The Abbotsford Pilots saw their three-game winning streak come to an end Friday, losing 3-1 to the Delta Ice Hawks at MRC Arena.
Captain Brady Lawlor scored for the Pilots, but the team was bested by Andreas Siagris’ natural hat trick, handing Abbotsford (16-13-0-2) a loss in their first game of 2015.
“[Since beating Richmond on Dec. 19] we were only on the ice once, and that was last Sunday, so we were really out of sync from start to finish,” said Abbotsford head coach Jim Cowden.
Goaltender Alexander Kong made 41 saves in the loss, playing especially well in the opening frame.
“He made two or three saves that should have been goals, so we should have been down, but we came out 1-1. We just couldn’t get any momentum at all,” said Cowden.
The Pilots opened the scoring just past the midway mark of the opening frame. Lawlor intercepted an Ice Hawk clearing attempt in the high slot and calmly ripped a shot glove side, off the post and in, for his 14th of the season.
Kong did his best to keep the home side ahead, making an unbelievable stop with four minutes to go in the first period when he dove across the crease to make a paddle save on Evan Grannary.
However, the Ice Hawks tied the game at 17:34. Stephen Hawco chased a dump in and centred for Siagris, whose quick low shot beat Kong.
The Pilots attempted to regain the lead in the second period. Mateo Toledo intercepted a pass in the offensive zone and centred for Lucian Serban, but he missed the net with seven minutes to play in the period.
Siagris scored his second of the game when Brent Chreptyk found him in the slot on the power play, beating Kong blocker side for his 12th of the season.
Again, the Pilots came on hard to reply, with Tyler Fraser dancing in from the point before finding Mitchell Plevy at the backdoor, but Plevy missed the far post by less than a foot, allowing the Ice Hawks to take a 2-1 lead into the second intermission.
Kolten Grieve had perhaps the best chance for the Pilots to even the score, chipping a centring pass on net in close with about seven minutes remaining, but Delta netminder Jacob Latrace gobbled it up.
Then, with five minutes remaining, Siagris completed his natural hat trick. While shorthanded, he won a race to the puck at centre and fought off a check to gain a breakaway and beat Kong glove side, top corner, to ice the game.
“He was an opportunist,” said Cowden.
The Pilots host the Grandview Steelers on Friday.
“We’ll have a couple good practices and we’ll be okay,” said Cowden.