It’s no time to panic, but the Grandview Steelers appear to be driving on winter roads in summer tires.
Having led the Tom Shaw Conference almost since the 2016-17 Pacific Junior B Hockey League season began, the Steelers now share first with the rising Delta Icehawks, who are riding a four-game win streak.
Grandview, meanwhile, has gone 5-5 over its past 10 games, including Wednesday’s 4-1 loss in Aldergrove.
It was the team’s second straight loss.
The Steelers struck first, taking the lead 4:56 in the first on Mario Sever’s second tally of the season. But just 26 seconds later, Aldergrove pulled even on Matt Oliver’s goal. While neither team scored in the middle frame, the Kodiaks grabbed the two points with three unanswered markers in the third period.
The visitors managed a measly 10 shots on goal in the game, including just a pair over the final 20 minutes.
It came on the heels of Sunday’s disappointing 2-0 setback to Richmond at the Burnaby Winter Club, where the Steelers out-shot the visiting Sockeyes 33-26 but couldn’t put one past Merek Pipes. The Richmond netminder secured his fourth shutout of the season – and second one against Grandview.
“We’ve definitely hit a bit of a speed bump here and struggling to generate shots,” said Steelers general manager Aldo Bruno.
“The last couple of games our shots-on-goal haven’t been the greatest, and we’re not creating many chances.”
Richmond took the lead midway through the second, cashing in a powerplay opportunity, then doubled it nearly five minutes later. The home team managed just nine shots in the third period.
Grandview’s last successful result came on Saturday in Port Moody, when they edged the Panthers 5-4, thanks to Braeden Gurney’s 12th of the season, a powerplay goal with six minutes left in regulation.
It capped a comeback, as the Steelers trailed Port Moody in a wild third frame, where a 2-2 game swung first to Grandview, then to the Panthers, before Jacob Siebenga and Gurney counted goals two minutes apart to pull out the win.
While the visitors scored first and started the third up 3-2, the Steelers needed a two-goal rally to walk out of Port Moody with the win.
Bruno said another area needing better results is with the man advantage.
“That has to be an answer to our offensive struggles,” he noted. “For whatever reason we’ve not done the job all year and rank at the bottom or near the bottom on the powerplay.”
He credited the team’s netminders, Mateo Paler-Chow and Cale Dolan, for being the strongest reason behind a 16-7-0-4 record, tied for first place in the Shaw Conference.
Grandview’s next test comes Sunday, 4 p.m. when Port Moody visits the Burnaby Winter Club.
