J.R. Rardon

Gazette staff

PORT McNEILL — It’s probably not fair to say the North Island Commercial Hockey League was unprepared for its season opener Sunday at the regional district arena.

However, after players from the host Port McNeill Ice Devils and Kal Tire Stars finished their pre-game warmups, the scoreboard was still dark, the timer’s booth empty and no referee was in sight.

That’s when a little North Island ingenuity kicked in. A couple of players wives — with help from their kids — spent a few minutes pushing buttons to learn how to operate the clock. A sheet was torn from the paper-towel dispenser in a washroom to serve as a scoresheet. And Ice Devil Gord Jones, fresh off playing three games in two days in an Old-Timers tournament in Port Alice, arrived in his stripes to officiate.

After the puck finally dropped, all the highlights went to the reigning league champion Ice Devils, who rolled to an 8-0 lead after one period and cruised to an 18-4 victory.

One day earlier, the season officially started in Port Hardy with the Port Hardy Bulls blanking the Warriors 9-0. The Bulls added another win Sunday, 5-2 over the NAPA Islanders of Port Alice.

Ice Devils 18,

Stars 4

Andrew Laming had five goals and Chris Dutcyvich added four to lead the onslaught, but the Devils also got hat tricks from Reed Allen and Ray Bono. Dutcyvich, Vince Devlin, Joe Murgatroyd and John Murgatroyd each picked up playmakers with three assists.

Goalie Bob Wells kept the Stars off the board until 16:30 remained in the second and final period. Mike Ward skated in on a breakaway and beat Wells from the right circle to make it 9-1.

Steve Verbrugge finished with a goal and an assist for the Stars.

Bulls 9, Warriors 0

Curtis Martyn potted a hat trick and goalie Derek Le Boeuf wasted no time putting up the season’s first shutout in Saturday’s opener in Port Hardy.

Lucas Noel added two goals and Andrew Smith added a goal and two assists for the Bulls, who won the 2006-07 league championship and finished second to the Ice Devils in last season’s playoffs.

Bulls 5, NAPA Islanders 2

Martyn’s second goal of the game, with 5:34 left to play, gave the Bulls some breathing room after the Islanders closed within 3-2 on Thomas Abel’s unassisted score midway through the second period.

Chad MacKenzie, who also scored twice, added the final tally with 16 seconds remaining.

Standings and game stats appear in Scoreboard, page 24.