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24 players score their first career BCHL goals on opening night

Written by Brian Wiebe on

Merritt vs. Prince George first career BCHL goals

St. Lawrence University commit Jimmy Doyle notched his first career BCHL goal with 3:08 left in the second period as Prince George waxed Merritt 8-1.

The 2002-born product of Plainfield, IL spent the previous two seasons in the North American Hockey League with the Bismarck Bobcats and Minnesota Magicians, recording 23 points in 64 games.

Despite making his BCHL debut in one game as an affiliate for Chilliwack two seasons ago, 2003-born forward Ty Gagno got his first BCHL goal for the Spruce Kings with 45 seconds left in the third period.

The Langley, BC native played for the Burnaby Winter Club U18 Prep team in 2019-20 and had 17 points in 23 games. He didn’t play anywhere of record in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Penticton vs. Vernon first career BCHL goals

2001-born forward Casey McDonald found the back of the net just 1:38 into the second period for his first career BCHL goal as Penticton doubled Vernon 4-2.

McDonald, a product of Kindersley, SK, spent the last two seasons with the Fargo Force of the US Hockey League, putting up 26 points in 83 games.

Cranbrook vs. Trail first career BCHL goals

2003-born Cranbrook Bucks forward Andrew King scored his first BCHL goal at 12:07 of the second period in a 5-3 victory against the Trail Smoke Eaters on Friday.

King’s marker gave the Bucks a 3-0 lead as part of a three-goal middle frame. The Dubuque, IA product was playing his first BCHL game after posting 20 points in 18 games with the NV River Rats 18U AAA last season.

Bucks forward Theo Thrun also scored his first BCHL goal in the second period, at the 18:18 mark, as Cranbrook built a 4-0 lead going into the third.

The 2001-born native of Grand Rapids, MI, who’s committed to Western Michigan University, had 27 points in 47 games with the Kenai River Brown Bears of the NAHL in 2020-21.

Trail forward Teddy Lagerback got his first BCHL goal 13 seconds into the third period to break the Bucks’ shutout bid. The 2001-born Chanhassen, MN product had the Smokies’ first goal of the game in his first BCHL outing.

Lagerback, an Arizona State University commit, spent the 2020-21 season with the Waterloo Black Hawks of the US Hockey League and posted eight points in 41 games.

Smoke Eaters centre Zach Michaelis, who’s committed to the University of Nebraska-Omaha, tallied his first career BCHL to close out the scoring in Trail’s loss to Cranbrook.

The 2002-born native of Elk River, MN, scored with just 35 seconds left in the game to cut the Bucks’ lead to two goals and make the final 5-3.

Coquitlam vs. Surrey first career BCHL goals

Coquitlam Express 2003-born forward Ray Hamlin scored his first BCHL goal at 9:55 of the second period in a 7-4 win over the Surrey Eagles on Friday.

Hamlin’s goal cut the Eagles’ lead to 3-2 midway through the middle stanza. The product of Windsor, ON was playing in his first BCHL game after missing the entire Central Canada Hockey League season last year due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Express forward Tyler Kopff tallied his first career BCHL marker 13:34 into the second period as the teams combined for seven goals in the middle frame.

The 2003-born native of Ridgewood, NJ, and Brown University commit had 19 points in 12 games with the North Jersey Avalanche 18U AAA of the Atlantic Youth Hockey League 18U last season.

2003-born forward Jayden Sison ended up with the insurance marker for his first BCHL goal, it came 2:46 into the third period against Surrey.

The native of Paoli, PA played 33 games for Mount St. Charles Academy 18U AAA in 2020-21 and put up 40 points. He is committed to Princeton University for September 2022.

Surrey rookie forward Trent Wilson found the back of the net with 2:19 left in the first period for his first tally in the BCHL to make the score 1-1 going into the second.

The 2004-born native of Delta, BC is an alumnus of Delta Hockey Academy U18 Prep of the Canadian Sport School Hockey League. He had two points in four games for DHA in 2020-21.

Sacred Heart University commit Jake Bongo got his first career BCHL goal 5:42 into the middle frame of Friday’s game against Coquitlam. It made the score 3-1 Eagles.

The 2003-born product of Ridgefield, CT had 26 points in 28 games with the New Jersey Rockets in the NCDC in 2020-21.

Highly touted 2002-born forward Cole Galata rounded out the scoring for the Eagles on Friday with his first BCHL goal at the 13:14 mark of the second period.

Bentley University-bound Galata, who’s from Barrie, ON, finished with 17 points in 17 games with the Summerside Western Capitals of the Maritime Junior Hockey League last season.

Nanaimo vs. Powell River first career BCHL goals

2002-born Nanaimo Clippers forward Max Itagaki opened the scoring at 8:16 of the first period of Friday’s 6-2 win in Powell River to notch his first BCHL goal.

Itagaki, who’s from Glenville, IL, had 43 points in 73 games for the Janesville Jets of the NAHL over the last two seasons. He is committed to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for September 2022.

Cornell University commit Shaun Mahoney scored at 7:35 of the second period for his first BCHL goal and then got his second with 13:08 left in the third to push Nanaimo’s lead to 5-2.

The 2002-born product of St-Augustin-de-Desmaures, QC is coming off a one assist effort in four games during last year’s pod season with the Clippers.

Powell River right wing Mark D’Agostino had the opening goal for the Kings, it came at the 8:56 mark of the first period to make the score 1-1, and was his first marker in the BCHL.

The 2001-born North Branford, CT native is headed to the University of Connecticut next September. He had 28 points in 45 games with the NAHL’s Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks last season.

2004-born Kings forward Parker Lalonde bulged the twine 11:38 into the final frame for his first goal in the BCHL.

In four games during the 2020-21 season, the product of Aberdeen, SK had three points for the Saskatoon Blazers U18 AAA of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League.

Alberni Valley vs. Victoria first career BCHL goals

Miami University commit and 2003-born defenseman Declan Ride tallied the insurance marker at 9:19 of the third period for his first BCHL goal in Victoria’s 6-2 win against Alberni Valley.

Ride, who’s from Mississauga, ON, didn’t play anywhere during 2020-21 because COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in Ontario cancelled the season. He was ranked 201st among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting for the 2021 NHL Draft.

Pittsburgh, PA native Justin Gibson found twine with 8:12 left in the third period to make the score 5-2 Grizzlies and notch his first career BCHL goal.

The blueliner, whose brother is veteran Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson, had 27 points in 39 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite 18U in 2020-21.

Fresh off the heels of attending camp with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League, 2001-born defenseman Clark Hiebert got his first BCHL goal at 14:05 of the third to round out the scoring for Victoria against the Bulldogs.

The Oakville, ON native spent 2020-21 with the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League but didn’t get into any games due to the pandemic. He played 38 games with Guelph in 2019-20 and posted eight points.

Chilliwack vs. Langley first career BCHL goals

Not only did Frankie Carogioiello score his first career BCHL goal on Friday in a 7-5 loss to Langley, but he provided more than half of Chilliwack’s offense with a hat trick.

He scored twice in the first period and then wrapped up the Chiefs’ scoring with a goal at 17:14 of the third period. The 2002-born centre from Woodbridge, ON is committed to Miami University (Ohio) for next fall.

Chilliwack defenseman and native of Northfield, IL Lachlan Getz scored his first BCHL goal at 16:18 of the second period on Friday to get the monkey off his back early in the season.

The Union College commit and 2002-born blueliner made his BCHL debut last season and finished with an assist in a pair of games for the Chiefs.

Chiefs defenseman Josh Orrico hadn’t scored a regular season goal since the 2019-20 season with St. Andrew’s College, but he got his first in the BCHL with 5:58 remaining in the third period in the loss to Langley.

The 2003-born Orrico hails from Woodbridge, ON, and is committed to St. Lawrence University for next September.

Langley defenseman Joseph Messina, who, like Orrico, is also from Woodbridge, ON, made a big splash in his BCHL debut, scoring the first and last goals for the Rivermen in Friday’s win. His first BCHL goal came 10:43 into the first period while his second was with only 1:01 left on the clock.

The 2002-born blueliner clearly didn’t show any rust despite not playing anywhere of note in 2020-21 due to COVID-19 restrictions. He posted 18 points in 63 games with Selects Academy 18U AAA in 2019-20.