A pair of losses has dropped the North Delta Devils into a tie for the final playoff position in the Pacific International Junior Hockey League.
North Delta picked up a point in a 6-5 overtime loss on the road last Wednesday against the Aldergrove Kodiaks, but were blanked 4-0 at home Saturday night at the Sungod Arena by the league-leading Richmond Sockeyes.
Wednesday night’s loss was one of frustration for the Devils, who twice had one-goal leads in the final minute of play. After erasing a 3-1 deficit with goals from Stephen Campbell and Stefan Burzan in the last two minutes of the second period, and a go-ahead tally from Adam Nishi on the powerplay five minutes into the third, North Delta carried a 4-3 advantage into the final minute of play.
Brandon Potomak of Aldergrove tied the game 4-4 with 52 seconds to go. Burzan put North Delta back in front 17 seconds later, but with just 10 seconds to play, Thomas Hardy of the Kodiaks scored to force overtime. Potomak then netted the winner just 29 seconds into extra time.
Now at 4-5-1-0 (won-lost-overtime loss-tied), the Devils are tied with the North Vancouver Wolf Pack for fourth place in the Tom Shaw Conference. They are in Ladner tonight (Tuesday) to face the Delta Ice Hawks, then visit the Mission Icebreakers on Thursday.