A nine-game unbeaten streak — which features seven victories — has the Aldergrove Kodiaks back in first place.
The junior B hockey team won for their fifth straight game, Friday, Nov. 22 with a 4-1 victory over the Abbotsford Pilots at MSA Arena.
For the first time in many games the Kodiaks were outshot 30-27 by the Pilots, but Kodiaks keeper Jordan Liem did yeoman’s work in stopping 29 of those shots.
The Kodiaks were up 2-0 at the end of the first period, with goals scored by Roshen Jaswal (the game’s first star) and Jeremy Lagler. Assists were from Elvia Jansons and Spencer Unger, and Joshua Cronin and Kenny Prato (the game’s second star).
The Kodiaks were up 3-0 in the middle of the game thanks to a goal by Quinncy Leroux, assisted by Spencer McHaffie and Calen Whitworth, before the Pilots’ Jarret Martin (the game’s third star) finally scored on a power play at 17:25.
Kodiak Stephen Ryan notched an empty-netter at 18:43, assisted by Kodi Schwarz and Prato, to end the game at 4-1.
Ryan is firmly in the league lead for scoring with 39 points after 21 games, followed by Prato with 34 and Adam Callegari with 32.
The win improved Aldergrove to 15-4-0-2 after 21 games and their 32 points have them one ahead of the second-place Abbotsford Pilots (15-6-0-1 after 22 games) in the PJHL’s Harold Brittain Conference. Ridge Meadows and Mission are at 16 points each and Port Moody trails at 12.
Over in the Tom Shaw conference, Delta leads with 34, followed by Richmond at 29, North Vancouver at 28, Grandview at 23 and North Delta at 13.
The Kodiaks face Grandview Steelers at Aldergrove Arena, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 7:15 p.m., followed by Delta Ice Hawks exactly one week later on Dec. 5. The Kodiaks’ next away games are Thursday, Dec. 5 at Mission City Outlaws and Sunday, Dec. 8 at Grandview Steelers.
Aldergrove Kodiaks’ Quinncy Leroux fired a zinger of a puck into Port Moody Panthers’ net in the Junior B hockey home game, Wednesday, Nov. 20 at Aldergrove Arena. The Kodiaks defeated the Panthers 4-2 that night and followed this with a 4-1 win over Abbotsford Pilots Friday, Nov. 22 at MSA Arena. -HARRY HUNT PHOTO
