Kodiaks down Pilots, 5-3, in season home finale

After a lacklustre first period that saw the Aldergrove Kodiaks down 3-1, the team picked up their game and made four unanswered goals in the next two periods to defeat the visiting Abbotsford Pilots, 5-3 on Wednesday, Feb. 12.

It was the last regular season home game for the Kodiaks, who face the Port Moody Panthers this weekend before entering the first round of playoffs in the league’s top spot. The Kodiaks now have 70 points after 43 games (33-6-2-2), one point ahead of the Richmond Sockeyes, although the Sockeyes have two games left before they face Grandview Steelers in their first round.

Mission City Outlaws have 25 points, one more than the Panthers, with one game each left before the Kodiaks know which of the two teams they will face in the first round.

The Kodiaks outshot the Pilots 51-31 Wednesday but were only able to score on one of nine power plays, while the Pilots scored on one of four.

Stephen Ryan scored the only Kodiaks goal in the first, assisted by Adam Callegari and Calen Whitworth. This gave Ryan the league-topping 84 points after 43 games, with his 39 goals just one shy of the league’s all-time record.

Pilots Alexander Mathorst, Jared Virtanen and Braeden Monk potted their team’s only goals in the first period, with Kodiaks’ keeper Tate Sproxton stopping all 19 of the Pilots’ shots in the second and third periods.

The Kodiaks hunkered down and played their hearts out from the start of the second period and were rewarded with two goals in each period.

Scoring for the Kodiaks were Joshua Cronin (from Spencer McHaffie and Robert Jang), Nolan Dyck (from Cronin and Nolan Wallinger), Jonathan Philley (from Spencer Unger) and Scott McHaffie (from Cronin).

Cronin’s three points earned him the game’s first star, and Dyck was awarded third star, with second star going to Vitanen.