There are a couple of ways you could look at the hot start for the North Van Wolf Pack that has thrust them into first place with a 4-1 record in the early stages of the PJHL season.
The glass-half-empty observer would say that the team is playing a dangerous game, falling behind opponents early and struggling back to earn narrow wins. Last Saturday the Pack fell behind the Langley Knights — a re-booted version of the North Delta Devils — 2-0 at home before rallying for a 4-3 win. Things were even dicier Wednesday night on the road against the Mission City Outlaws with North Van falling behind 3-0 before scoring five unanswered and hanging on for a 5-4 win.
The glass-half-full view, on the other hand, would be that the team has shown strong character and exemplary fitness levels late in games to score those come-from-behind wins. And, not least of all, a win is a win no matter how it came about.
Wolf Pack head coach and general manager Matt Samson is leaning more towards the glass-half-full approach, though he knows that if the team keeps playing these dangerous games they could very easily start coming up empty.
“We like our record,” Samson told the North Shore News Friday before the team set off for a road game in Abbotsford followed by a home contest Saturday night against the Delta Ice Hawks.
“We’re winning one-goal games — that’s always good when you come out on the positive side of those — but we definitely have some stuff to work on,” he said, adding that falling behind early in games is a dangerous pattern to get into.
“Those are kind of red flags as a coach where you say, ‘Why are we starting so slow? Are we taking these teams lightly?’” he said. “I told my older guys that they are good players but they have to respect that it is a good league and they can’t just show up and expect to win and expect to get two or three points every night just because they’re good players.”
Wednesday night’s win in Mission was a dramatic illustration of how fast the tide can turn at this level of hockey. The Pack, trailing 2-0, started the second period with an extended five-on-three power play but couldn’t capitalize, instead giving up a goal less than a minute after the man-advantage ended. Now at the bottom of a deep hole, the Pack climbed all the way out, tying the game 3-3 before the end of the period and taking the lead for good in the third. The game actually brought back some troubling memories for Samson — the Wolf Pack were ousted from the playoffs last season after giving up five unanswered, third-period goals against the Richmond Sockeyes.
“We’ve got to play a complete, 60-minute game,” said Samson. “I know it’s a cliché but it’s true. We’ve seen it firsthand, our guys that were in the playoffs. You’ve got to play every shift and you can’t take anything for granted out there.
“Sometimes you can come out flying in the first period and all of a sudden you get a bad break and you’re down 1-0 or 2-0. That’s hockey. No matter how you get there, if you are down — and obviously we’re going to be down again this year — I think our guys know that we have the firepower and team speed and all that stuff that we can come back. It’s encouraging that we have come back and I think our third periods have been great.”
The Pack has been led by the team’s five 20-year-olds. Spencer Quon is third in the league with 11 points in five games while Daniel Tait is right behind with 10 points. Brodyn Nielsen’s five goals leads the team in that category. Defenceman Dyllan Quon has five points in five games while Mitchell Chrisanti has two points in two games since sitting out a three-game suspension to open the season.
All five of those players wear letters for the team with Nielsen nominated as the captain and the other four alternating as assistants. Nielsen, who suited up for the Pack three seasons ago before seeing time in the WHL and BCHL, was an obvious pick to wear the C, said Samson.
“We know that every day at practice, every day at the rink he’s going to give everything he has,” he said. “He’s going to be a good leader — leadership on the ice in how he plays and in the room as well. The guys really respect him.”
Other players showing well in the early going are rookie Zachary Bleuler, tied for the team lead for defencemen with five points, and rookie forward Mitchell Ledyard. Ledyard, whose uncle Grant had a long NHL career, was the last player signed prior to the season but has quickly moved up the depth charts, scoring four points in five games.
The one big question mark for the team remains in net where three rookies — Sergio Del-Linz, Trevor Withers and Nicholas Anderson — are all getting a shot to claim the No. 1 spot.
All three have scored wins already with Del-Linz posting the best umbers with a 2.50 goals against average and .902 save percentage through two starts. Samson said he’ll give them all a long look before making the tough decision of which two to keep.
“It would be very tough to keep all three of those guys all year, as much as I’d like to. You can’t keep rotating guys through all year — you’ve got to have a go-to guy at some point,” said Samson. “We’ve got at least another month that we can do this. We’ve got to make a decision at some point who the best two are. I couldn’t tell you right now, and they’re all good kids. It’s going to be tough.”
The Pack hosts a rare weeknight home game on Wednesday with the Port Moody Panthers coming to town. Puck drop is scheduled for 8 p.m. at Harry Jerome Recreation Centre.
