Only a few weeks into to the 2004/05 men's A-division hockey league, a real battle for first place has started.
The Inlet Raiders and Roberts Creek Rangers rule the roost with three wins and six points, both four points up on the Midway Power/Grasshopper Pub Hitmen and six points clear of the Suncoast Flyers.
The Rangers edged the Hitmen 6-5 on Sept. 30 and picked up two points on Saturday, Oct. 2, as the Flyers had to forfeit the game because of a lack of players.
Roberts Creek was led by a three-goal performance from Jason Wilson in the win over the Hitmen. Sam Murray, Keith Clegg and Hugh Rae scored other goals. Clegg also chipped in with two assists, as did Chris Campbell.
The Hitmen got a pair of goals from Lance Durkin, while Dan Fitchell, Adam Mercer and Scott MacLeod chipped in with singles. Bik Brar added a pair of assists.
Rangers' team rep Peter Leverman said he's happy with his team's fast start.
"It's not been too bad," Leverman said. "It is pretty early in the season to tell. One of our wins was a default, and the other two were shoot-outs. We were pretty fortunate to be on the right end of both of those. We're just trying to get the guys out and mix and match the lines, the defensive pairings and see what combinations work. But it is nice to be playing well."
On Tuesday night at the Sunshine Coast Arena, the Raiders edged the Hitmen 5-4 with the winning goal coming off the stick of Mike Yarrow.
The goal was scored with 2:26 to go in the third period on a penalty shot.
Jared Ruttley, Nick Cooke, Tom Poulton and Ian Bunbury scored other Raider goals. Cam Yarrow added two assists, while Poulton and Mike Yarrow also added one helper.
Four different Hitmen players found the back of the net as Darren Pollock, Durkin, Trent Turner and Fitchell scored. Fitchell and Durkin also added an assist for a two-point night.
Check out the Sports Ticker on page C5 for full standings and all the upcoming league games.
Editor's note: I will be away for the next two weeks. Hockey standings will be updated in the Oct. 29 edition once I return.
