The Ridge Meadows Flames have one last chance to prove they can beat the Aldergrove Kodiaks before facing them in the first round of the Pacific International Junior Hockey League playoffs.
Friday night the Kodiaks (25-14-1-0) beat the Flames (14-19-5-2) by a score of 6-2, and have yet to lose to the local Junior Bs in five outings this season. With the two teams locked into second and third place in the Harold Britain Conference, they will be first round playoff opponents when the post-season begins later this month.
The Kodiaks got the benefit of the game’s first three power plays, giving them momentum, a power play goal, and an early 1-0 lead.
Ridge had a solid second period, but the closest the team came to scoring was hitting the post, and trailed 3-0 after two periods.
Travis Oddy and Marco Ballarin eventually lit the lamp for the Flames in the third period.
Tonight, in Aldergrove the Flames will play the Kodiaks for the sixth time this season.
Coach Jamie Fiset expects both teams will be wanting to send a message before the playoffs begin.
“We know it’s going to be a tough game,” he said. “If we can put together 60 minutes, we’ll be just fine against those guys.”
That game will be played at 7:15 p.m. at the Aldergrove Community Centre.
On Thursday, the Flames lynched the Mission City Outlaws 6-0 at the Mission Leisure Centre. Six different players scored. Ballarin had a goal and two assists, Nolan Wallinger, Matt Bissett and Alex Smith each had a goal and an assist, and Oddy and Vitalik Morozov both scored. Paul Piluso had three assists.
Goaltender Wesley McLeod stopped all 25 shots he faced, but shared the shutout with Thursday’s backup R.J. Bruni. McLeod had skated to the Flames bench for a delayed Mission penalty call, and once the whistle blew the referee insisted that because McLeod went to the bench, he had to stay there. Bruni went into the game, and faced five shots before coming back out.
Wesley performed perfectly in front of his hometown crowd, and Fiset said it was good for his confidence.