The North Vancouver Wolf Pack fell behind early and couldn’t dig their way back, dropping a 6–2 decision to the Cloverdale Hockey Club on Thursday night at Cloverdale Arena. Despite goals from Ryan Tse and Lucas Davidson, the Pack spent most of the night defending as the hosts controlled the pace and the shot clock.
Cloverdale struck quickly in the first period and never looked back. Jeevin Bal opened the scoring at 4:40 after taking a feed from Zachary Johns and Calvin Bright. A North Van penalty soon proved costly when John Bethell converted on the power play at 10:56, assisted by Matteo Galasso and Breyen Basigin. The Wolf Pack tried to steady the game, but another Cloverdale tally from Ashton Holbech at 15:50 made it 3–0 before the first intermission.
The Pack found a pulse late in the opening frame when Ryan Tse broke through at 19:17, burying a setup from Braydon Suderman and Alex Kazakoff to cut the deficit to 3–1. It was a badly needed jolt for a North Van side that had been outshot 15–8 through the first 20 minutes.
Any momentum from that goal was short-lived, though. Cloverdale’s Max Lyons restored the three-goal cushion midway through the second, finishing off passes from Bal and Kole Penman at 13:26. The Wolf Pack generated a few quality looks on the power play but couldn’t solve Cloverdale netminder Saahil Takhar, who was sharp all night.
Early in the third, the Pack showed signs of life again. On a man advantage, Lucas Davidson ripped home a power-play goal at 4:42 off a setup from Lucas Crescenzo, making it 4–2 and briefly swinging momentum back to North Van. But just over two minutes later, the hosts answered — Mathew Shehyn converted on the power play from Keenan Connor and Holbech at 6:58. Bal then added his second of the night at 18:25, assisted by Lyons and Johns, to cap off a dominant offensive showing for Cloverdale.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Wolf Pack had been outshot 49–28 and out-chanced in nearly every department. Marcus Taylor made 43 saves in a busy performance, while Takhar stopped 26 at the other end. North Van finished 1-for-6 on the power play; Cloverdale went 2-for-4.
For the Wolf Pack, it was a night of scattered positives — Tse continued his steady production, and Davidson’s power-play marker showed execution under pressure — but also one that underscored the importance of stronger starts and staying disciplined. The group won’t have long to dwell on it, though, as they’ll look to regroup and rebound in their next outing on Saturday night out in White Rock.
