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Abbotsford Pilots earn three of four points

Pilots down Sockeyes, fall to Flames in overtime
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Pilots players celebrate the game-winning goal on Friday. (Ben Lypka/Abbotsford News)

The Abbotsford Pilots kept rolling last weekend, picking three of four possible points in on Friday and Saturday.

The club welcomed the Richmond Sockeyes to MSA Arena on Friday, picking up a hard fought 6-5 victory.

After trailing most of the game, the Pilots turned it on in the third period to earn the win.

Richmond had 1-0 and 2-1 leads in the first period, but both times the Pilots evened it back up to end the opening frame at 2-2. Baylee Wright and Alexander Methorst tallied for the Pilots in the first.

The Sockeyes went up 4-2 in the second, but Methorst scored his second goal late in the middle frame to make it a 4-3 game after 40 minutes.

Methorst opened the scoring in the third to tie the game back up, but Richmond again went up 5-4. Abbotsford’s Noah Wiebe tied the game back up, and Mateo Toledo scored a late goal to help the Pilots fly away with a 6-5 win. Gunnar Neilsen made 21 saves in the win.

“The first period I thought we played good but the second we took a step backwards,” said Pilots head coach Jim Cowden, following the win. “In the third we were outstanding and moving the puck well and skating. We played well as a team.”

The Pilots then hosted the Ridge Meadows Flames on Saturday, but fell 6-5 in overtime.

Abbotsford found themselves down 2-0 after the first, but Brady Morton and Wright evened up the game early in the third. The Flames re-took the lead, but Wright tied the game back up only for Ridge Meadows to add a late goal to secure a 4-3 lead.

The third period saw Wright and Morton score for the Pilots, with the Flames adding one to send the game to overtime, where Ridge Meadows scored at 2:11.

The Pilots remain in first place in the Harold Brittain conference, with a record of 10 wins, three losses and two overtime losses. Cowden said it has been a pretty good start to the season.

“We’re still trying to figure things out but we have good speed and skill,” he said. “Our goaltending is solid, our forwards have speed but our defence does need a little work.”

The club next hosts the Grandview Steelers on Friday at 7:30 p.m.



Ben Lypka

About the Author: Ben Lypka

I joined the Abbotsford News in 2015.
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