It is down to a best-of-three between the Langley Knights and the Mission City Outlaws.
The Knights took games one and two, 3-1 and 7-5 but the Outlaws battled back to win games three and four over the weekend, prevailing 4-3 on Friday and 5-3 on Saturday to even up the best-of-seven PJHL divisional semifinal series at two games apiece.
Game five goes Monday (Feb. 23) at the George Preston Recreation Centre with game four set for Feb. 24 at the Mission Leisure Centre.
If necessary, game seven would be Feb. 26 at the Preston Centre.
The Outlaws came racing out of the gates in game three, scoring three times in the opening period with Brendan Jay, David McGowan and Justin Bowerman scoring to chase the Knights’ Nickolas Trenciansky.
The second period was all Langley as Dylan McCann, Colin Catchpole and Hayden Smer pulled the Knights even.
But with a dozen seconds to play in the frame, Ram Brar scored the game-winner past Cole Forbes.
The Knights through 21 shots on goal in the final period, but Jeffrey Veitch was up to the task, finishing with 41 saves on the night.
Veitch was making his first start of the series.
Game four saw a better start for Langley as Oliver Alcock and Joshua Smith had the team ahead 2-0 after one period. The teams would be tied at three after 40 minutes as McGowan, Brar and Bryce Pisiak scored for Mission City while Carson Rose countered for Langley.
McGowan scored the winner short-handed 7:18 into the third with Kyle Westeringh added an insurance marker with 75 seconds to play.
Forbes made 24 saves in the loss while Veitch picked up his second straight win.
