They split two games in Richmond, but it was enough to lift the Valley West Hawks into a three-way tie for first place two weeks into the BC Hockey Major Midget League season.
The Hawks fell 5-4 to the Okanagan Rockets Saturday night, then came back for a 4-2 victory Sunday afternoon at the Richmond Oval. With three wins in four starts, Valley West shares top spot with the Rockets and the Vancouver Giants.
The Hawks had the lead for just 15 minutes over the weekend, but it was enough to hand the Rockets their first loss of the season Sunday.
Matt Bradley of Surrey led the way over Okanagan, scoring three times and assisting on a powerplay goal by Mitch Newsome. After a scoreless first period, the Rockets tallied twice in the first four minutes of the second. Bradley got one back for the Hawks before the second intermission, then tied the game a minute into the third. Newsome, from Surrey, got the winner with 15 minutes to play.
Netminder Cole Forbes of Cloverdale was a standout in goal, making 40 saves for the victory.
In Saturday’s game, the Rockets took the lead after just 20 seconds of play and never looked back. They were up 2-0 before Eric Callegari of Langley put the Hawks on the scoresheet. Okanagan went up 3-1 before Bradley netted his first of four on the weekend to close out the first period scoring.
The Rockets netted two more in the second to take a 5-2 lead into the final frame. Davis Koch and Ty Westgard, two forwards from White Rock, scored in the third period for the Hawks with Bradley assisting on both goals.
The Hawks will be in Victoria next weekend, facing off against the South Island Royals in a pair of games. The Royals have lost all four of their games to start the season.
