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Home ice slips away from Hawks

Major Midget team plays South Island to a pair of ties
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Surrey’s Jeff Stewart of the Valley West Hawks scored once in a 6-6 tie with the South Island Royals.

Their battle for home ice advantage seems to have come up just short.

The Valley West Hawks still have a mathematical chance of hosting a BC Hockey Major Midget League quarterfinal series, but after a pair of ties against the South Island Royals last weekend in Langley, it’s a longshot.

The two draws dropped the Hawks’ record to 18-12-8 (won-lost-tied) for 44 points. To climb into fourth place, they would need to sweep the North Island Silvertips on the road next weekend, while the Okanagan Rockets lose twice at home to the first place Cariboo Cougars.

The Hawks are currently in sixth position, a point back of the Vancouver Canadians, who have completed their 40 game schedule just one point up on Valley West.

Two wins at home over the Royals would have left the Hawks just a game out of fourth, but the tie games by scores of 6-6 and 3-3 prevented them from climbing up the standings.

The Hawks let a point slip away Saturday, as they build a 5-2 lead after 40 minutes and were up 6-4 with two minutes to play.

The Hawks had a slow start, but Bradley Stonnell, a defenceman from Surrey Minor Hockey, scored his third of the season with 19 seconds remaining in the first period to tie the score 1-1 after one.

Langley’s Trevor Ayre, defenceman Cole McEwan and Christian Bosa, as well as Surrey’s Jeff Stewart, tallied in the second period for the Hawks.

The Royals scored twice in the first half of the third period to cut the difference to 5-4, but when Surrey defenceman Shakeel Ebrahim made it 6-4 with eight minutes to play, Valley West seemed in control.

The Royals got one back with six minutes remaining, then tied the contest with just 23 seconds left to play.

Valley West had to come from behind to get another single point in the standings Sunday. Trailing 3-1 after 40 minutes, the Hawks pulled to within one when Matt Barberis of White Rock scored with 15 minutes remaining. Cloverdale’s Daniel Chifan tied the game with less than four minutes to go.

Bosa scored the first Hawks goal late in the second period.

Valley West closes out their regular season with games in Nanaimo Saturday and Courtenay Sunday against a Silvertips team which has an 8-25-5 record and will miss the playoffs.