On Wednesday night the Langley Thunder were back in action as they took on the Maple Ridge Burrards. This was Langley’s first game since having their winning streak snapped by the Coquitlam Adanacs so Langley was looking to back on track with a win. Maple Ridge came into this game looking to continue their momentum after gaining their first win.
In the First period Langley opened up the scoring with 2 quick goals but Maple Ridge quickly responded and tied the game up at 2-2. Langley though kept up the offensive pressure as they scored another 4 goals in the period making the score 6-3 by the end of the first period. In the second period the two teams traded goals back and forth with each team scoring 5 goals at the end of the second period the score was 11-8. In the third period Langley continued their offensive onslaught and scored another 2 goals. Maple Ridge responded with a goal to make the score 13-9. Langley though would not be denied the win as they scored 3 more goals to increase their lead. Maple Ridge continued to fight and scored two more goals to close the gap but their comeback was denied by Langley.
Maple Ridge showed lot of offensive improvement in this game as they were able to keep pace with Langley’s offense and gave Langley a run for their money. Maple Ridge was lead on offense by great performances from Riley Lowen and Jarrett Davis. Lowen had 3 goals and 1 assist while Davis added 2 goals and 2 assists. The things Maple Ridge needed to improve on in this game were their special teams as they went 1 for 4 on the power play and allowed Langley to go for 4 for 8 on the power play. Maple Ridge needs to find a way to get their power play going because they cannot simply keep missing the chance to take advantage of these opportunities in close games. Maple Ridge’s poor power play has been the reason they have not been able to win these tight games. Maple Ridge also played poorly on the penalty kill as they allowed Langley to convert on 50% of their chances on the man advantage they need to be better on the penalty kill in order to prevent teams from gaining an edge on the man advantage. Maple Ridge’s next game will be against the Nanaimo Timbermen on Sunday June 24.
Langley showed in this game why they are a team to be feared as their offense tore Maple Ridge’s defense to shreds. Langley’s offense dominated the game and allowed Langley to win. Langley had great performances from Shayne Jackson, Brett Hickey and Athan Iannucci for their efforts these players were named the three stars of the game. Jackson was named first star and had 3 goals and 2 assists, Hickey gained second star honors by scoring 2 goals and 3 assists and finally the third star was Iannucci who had 2 goals and 4 assists. Langley though despite the win needed to improve on defense as they need to be better as top teams offenses like Victoria will rip them apart if the play like they did tonight. Langley will need a good balance of both defense and offense if they hope to repeat as WLA champs as their offense is not enough by itself. Langley’s next game will be against Coquitlam on Saturday June 23. Expect Langley to be looking for revenge after having their winning streak broken by Coquitlam.
