sports@mapleridgenews.com
The Ridge Meadows Flames will be facing elimination when they host the Delta Ice Hawks on Wednesday night.
The Flames lost Game 5 of their best-of-seven Pacific Junior Hockey League championship series by a score of 7-2 on Monday night in Delta.
GM Jamie Fiset said his team gave the puck away too often.
“Turnovers cost us. They made us pay,” he said. “But we have played very well throughout the series.”
Halen Cordoni scored both Maple Ridge goals.
Ryley Lanthier scored 35 seconds into overtime on Sunday, as the Ridge Meadows Flames evened the championship final series at two games apiece with a 3-2 victory.
Three of the four games have gone to overtime.
“It’s been an entertaining series – that’s for sure,” said Fiset.
Lanthier took a long pass from Brett Didyk early in OT, then skated past a fallen Delta defender and beat Ice Hawk netminder Jordan Naylor with a wrister for the win.
Jordan Deyrmenjian scored shorthanded to give Delta a 2-0 lead early in the second period.
However Cordoni, from team captain Andrew Strelezki and Paul Georgeopoulos, made it 2-1 a minute later. Ryan Wellburn, from Lanthier, then tied the game with a powerplay goal at 13:14 of the middle frame.
Delta outshot Ridge 7-3 in the third, and 31-18 overall, but neither team could break the deadlock in regulation time.
Paul Tucek made 29 saves for the Flames.
The Flames lost game three on home ice on Friday night.
Cameron Kovesdi scored an unassisted goal in the second to give the Flames a 1-0 lead after two, and then midway through the third period Jayden Genberg made it 2-0.
But Delta got one back just 40 seconds after Genberg scored, and then tied the game on the power play with 42 seconds left in the game.
At the 13-minute mark of overtime, on their third power play of the OT, the Ice Hawks got the winner.
• Game 6 is set for March 28 in Maple Ridge, 7:30 p.m.; Game 7, if necessary, is set for March 29 in Ladner, 7:30 p.m.
