The North Delta Devils ended a seven-game win streak with an impressive victory Saturday night at the Sungod Arena, hammering what was then the first-place Delta Ice Hawks by a 7-1 score.
The Devils outshot Delta 50-26, went three-for-eight on the powerplay, and enjoyed period leads of 3-0 and 4-1. The Ice Hawks were in first place in the Tom Shaw Conference of the Pacific Junior Hockey League, but dropped a point behind the North Vancouver Wolf Pack after the loss to the last-place Devils.
North Delta scored three times in seven minutes in the latter half of the first period to get the jump on Delta. Thomas Cecchi opened the scoring, then Levi De Waal netted pair. De Waal also assisted on Cecchi's tally.
Surrey native Benjamin Blake netted the lone Ice Hawks goal three minutes into the second period, a goal answered by Jackson Surbey nine minutes later.
Mitchell Biermann sandwiched a pair of third period goals around Surbey's second of the game to compete the scoring.
Rookie netminder Nickolas Trenciansky of Surrey made 25 saves for the win, his second of the season.
North Delta lost a 7-2 decision Wednesday to the Aldergrove Kodiaks, the leaders of the Harold Brittain Conference, Wednesday night in Aldergrove. The loss was the seventh straight for the visitors.
The Devils scored first and last in Wednesday's game, but managed nothing in between.
Tristan Craighead opened the scoring five minutes into the game, but North Delta trailed 2-1 after one period and 5-1 after two. The Kodiaks added two more to their total before the Devils clicked on the powerplay, with Craighead and Colin Catchpole assisting on a goal by Joshua Trisevic.
North Delta will go into the Christmas break with a 7-22-1 record (won-lost-tied), in the basement of the Tom Shaw Conference and 13 points behind the fourth-place Grandview Steelers.
North Delta will play their final game of 2013 Saturday at the Richmond Ice Centre, a "home" game against the Richmond Sockeyes.