens of furiously flying pucks Saturday (Nov. 13) but his team once again fell short in scoring, losing 6-4 to the Richmond Sockeyes.
Liem had 43 shots fired at him in 39 minutes of action, allowing only four in before being replaced in the second period with an injury after colliding with a Sockeyes player. He seemed to shake it off from the bench by the end of the game.
However the Wolfpack didn't fare as well, being outshot by a staggering total of 53-25 by game's end.
Liem's play was stellar, and the overall team effort was decent said head coach Matt Samson.
"I thought we were OK tonight," he said. "We didn't sustain enough offence but we battled hard. It was a tough shift for us on the go-ahead goal, we just couldn't clear the puck and that was the difference in the game."
The Sockeyes got on the board 4:10 into the first after Wolfpack defenceman Gray Meckling failed to clear the puck.
Squamish took advantage of Liem's play when Konrad Sander deflected a point shot from Filipp Conti to draw even.
Mico Dragutinovic drew the other assist and the period concluded in a 1-1 tie. A remarkable result considering that the Wolfpack were out shot 23-3 in the first frame.
The Wolfpack came out much stronger in the second and their hard work finally paid off at 11:24 of the second. Matt Bonin made a diving pass to a streaking Jaret Babych who roofed a breakaway goal to put the Wolfpack up 2-1.
However, following a season-long trend of bad shifts for Squamish after scoring a goal, the lead was short lived and Richmond tied the game up 32 seconds later.
But six seconds later, the Wolfpack retrieved the lead when Jacob Bergeron fooled the goalie with a high shot from the slot.
Richmond then changed their goalie and it seemed to spark the club as they scored two more goals to finish off the third up 4-3.
With Harry Fredeman in goals for Squamish following Liem's injury, the Wolfpack connected on the power play to open the scoring in the third period when Dragutinovic wired a laser beam from the hash marks to tie the game at four.
But Squamish simply couldn't hold on and failed to clear the puck late in the period. Richmond once again took the lead.
Richmond added an empty-netter to reach the 6-4 final score.
Despite the Wolfpack's 12-game winless streak, there are some positives, said Samson. Newcomers Dragutinovic and Conti seem to be fitting in well on the team.
He also praised the recent strong play of Jaret Babych, who recorded a hat trick on Thursday (Nov. 11) in the team's 6-5 shootout loss to North Delta.
"He's playing a lot better lately," Samson said. "He's got a lot more confidence and is shooting the puck more. He still needs work defensively but we like his progress."
The loss puts the team's record at three wins, 15 losses and four overtime losses and they remain entrenched in the basement of the Pacific International Junior Hockey League (PIJHL).
They now sit 16 points behind the fourth place Grandview Steelers, who currently occupy the final playoff spot in the Tom Shaw Conference
The Wolfpack will now embark on a lengthy road trip for the next two weeks. The next home game will take place on Dec. 4 when the Steelers make their way to Brennan Park Arena. Face-off for the game is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.
For more information on the team, visit www.squamishwolfpack.com.
