Seven games and counting.
The Vancouver North East Chiefs continue to find ways to pull in the points, as demonstrated by a 4-4 draw Sunday against the South Island Royals.
Nicholas Bucovaz’s marker with 2:32 left in the third pulled the Chiefs even with the host Royals, in a contest that saw the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League’s defending champions stake out a 2-0 lead, but forced into playing catch-up over the final two periods.
Chong Min Lee and Ian Macdonald gave the Chiefs an early two-goal advantage but South Island tied it up with two late goals in the first and took its first lead midway through the middle frame.
During their seven-game unbeaten streak, the squad has collected four wins and three draws, but not all of them were works of art, remarked head coach Jamie Jackson.
“We are a young team and we made some mistakes in our backend that (South Island) took advantage of. We were lucky to get the point.”
Liam Everson also scored for the Coquitlam-based squad, which includes players from east Burnaby, New Westminster, the Tri-Cities, Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge.
In the first game of their twin set, the Chiefs doubled up the Royals 4-2, with Brett Didyk’s goal 47 seconds into the second period proving to be the winner. Also scoring for the visitors were Logan Bromhead, Harris Pearce and Min Lee.
This year’s lineup is well-stocked with new faces, after a majority of last year’s players moved onwards.
New Westminster’s Liam Ryan, 15, and Emilio Salas, 16, are making the transition from minor hockey to major midget.
Jackson said both have contributed to the team’s fast start.
“Liam’s doing real well and was leading our team in scoring as a first-year player up until this weekend. ... He’s a big, two-way guy with great skill and a hard shot and a lot of potential.”
Ryan, a forward, was drafted last May by Prince George in the Western Hockey League’s bantam draft.
Salas, meanwhile, missed three games due to injury but has slid back into the lineup, adding a strong, six-foot-three, 205-pound presence to the blueline.
“The injury slowed him down but he’s look good since returning. He’s a big-bodied kid who can protect the crease.”
A week prior, Ryan pocketed his fourth goal of the season as the team blanked the Kootenay Ice 4-0.
The Chiefs play Greater Vancouver on Saturday, 3:30 p.m. at the Poirier Sports Centre in Coquitlam.
