For much of this season, the Ridge Meadows Flames have been the ones on the wrong end of a blowout score. Five times this season the local junior B club has lost by seven goals or more.
But Saturday saw the junior B Flames in rare form, as the Flames bounced back from a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to the conference-leading Aldergrove Kodiaks the night before with a 10-1 drubbing of the Port Moody Black Panthers on the road.
While Flames head coach Tavis Eaton said he and his team aren’t ones to run up scores, it was important for the team’s confidence to register a resounding win, such as they did Saturday.
“No one has let up on us this season, so why should we,” he said. “They kept going to the box, so we kept putting it in the net.”
The Black Panthers knocked the Flames out of the 2011 Pacific International Junior Hockey League playoffs and have beaten the Flames in their three previous meetings this season by a combined score of 16-10.
The Flames had 52 shots on net Saturday night thanks to the eight powerplay opportunities the Black Panthers afforded them. The Flames managed four goals with the man-advantage.
Danny Brandys finished the night with six points and first star honours, while linemates Matthew Bissett and Sean Pesut had five and four points, respectively.
Adam Bartsch, Keagan Hunter, Marco Ballarin, and Dean Gilmore also had goals for the Flames.
While the Flames’ 10-1 performance was impressive, Eaton believes the team played a better game the night before in its 2-1 loss against the Kodiaks.
Jordan Hospes made 40 saves as the Flames were able to keep the 21-7-2 Kodiaks at bay until the final seconds of the game.
With the score tied 1-1 for much of the second and third periods, the deadlock was broken with seven seconds left to play as Aldergrove’s Matthew Luongo scored on a wrap-around to give the Kodiaks the win.
“They were pissed off,” said Eaton of his team after the loss. “They believe they can compete with any team in this league, and they proved that.”
The Flames have made huge strides in recent weeks to raise their level of play.
After starting the Pacific International Junior Hockey League season 4-21, the Flames are 3-1-1 in their last five games, and have earned themselves a six-point cushion over the Mission Icebreakers for the final playoff berth in the Harold Brittain Conference.
But the turnaround hasn’t been overnight, and the Flames’ current roster bears little resemblance to the one that suited up at the start of the season.
Gone are goalies Tyler Klassen and Jordan Eggert, replaced by Wesley McLeod and Jordan Hospes.
The return of Danny Brandys, and the addition of Matthew Bissett and Sean Pesut have given the Flames as potent a first-line found anywhere in the league.
The Flames blueline has seen some of the most significant changes. The team started the season with just a single player, Reece Rivard, who had seen any junior B action previously.
The addition of Keenan Grant, Corey Dubbeldam, Cole Regier, and Joe Svabados has given the Flames some much needed experience in their own end, and the result has been apparent on the score sheet.
“We’ve really tried to simplify things,” said Eaton. “We have a lot of rookies, but guys are accepting their roles.
“And when you buy in, good things happen.”
With 14 games left in the regular season, Eaton wants his team to catch Port Moody in the conference standings and secure a more favourable playoff berth.
Currently, Port Moody has an eight-point lead on the Flames, but the Fames hold two games in hand.
“In the playoffs anything can happen, and we’re in a good spot right now,” said Eaton.
