All cylinders were firing to start the season off right for the Vancouver Northeast Chiefs.
The B.C. Major Midget Hockey League squad staked out a 6-0 lead and cruised the rest of the way for a 10-2 decision over the South Island Royals at the Richmond Oval.
And while their win the next day, 3-1 over the same Royals, wasn’t nearly as convincing, it was a two-game sweep that echoed the expectations head coach Jamie Jackson has for his 15-to-17 year old lineup.
“We certainly played well and I like the way we played but I think the score was more indicative how the (South Island) guy between the pipes had a tough first period,” said Jackson. “They played much better and it was a little closer in the second period.”
Second-year Chief Haydn Delorme opened the scoring 1:28 into the game and was followed five minutes later by linemate Christian Buono. The club counted three more goals before the period was half over.
Delorme finished with three goals and an assist, while Ethan Leyh, the youngest player on the roster at 15 years and 23 days, tallied twice and set up two others. Liam Everson, with a goal and three helpers, Arshdeep Bains and affiliate Jack Hamilton counted the other markers.
Turning in a solid effort was returning netminder Kolby Matthews.
A day later Jonny Sheardown, a 17-year-old Burnaby native, scored the game-winning goal early in the second period as the Chiefs built up a three-goal lead before bending. Buono, also from Burnaby, finished with a goal and two helpers to end his debut weekend with five points.
“We had to grind away at it in the second game,” remarked Jackson, “because South Island played it a lot tighter.”
A graduate of the Burnaby Winter Club, Buono has looked pretty impressive even as he adjusts to the speed of the major midget game, said the coach.
“He has excellent vision on the ice and he’s getting use to his linemates. … The league is pretty fast and Christian knows he has to be faster. The best part is that he knows it and he’s working to get there.”
Leyh, a 5-foot-10 forward from Anmore, brought a dynamic element to the ice on his shifts and didn’t look too bothered by the jump from the Yale Hockey Academy bantam prep program.
“Leyh had an amazing weekend,” said Jackson. “He was a rock star for us, he just works and works and it becomes infectious.”
The Chiefs, who draw talent from within the boundaries of New Westminster, east Burnaby, the Tri-Cities and Ridge-Meadows, also benefited from the addition of 15-year-old Bains.
A Surrey native, the 6-feet tall Bains counted two points in the opening weekend.
Jackson was familiar with Bains and when the Valley West Hawks didn’t sign him, did not hesitate to add him to the team’s list.
That ability to pick up players who don’t make their home region team aims to ensure the best players in B.C. can find a place to play in the major midget circuit. Valley West has also used that avenue to bring in players, including 15-year-olds Josh O’Keefe and Alek Sukunda from Burnaby.
The Chiefs now venture to Kamloops for a two-game series against the Thompson Blazers, before trekking to Whitehorse, where they will play the Cougars in a special four-day blitz to the Yukon, extending to the northernest reaches of the Cougars’ protected territory.
As part of the special trip – where the league will fly the squad to Whitehorse for the two-game series – Jackson will join in some local team practices and participate in a coaching forum.
“It’s pretty special and we’re thankful that (Cariboo general manager and co-coach) Trevor Sprague chose us to be the team they play,” said Jackson. “It should be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
