More than 200 fans were treated to an entertaining night of men's hockey last Saturday at the Sunshine Coast Arena.
Despite the final result, a 7-3 win for the visiting Powell River Regals over the Sechelt Hitmen, all involved were happy with the game, the crowd and the enthusiasm for possibly bringing a full-time senior travelling men's team back to Sechelt.
Things didn't start off well for the Hitmen as the Regals had a 4-0 lead before the first period was five minutes old.
Mike Sullivan scored 27 seconds in, followed by Charlie McDonald's nine seconds later. McDonald made it 3-0 on the next shift at 1:07, then player/coach Andy Welsh lit the lamp at the 4:53 mark, prompting a goaltending change as James Hamilton was pulled in favour of Keith McKenzie.
Powell River was awarded a power play shortly after, but the Hitmen killed the man advantage and seemed to regain their composure. They put together a couple of good shifts and were rewarded with a goal at 8:04 as Justin Lyn completed a passing play from Nate Petzold and Mike Holmes to put Sechelt on the board.
Sechelt continued to push back and cut the score to 4-2 eight minutes later as Jared Izlat scored from Trent Turner.
The Regals got that one back on a goal by Ty Robson two minutes later, and Powell River led 5-2 after the first.
That lead stood up through a scoreless second period and into the third, when Jared Rutley scored at the 9:55 mark to make it 5-3.
With Sechelt pushing for more, Powell River put the game away as Ross Hollingsworth scored from close range and McDonald iced things with three minutes to play with his third of the game.
Regals' goalie Laszlo Tamasik was solid in net, making a number of key saves, while McKenzie kept his team in the contest after that shaky start.
"The first couple of shifts we were in a fog, but after that we settled down and the game was pretty even," said Hitmen Steve Stevenson. "We're pretty happy with the result. This was the first time we've played together as team, so to play a team like the Regals and have a pretty good game is a great thing. We're happy with the game, and happy with the fans."
The two teams will square off in Powell River on Feb. 26 and then return to Sechelt for a game on March 6.
