They did it again.
The North Delta Devils have now won two consecutive games against the Richmond Sockeyes, the elite team in the Pacific International Junior Hockey League.
The Sockeyes, now at 21-3-0 (won-lost-overtime loss), were edged 3-2 by the Devils Sunday night in the Sungod Arena. North Delta also handed Richmond its second loss, a 6-4 setback in Richmond on Dec. 1.
The Devils got the only goal of the first period from Julius Ho on a penalty shot. Michal Urbaniak made it 2-0 midway through the second period, but Richmond got a pair of powerplay goals in a three-minute span to tie the contest 2-2 after 40 minutes.
The Devils got the winner with a powerplay effort of their own from Stevan Burzan seven minutes into the third period.
Harry Fredeman was a standout in the North Delta goal, stopping 40 of 42 shots.
Fredeman continued his fine play Sunday at the Burnaby Winter Club, stopping all 26 shots directed his way to lead the Devils to a 1-0 victory over the Grandview Steelers. Ho scored the game’s lone goal on the powerplay.
The victory opened up a nine-point gap between North Delta and the last place Steelers. Four of the five teams in the Tom Shaw Conference will make the playoffs.
Now at 13-7-4-0 (won-lost-overtime loss-tie) and riding a six-game win streak, the Devils will face Grandview again Saturday night at 6:45 p.m. in the Sungod Arena. They then face the fourth-place North Vancouver Wolf Pack for a home-and-home series. The Wolf Pack, seven points back of the Devils with a 10-10-1-2 record, host North Delta Monday night before a return match next Wednesday (Dec. 21) at Sungod.
