Eight goals by Alexander Methorst in three games helped the Abbotsford Pilots solidify their hold on second place in the Pacific Junior Hockey League’s Harold Brittain Conference last weekend.
The Pilots got four goals from Methorst en route to blowing out the Delta Ice Hawks 8-1 Friday at MSA Arena. Twenty-four hours later, the 18-year-old Vancouver product was at it again, scoring twice in the first period as the Pilots toppled the Ridge Meadows Flames 4-3 at home.
On Wednesday, the Pilots fell 6-4 to the first-place Aldergrove Kodiaks, despite another pair from Methorst.
Friday’s victory over the Ice Hawks saw Methorst score twice in less than three minutes early in the first to stake Abbotsford to an early lead. Jamie Housch scored his first of two goals before the first period was over to set the Pilots on their way and drive Delta starting goaltender Jordan Naylor from the net after just 17 minutes.
Backup Cooper Anderson had no more success at stopping the Pilot onslaught, as Abbotsford scored four more times in second and added their final goal in the third.
In addition to Methorst’s four goals, Mitchell Plevy and Mateo Toledo also tallied for the Pilots. Plevy added three assists for a four-point night, and Brady Morton contributed four assists on the evening.
Jacob Crawford stopped 31 of 32 shots in the win.
While the score wasn’t close, the game was hardly a subdued affair with the two teams combining for 52 penalty minutes and officials repeatedly awarding multiple penalties on the same play.
The Pilots made the Ice Hawks pay, going three-for-seven on the power play while Delta failed on all six of their opportunities.
The following night was a closer affair but began in the same manner, with a Methorst goal within the opening minutes.
After the Flames responded on the powerplay, Methorst restored the Pilots’ lead with just five seconds left in the first period. He now has 12 goals in 16 games.
The Flames rallied in the second, putting two pucks past Crawford, but Abbotsford turned the tables in the third. A powerplay goal from Kolby Steen, tying the game midway through the period before Nate Castonguay’s third of the year, gave the Pilots the lead with a little more than five minutes left.
Crawford stopped 25 shots in the win.
On Wednesday, the Pilots travelled to Aldergrove to take on the conference-leading Kodiaks. Methorst scored a pair and Housch and Steen added singles in a back-and-forth game that saw several lead changes.
The Kodiaks took the lead for good with six minutes left, then got an empty-netter.
The Pilots are back in action Friday, hosting the rival Mission City Outlaws at 7:30 p.m. at MSA Arena.