It may not have been the result the Squamish Wolf Pack was looking for in its first game in the Pacific International Junior Hockey League (PIJHL). But there's nothing left to do but build. The Wolf Pack was frozen in its tracks by the Delta Ice Hawks 5-1 in a game riddled with stick infractions prompting three power play goals against. It was an obvious sign the team needs to grow accustomed to PIJHL play and officiating, said head coach Matt Samson. "You could see the nerves on some of the guys - especially the young guys. For a lot of them it was their first junior hockey game. It's a little bit intimidating and I was happy with the crowd that showed up. Hopefully we keep putting a decent product on the ice and they keep coming out."The crowd of 323 howled when Sinclair Kim scored the team's first ever regular season goal just under five minutes into the second period to tie the game at one a piece. Trevor Beaupre put the puck on net and Kim tapped in the rebound. Kim said he was ecstatic to hear the rink roaring."It felt great. I loved it when the crowd went nuts," he said. However, the Ice Hawks' Jordan Lorenzetto and Kye Benjaminsen replied going into the third to make the score 3-1. Cory Sammartino took on Delta's Mitch Pacey for the season's first scrap while the Ice Hawks potted two more power play goals. The Wolf Pack failed to capitalize on chances, including missing three breakaways at key moments."That hurts," said Samson. "That would have been a big momentum swing. You score three and we're up and we change some stuff up but instead we were playing from behind." Squamish was outshot 44 to 33 as goalie Graham Hallenbeck stopped 39 shots for a save percentage of 89.6. He'll remain between the posts this week when the Wolf Pack face off against the Grandview Steelers Saturday (Sept. 13). The puck drops at Brennan Park at 7:15 p.m.
