On Thursday night the Langley Thunder faced off against the New Westminster Salmonbellies. Langley was looking to extend their winning streak to 4 games with a win over New Westminster. New Westminster though were looking to get a win in order to move into second place in the WLA.
The game began with Alex Turner scoring for Langley just 2 minutes into the game, giving Langley an early 1-0 lead. New Westminster though responded with two goals of their own as they took the lead and made the score 2-1. Langley’s offense though started to click as Lewis Ratcliff scored to tie the game at 2-2 and then Kerry Susheski scored 2 goals in order to give Langley the lead 4-2 after one period of play. In the second period New Westminster wasted no time as Ilija Gajic scored just a minute into the second period in order to cut Langley’s lead to just one and make the score 4-3. Kerry Susheski though scored his third goal of the night in order to make the score 5-3. Sean Robinson though would once again cut Langley’s lead to one and make the score 5-4. Langley though responded with goals by Alex Turner and Kerry Susheksi in order to extend their lead and make the score 6-4. New Westminster though took control at the end of the second period as they scored three goals in order to tie the game 6-6 as the second period came to a close. New Westminster would take their first lead of the game in the third period as Alex Gajic scored to make the score 7-6. Langley though would take the lead as Lewis Ratcliff and Matthew MacGrotty scored to make the score 9-8 in favor of Langley. New Westminster though showed no quit as they came back in the third period as Jordan McBride scored to tie the game while Corbyn Tao scored the game winning goal in order for New Westminster to win the game 10-9. With the win New Westminster improves to 8-7 on the season and move into second place in the WLA. With the loss Langley fall to 10-6 on the season.
New Westminster showed tonight that when they play at home at Queens Park they are virtually unstoppable as New Westminster is 6-1 at home this season. New Westminster won this game due to excellent play from backup goalie Neil Tyacke who stopped 46 of 55 shots. Tyacke was named third star for his performance in net tonight. New Westminster gained the edge in this game due to their ability to spread the ball around on offense as New Westminster had 9 different goal scorers on the night. New Westminster received a clutch performance from Corbyn Tao  on Thursday night as he had 2 goals and 2 assists  with one of those goals being the game winner. Tao earned second star for his performance. New Westminster’s next game is on Tuesday July 17 against the Victoria Shamrocks. This is an important game for New Westminster as it could determine who finishes second in the WLA. In order to win New Westminster will need to find a way to win on the road for just the second time this season.
The Langley Thunder gave it all they could tonight but came up just short. Langley lost this game due to their inability to slow down New Westminster’s offense. Langley received a standout performance from forward Kerry Susheski tonight as he scored 4 goals and 1 assist which earned him first star of the game. New Westminster’s inability to get Athan Iannucci going on offense in this game was major factor in why Langley lost. Langley will next be in action Saturday July 21 against the Victoria Shamrocks.
