So much for Daniel Szpakowski’s quest to capture the all-time points record for the Port Moody Panthers of the Pacific Junior Hockey League.
The 20-year-old centreman from Coquitlam was dispatched by the Junior B team to the Delta Ice Hawks in exchange for future considerations.
Szpakowski played 104 games for the Panthers and scored 94 points. His 47 goals are the most ever by a Panther player since the team has been in Port Moody. Earlier this season he told The Tri-City News he had his sights set on the points record.
“It’s tough to trade a player who’s been a big part of an organization for so long,” said Panthers’ assistant general manager Brian Wiebe. “Daniel will always be connected with our franchise.”
Szpakowski spent two seasons playing in Northern Ontario in the Superior International Junior Hockey League in hopes of securing a hockey scholarship in the United States. But when that didn’t pan out, he signed with the Panthers. He’s also enrolled in the first year of business studies at Simon Fraser University.
Szpakowski’s last point as a Panther was on Saturday, when he assisted on Christian Bettiol’s third period goal in a 5-2 win over the Langley Trappers at Port Moody Arena. It was the team’s sixth win of the season, against 14 losses and one overtime loss.
A pair of goals by Konstantinos Rados in the first period staked Port Moody to a 2-0 lead before Langley came back to tie it in the second. But Mark Cherkasov and Kevin Allen sandwiched Bettiol’s goal in the third to claim their first win in six games. Brady Morrison chipped in four assists.
The move puts the Panthers a point behind the ninth-place Trappers as both teams continue to chase a playoff spot.
That pursuit continues Saturday when the Panthers host the Mission City Outlaws, one of the teams they’re tryingn to catch, at 7:45 p.m. at Port Moody Arena.
