The Valley West Hawks continued their march to a BC Hockey Major Midget League (MML) pennant, winning two home games against the fourth-place Okanagan Rockets last weekend.
The Hawks topped Okanagan 4-1 Saturday night at the Sungod Arena, then toppled the Rockets 5-2 Sunday morning at the Langley Events Centre.
Valley West has now won 15 of their last 16 games, and with a 27-6-1 (win-loss-tie) record are tied for top spot with the Cariboo Cougars. The Hawks have six games remaining on the schedule, all against teams with records at or below .500. The Cougars play just four more games, all on the road against the Rockets and the third-place Vancouver Giants.
Saturday’s game marked the only time the Hawks will play at Sungod, which was the home rink for a number of Valley West skaters in recent years.
“Saturday was a weird game. Playing our first game at North Delta’s Sungod Arena brought a different energy to our squad,” said Hawks head coach Jessie Leung. “We have four players that got their start with North Delta Minor Hockey and you had a sense that they were anxious to show their best.”
Goaltender Nic Tallarico kept the Hawks in the game, making 32 saves. Colten Gerlib gave Valley West a 1-0 lead midway through the first period, and the Hawks maintained that advantage into the third period despite the Rockets having the edge in play.
“Tally (Talarico) played maybe his best game of the season,” said Leung. “We were flat for most of the second period and he bailed us out.”
Okanagan tied the game early in the third period, but the Hawks took control over the final 10 minutes of play. Justyn Gurney of North Delta netted the winning goal, Ian Ross added an insurance tally and Ben Evanish scored his league-leading 33rd goal of the season into an empty net.
The Hawks got the jump on the Rockets Sunday morning, taking a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes and never looking back. James Malm of Langley had a hat trick, with Max Duchnycz and Michael Farren adding a goal each. Christian Bosa, Ian Ross and Olover Alcock each were credited with a pair of assists.
Reece Klassen played a strong game in the Hawks net.
Valley West will now play twice against the seventh-place Vancouver Chiefs next weekend, looking to put some distance between themselves and Cariboo.
“Looking at the standings, it would be easy to say we’re into a lighter part of our schedule,” said Leung. “However, it is a challenge of a different sort. We expect a good series from the Chiefs, they’re coming off their bye week and are fighting for seeding down the stretch.”
The Chiefs will host the first game Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Coquitlam, with the Hawks being the home team Monday night at 8:15 p.m.