The Abbotsford Pilots punched their ticket to the Cyclone Taylor Cup final, edging the Beaver Valley Nitehawks 4-3 on Saturday evening.
The Pilots, who are hosting the provincial junior B hockey championship tournament at MSA Arena, needed a victory in the final game of the round robin to secure a spot in Sunday’s title game. They got the job done, fending off a persistent Beaver Valley squad.
Abbotsford led 2-1 after the first period on the strength of two goals from Riley Lamb. Adam Rossi made it 3-1 with a power-play marker at 2:31 of the second, but the Nitehawks’ Chris Derochie responded with a man-advantage goal of his own less than four minutes later.
Chris Vinette restored the Pilots’ two-goal edge at 8:20 of the middle frame, but Archie McKinnon would once again draw Beaver Valley back to within a goal.
But goalie Riley Parker and the Pilots would slam the door from that point. Parker finished with 23 saves in the win.
Saturday’s early game saw the Delta Ice Hawks crush the Victoria Cougars 7-2, with Spencer Traher leading the offensive explosion with two goals.
But it will be Victoria (2-1-0) and Abbotsford (2-1-0) in the final, which goes at 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon at MSA Arena. The Cougars had already secured their spot by virtue of the fact they won both of their first two games of the round robin.
Delta (1-1-1) and Beaver Valley (0-2-1) will meet in the bronze medal game at 11 a.m. Sunday.
