It was a bruising, penalty-strewn game but the Aldergrove Kodiaks couldn't capitalize on their 10 power plays against the Richmond Sockeyes, Sept. 19 at Aldergrove Arena.
The Kodiaks almost matched the Sockeyes for shots on goal, 47-48, and captain Daniel Higgs scored their only power play goal midway through the second period to briefly even up the score at 3-3, but in the end it was a 7-4 win for Richmond.
Richmond opened the scoring at 5:26 in the first and Kodiak Ryan Veillet evened it up at 6:55, assisted by Stephen Ryan and Higgs, but the Sockeyes were leading 2-1 at the start of the second period.
Richmond score another early in the second, before Aldergrove responded with a pair at 10:36 (MacLean Hewitt from Veillet and Higgs) and the power play at 13:14 (Higgs from Ryan Procyshyn and Stefan Gonzales). Richmond closed the second with another pair to lead 5-3.
The Kodiaks scored their last of the night at 3:20 (Gonzales from Veilet and Procyshyn), but despite having a couple of two-man advantages they fell to another pair of goals in the third, including an empty-netter in the dying seconds of the game.
The Kodiaks travel to Abbotsford for their fourth game of the season against the Pilots Friday night, and host the Port Moody Panthers at Aldergrove Arena, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 7:15 p.m.