Following an impressive 6-3 win over Allstar on Thursday, Gericks Sports relinquished its quest for a playoff spot on Sunday, as OK Tire rolled to a 7-0 victory over the sportsmen and clinched the Trail Commercial Hockey League regular season title.
While OK Tire celebrated its first season title since 2013, the loss ruined Gericks shot at the playoffs, and left them sitting three points back of fourth place Arlington with just one game to play.
The Tires’ Troy Palmer netted a hat trick and an assist to pace the team to its 19th win of the season. Rockey Dickson picked up the shut out, while Justin Adrian scored twice and added an assist, and Evan McKay and Peter Sheets rounded out the scoring. Shane Drake pitched in with three helpers and leads OK Tire in scoring with 12 goals and 49 points.
Meanwhile, Allstar and Re/Max skated to a 4-4 draw on Sunday, in what could be a preview of one of the playoff match ups with just two points separating the teams.
Re/Max opened the scoring, but Allstar took a 2-1 lead on goals from Derek Steep and Kelly Sidoni late in the first period. Steep made it 3-1 Allstar at the 12 minute mark, but cue the comeback.
Graham Proulx’s second goal of the game at 8:55 of the middle stanza drew the realtors to within one, and tallies by Dyne Parker and Devyn Hill before the period was out put Re/Max up 4-3 heading into the third.
However, veteran defenceman Sidoni netted his second of the night and sixth of the season, burying a setup from D-partner Brady Glover to tie it with just 2:50 remaining on the clock. Glover had three assists for Allstar, while Hill managed a four point game for Re/Max.
Arlington can catch Allstar for the third seed if it wins its final two games of the season, starting with a match against OK Tire tonight and ending on Sunday with a tilt against Re/Max. However, Allstar will have to lose its final game against Re/Max for them to tumble to fourth.
In the Big A’s lone game last week, Pat Iannone scored six times and added an assist to lead the A over Re/Max 8-6. Amazingly, the seven-point outing wasn’t the most tallied in the match as Jeremy Robinson assisted on every single Arlington goal including the winner scored by Daryl Zol with 6:27 left in the second period. Joey Baker rounded out the scoring for the Arlington, while Justin Bedin, Paul Barclay, Thomas Abenante (2), Jason Vecchio, and Dyne Parker scored for Re/Max.
Tonight’s game between Arlington and OK Tire hits Cominco ice at 7:15 p.m. with Re/Max and Allstar facing off at 8:30 p.m. The TCHL wraps up its regular season Sunday when OK Tire plays Gericks at 2:15 p.m. and Re/Max takes on the Big A at 3:30 p.m.