The Ridge Meadows Flames took game one of their second-round playoff series against the Delta Ice Hawks, with a 5-4 win in overtime on Tuesday night, March 10.
Big defenceman Jeremy Kraft got the game winner just over six minutes into the extra frame, and was named the first star of the game. Off an offensive zone faceoff win, he fired a low shot that found the back of the net.
The Flames are chasing their third straight Stonehouse Cup as champions of the Pacific Junior Hockey League. They needed a late power play goal by Jonah Power Smith, with under two minutes to play, to tie the contest and force the game into extra time.
Also scoring for the Flames were Cohen Muc, Matthew Biros, and Marco Oliviero. Manny Sandhu, Joshua Bettesworth and Matteo Marini each had two assists.
Marco Oliviero, Jeremy Kraft and Matthew Biros on thrilling 5-4 overtime win for the @flamesjunior over the Ice Hawks in game 1 of the Tom Shaw Conference Semifinal. #MapleRidge #PittMeadows #ThePJHL #madeofhockey pic.twitter.com/t0oCwkvT6r
— Andrew Cheverie (@andrewcheverie) March 11, 2026
The Flames finished second in the Tom Shaw Conference with a 35-14 record during the regular season, while Delta had a middling record of 23-19-4-3 to finish fourth. But despite a 17 point difference in the standings over 49 games, Flames coach Brent Hughes predicted Delta would be a tough opponent, as they have improved dramatically after a slow start to the year, he said.
The two teams meet for the second game on Friday night at Cam Neely Arena, at 7:30 p.m.