The hard work is done for the North Van Wolf Pack. Now the really hard work begins.
The Pack battled back from an early deficit Wednesday night to beat the Port Moody Panthers 7-5 at Harry Jerome Arena. The win gave the Pack a seven point lead ahead of the Panthers in the race for the fourth and final playoff spot in the PJHL’s Tom Shaw Conference with seven regular season games left to play.
Calling what the Wolf Pack faced on Wednesday an “early” deficit is underselling it – Port Moody was on the board just seven seconds into the game after one of the North Van players blew a tire, allowing Cole Iantorno to walk in for an unassisted goal.
“That’s pretty quick,” said head coach Bayne Koen. “I was telling the players we still have a full game. The anthem isn’t even over yet, they scored a goal – big deal. We’ve got to move on. Things happen real fast at this level. Sometimes the momentum swings are huge and you have to capitalize on them when you can.”
The momentum was back on North Van’s side by the end of the period, as the Pack stormed back to lead 3-2 after 20 minutes. Port Moody then took a 5-4 lead into the third period but three unanswered North Van goals – capped off by an empty netter to give Caleb Holonko a hat trick – sealed the deal for the Pack.
“It was kind of a bizarre game from both sides,” said Koen. “It seems to be the modern hockey right now – lots of goals in the NHL and lots of goals in our league. … It’s definitely a positive to get the win at this point of the year. We’re a very young club in our league, we’re not going to be upset with the two points for sure. We definitely need to clear up some things though.”
The win capped off a strong stretch of play for North Van that saw them open up some breathing room in what was a tight playoff race. North Van has beaten Port Moody three times in the past three weeks, including another 7-5 win at the PJHL Winter Classic showcase event at Richmond Arena Jan. 2, and a 3-2 overtime win in Port Moody Jan. 7.
That breathing room may prove essential during the final stretch of the season, as every game the rest of the way will come against teams above North Van in the standings. The gauntlet begins with a home game Jan. 21 against the league-leading Aldergrove Kodiaks followed by two games apiece against the Grandview Steelers, Delta Ice Hawks and Richmond Sockeyes, first, second and third place, respectively, in the Shaw Conference.
“We need to beat every single team in this league, and not just worry about Port Moody,” said Koen. “We’ve proven that we can compete with a lot of these teams in this league, and beat them on any given night. These next seven games are going to be the staple of our year. We also have to play within ourselves and not put so much pressure on ourselves that we can’t perform properly.”
North Van is coming off back-to-back regular season PJHL titles in 2015 and 2016, but this is a much different team than those juggernauts.
“We’re a different hockey club,” said Koen. “There’s a big learning curve for sure for a lot of our guys, just because we are rookie heavy as opposed to veteran heavy as we have been the past couple of years.”
Leading the way for the young Pack is veteran captain Ian Creamore, who is tied for fourth in the league with 45 points in 36 games.
“He’s a kid that has been a good leader,” said Koen. “He has that work ethic and that intensity. He might be a little smaller than the average guy in the league, but he doesn’t care. That’s what makes him a special player to our organization and to our teammates. We expect him to continue to lead here.”
Several other players have stepped into leadership roles as well – with injuries opening up even more room at the top – allowing the Wolf Pack to put together their current run of good play.
“We’re just trying to let these guys have fun and enjoy it,” said Koen. “We compete every single night. I’ll never question our work ethic, there’s no doubt about that. I think we work very hard and as a team it’s kind of our mantra that we want to work hard and perform every night.”
Last season ended in upset as the top-ranked Wolf Pack lost to the fourth-seeded Ice Hawks in the fourth round. The tables may be turned this year, as the Pack will likely slide into that fourth playoff spot if they can hold off the Panthers.
“We’ve got to give ourselves an opportunity to get into the dance and make the most of it,” said Koen. “I think we’ve just got to work and stay disciplined and stay focused on the task at hand. It’s a short three or four weeks when it’s all said and done. We’ve got a short window to stay focused here.”
