Mak Barden of the Delta Ice Hawks won the Pacific Junior B Hockey League scoring title with 72 points this season.
The 20-year-old Surrey product is now making noise for the Alberni Valley Bulldogs.
Barden scored 18 seconds into overtime Wednesday night, his third goal in two games since joining the Dawgs, in a 3-2 Game 5 BCHL playoff win over the Victoria Grizzlies.
The Bulldogs now face the Surrey Eagles in the best-of-seven Coastal Conference final beginning tonight at South Surrey Arena.
Victoria led 1-0 after one on Leo Fitzgerald’s first of two on the night. In the middle frame, the Bulldogs took the lead on goals by Manny Gialedakis and Jared Wilson. Fitzgerald scored on a nice feed from behind the net by his brother Myles, at 15:11 of the third period.
Jay Deo, the current Gongshow BCHL Player of the Week, made 39 saves for his sixth win of the playoffs. Victoria outshot Alberni Valley 41-24, including 17-3 in the third period.
In the WHL playoffs, Vernon’s Cole Sanford had 1+1 and was named second star as the seventh-place Medicine Hat Tigers upset the second-place Saskatoon Blades 3-1 Wednesday night, completing a 4-0 series sweep.
Sanford, who collected 2-9-11 in 53 regular-season games, had 1+2 in the series, getting an assist in Game 3, a 5-2 win before 3,751 fans at the Medicine Hat Arena.
Vernon’s Curtis Lazar netted the winner in two straight games as the Edmonton Oil Kings stuffed the Kootenay Ice 7-1 Tuesday and 4-0 Wednesday at the Cranbrook Rec Plex.
The defending WHL champion Oil Kings lead the series 3-1.
Jordon Cooke blocked 25 shots and Tyson Baillie bagged two goals as the Kelowna Rockets stormed the Seattle Thunderbirds 4-0 before 2,559 fans Wednesday night at the ShowWare Center in Kent.
Zack Franco, with 1+2, and Myles Bell also scored for the Rockets, who trail the series 3-1. Game 5 goes Saturday night at Prospera Place. A sixth game, if required, would go Tuesday night in Kent.
D-man Evan Wardley supplied the overtime goal at 4:55 as Seattle won 3-2 before 6,021 fans Tuesday night. Franco and Cody Fowlie replied for Kelowna, who finished 50 points ahead of the T-Birds.
