Four unanswered goals in the third period were the difference as the Port Coquitlam Trailblazers dropped the first game of its best-of-seven Pacific Junior Hockey League playoff series against the Delta Ice Hawks, 7-3, Tuesday in Ladner.
After spotting the Ice Hawks a 2-0 lead in the first period, Port Coquitlam stormed back with three goals in the first 8:20 of the middle frame.
Matthew Biros got the visitors on the board 15 seconds after the break. It was his fifth goal of the post season.
Less than 90 seconds later, Charlie Gardiner put the Trailblazers on even terms when he converted a setup from Brady Reed.
Braeden Wynne’s first goal of the playoffs, on a power play, gave Port Coquitlam the lead 3-2.
But the advantage lasted less than six minutes before Delta tied it up on a goal by Nicholas Goyer, who deflected a point shot by Declan Warburton.
The Ice Hawks, which finished the PJHL’s regular season with 16 more points than the Trailblazers, poured it on the third period, scoring four times and outshooting Port Coquitlam 15-3.
The game also took on a bit of a bite, as Trailblazers forward Noah Iacutone squared off with Goyer for a fight at 7:30. Both were assessed five-minute majors and game misconducts. Port Coquitlam’s Tait Humphries was also ejected after he kneed an Ice Hawks opponent.
Keiran Caughran made 34 saves in the Trailblazers’ net, while his teammates fired 26 shots at Delta’s Merik Erickson.
The second and third games of the Tom Shaw conference semi-final series will be played at the Port Coquitlam Community Centre, Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
The fourth game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25, at the Ladner Leisure Centre.
The Trailblazers qualified for post-season play in just its second season after finishing fifth in the Tom Shaw conference with 56 points in 48 games. The team swept the fourth-place North Vancouver Wolfpack in their best-of-three first-round "survivor" series.
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