For 38 seconds, the Grandview Steelers and North Van Wolf Pack were on equal footing.
During the game’s remaining 59:22, the Steelers owned the show.
Five different players scored and rookie netminder Cale Dolan recorded a shutout in Grandview’s 7-0 junior B hockey win.
It was an effort which reflected the Burnaby-based Steelers strength so far this season – at 7-1-0-4, the squad owns the league’s second-best record and fewest regulation losses.
“I think we played one of our best games, the whole game,” said coach Stevan Matic. “Right from the get-go we were aggressive, we finished our checks and pressed them.”
Burnaby native Mateo Coltellaro opened the scoring 39 seconds in with his first of two, followed at 2:10 by another local product, Christian Bettiol. Braedan Gurney also tallied twice, with singles from Devan Purhar and Adam Rota.
Dolan, meanwhile, made his first start of the season and turned aside all 23 shots.
“It was (Dolan’s) first start in this league and he played real well,” said the coach. “We’ve got four good lines and each one contributed.”
He noted that the additions of Albertans Malcolm Huemmert and Marc Lafrance, the former a 17-year-old winger, the latter 19 and coming off a season playing in Sweden, have been a big boost to the lineup.
Matic also said defenceman Brett Cox was a standout on the blueline, coming less than 24 hours after he skated with the Coquitlam junior A Express.
“He’s an old-fashioned player – a rugged, physical defenceman,” said Matic.
Grandview plays three games this week: Thursday in Surrey, Friday in Abbotsford, and Sunday, 4 p.m., when they host Richmond at the Burnaby Winter Club.
