The under-18 Prince Rupert Sea Wolves travelled to Smithers to face the U18 Storm for two games over the weekend, earning a split in the doubleheader.
The puck dropped for game one at 8:30 a.m. with Smithers getting the first goal from Evan Jaarsma early in the first period. The Sea Wolves got the tying goal late in the first from the stick of Riley Murphy to tie the game going into the intermission. Smithers got the only goals in the second with tallies from Tucker Slaney and Evan Jaarsma to give the Storm a 3-1 lead.
In the third, Tucker Slaney’s second goal gave Smithers a three-goal lead with Prince Rupert’s Noah Movold scoring a quick response to make the score 4-2. Evan Jaarsma’s hat-trick clinching goal made the score 5-2 before Luca Pirillo gave the Sea Wolves some life by cutting the Storm’s lead to two. The Sea Wolves battled in the final minutes, but the Storm capped off the scoring thanks to a Dylan Meints goal that gave Smithers a 6-3 win.
Just a few hours after dropping the first game, the Sea Wolves took the ice for the second game of the day looking to respond. The Sea Wolves struck first with two goals less than a minute apart from Jared McMillan and Fisher Witzke to take a 2-0 lead. Smithers responded late in the third from a Kingston Lewis Jack goal, cutting the Sea Wolves lead to one.
The Sea Wolves got the only goals in the second as Fisher Witzke scored his second of the game and Luca Pirillo scored in the waning minutes of the second. The Sea Wolves held a 4-1 lead after 40 minutes of play. In the third, Kingston Lewis Jack’s second of the game made the game 4-2, but it was all for naught as Noah Movold and Luca Pirillo both scored to cap off a 6-2 win and a split of the doubleheader.
The Sea Wolves are back in action next weekend when they host the U18 Kitimat Winterhawks on Saturday and Sunday at the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre.
