The Abbotsford Pilots tangled with the two top teams in the Pacific Junior Hockey League last week, and came up short.
The Pilots fell 3-2 in overtime to the PJHL’s top team, the Aldergrove Kodiaks, on Jan. 18 in Aldergrove.
Mitchell Plevy and Brady Morton put the Pilots up 2-0 in the first period, but the Kodiaks scored three unanswered goals, with the third goal coming at 1:31 of overtime to earn the win.
Pilots goalie Jacob Crawford faced a lot of rubber against the Kodiaks, making 41 saves in the loss.
The Pilots returned to the friendly confines of MSA Arena on Jan. 20, but couldn’t produce enough offence to take down the Grandview Steelers.
Noah Wiebe opened the scoring for the Pilots, but the Steelers roared back in the third period to win 3-1.
Crawford made 23 saves in the loss, and the Pilots’ power play went cold, failing to score on 10 opportunities in two games.
Abbotsford’s record dropped to 23 wins, 12 losses and four overtime losses after the pair of games, and they will finish second in the PJHL.
There are still five games remaining for the Pilots in the regular season, but they cannot catch anyone or fall in the standings. Abbotsford’s first-round opponent in the playoffs will either be the Ridge Meadows Flames or the Mission City Outlaws.
The Pilots next host the Outlaws tonight (Friday) at MSA Arena. Faceoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
