The struggles continued for the Mission City Outlaws last week, with the club dropping three games in seven days.
Mission travelled to Maple Ridge to battle the Ridge Meadows Flames on Oct. 20, but fell behind in the second period and couldn’t recover, losing 3-1.
Defender Riley Merritt, potting his first career Pacific Junior Hockey League goal, was the lone scorer for the Outlaws.
Mission trailed after 40 minutes, and then allowed two more in the third period.
The Outlaws generated just 17 shots, and goalie Matthew Trulsen made 27 saves in a losing cause.
Mission then welcomed the North Vancouver Wolf Pack to the Mission Leisure Centre on Oct. 21, and four unanswered goals by the visitors in the third period spelled a 4-2 loss for the Outlaws.
Maximilian Corazza opened the scoring just 42 seconds into the game, with Mission adding to the lead early in the third period when Chase Heslop made it 2-0.
The wheels came off shortly after, with North Vancouver scoring four consecutive goals to earn the win.
Outlaws captain Justin Bowerman was in the penalty box when the Wolf Pack scored the eventual game-winning third goal, and said penalties are killing the team.
“I took a penalty 70 feet away from our net and they buried it and it cost us,” he said. “Our penalty trouble has been addressed. We need to stop taking penalties, We can’t be short-handed all game and expect to win.”
Mission goalie Keaton Dyck made 27 saves in the loss.
The Outlaws continued the slide on Tuesday, with a 5-3 loss to the Delta Ice Hawks in Ladner.
The results leave Mission’s record at five wins and 11 losses, and they are in fifth place in the Harold Brittain conference.
The Outlaws next host the Port Moody Panthers on Saturday. Face-off is set for 6:45 p.m. at the MLC.
