The Abbotsford Pilots picked up three of a possible four points in two games over the weekend, but left Mission on Saturday with a bad taste in their mouth.
Abbotsford opened up a 4-0 lead after the first 13 minutes of play, but the Outlaws kept chipping away at the early lead, and ended up defeating the Pilots 5-4 in overtime.
Brady Morton, Carter Shannon, Kyle Lennea and Kellan Lavallee all scored for the Pilots, who chased the Outlaws starting goalie from the crease, but couldn’t solve replacement Matthew Trulsen.
Forwards Alexander Methorst and Corbin Genge each recorded multi-point games for the Pilots. Abbotsford was unsuccessful on the power play, while allowing the Outlaws to score once with the man advantage. Pilots goalie Jacob Crawford made 28 saves in a losing cause.
Just as they have in the past, the two rival teams spent a lot of time in the penalty box, with a total of 70 penalty minutes doled out by the officials.
The Pilots fared better on Friday, defeating the North Vancouver Wolf Pack 6-4 at MSA Arena.
Methorst opened the scoring for Abbotsford just 24 seconds into the game, and Jamie Housch made it 2-0 for the Pilots at 4:47 of the first. North Vancouver got on the board at 13:25 to make it a 2-1 game.
The Wolf Pack scored two goals in the first two minutes of the second to take a 3-2 lead, but Housch scored his second to tie the game again at three. North Vancouver scored another late goal to give them a 4-3 lead after two.
It was all Pilots in the third period, with Justin Peaker, Oliver Alcock and Nate Castonguay all tallying to reach the 6-4 final.
For Alcock, it was his first goal in Pilots colours after being acquired by the team from the Surrey Knights on Dec. 1.
Crawford was pulled in the second period after allowing three goals on 13 shots, and was replaced by Noah Giesbrecht, who earned the win and made 18 saves. Giesbrecht’s record now sits at six wins and two losses this season.
Only five penalties were called in the game, with neither team managing to score with the man advantage.
Abbotsford remains in second place in the Harold Brittain conference, with a record of 17 wins, eight losses and two overtime losses. The Pilots return to action today (Friday) when they host the first-place Aldergrove Kodiaks. Faceoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at the MSA Arena.
The Pilots then travel to North Vancouver to square off against the Wolf Pack on Saturday.
