Game three of Burnaby and Langley’s playoff series took place on Tuesday night. Langley was looking to gain their third win in the series and push Burnaby to the edge of elimination. While Burnaby tried to rally by winning Tuesdays match.
Langey drew first blood in the game as 5 minutes into the first period Kerry Shusheki scored to make it 1-0 for Langley. The game would then turn into a defensive stalemate with neither team being able to gain an edge. With 3 minutes left in the period though Lewis Ratcliff scored to give Langley a 2-0 lead. Burnaby would respond just 29 seconds later with a goal from Sean Dhawli who cut Langley’s lead to 2-1. Athan Iannucci though would score with 2 minutes left in the period to give Langley a 3-1 lead to end the first period. Burnaby would begin the second period on the right foot as they scored just a minute into the period as Carlton Schuss scored to make it 3-2. Langley did not back down though as just 30 seconds after Burnaby’s goal Langley struck as Tor Reinholdt scored to make it 4-2. Langley’s offense would keep the pressure on Burnaby as Shayne Jackon and Tor Reingoldt scored consecutively to give Langley a 6-2 lead. Burnaby though get back into the game by scoring two consecutive goals to make it 6-4. To end the period though Shayne Jackson of Langley scored a pair of goals to complete his hat trick and give Langley an 8-4 lead at the end of the second period. The third period once again began as a defensive stalemate between both teams with neither being able to gain ground. Brett Hickey would score with 9 minutes left in the game to give Langley a 9-4 lead. Langley was not done their as just a minute after Hickey’s goal they extended their lead on a goal by Athan Iannucci to make the score 10-4. Burnaby showed no quit though as Colton Clark scored a pair of goals with 6 minutes left in the period to make the score 10-6. That would be as close as Burnaby got though as Langley would hold them off in order to retain the 10-6 victory and push Burnaby to the brink of elimination.
Burnaby once again played good defense in this game but lost it due to their poor offensive performance in the first period as they allowed Langley to build a 3-1 lead. Burnaby if they hope to win game 4 must avoid giving Langley an early lead at all costs because with an early lead Langley is basically unstoppable as their offense can spread your defense apart and extend their lead during the game while limiting Burnabys offensive chances. Burnaby needs to get their offense going early in game four and keep the pressure on Langley if they hope to win. Langley on the other hand played a phenomenal game as their offense never let the pressure off Burnaby and force them to work from behind. The trio of Shayne Jackson, Lewis Ratcliff, and Athan Iannucci stuck again in this game as they cut through Burnaby’s defense like a knife through butter. Shayne Jackson earned first star honors for his 3 goal and 1 assist performance while Ratcliff was named second star for his 1 goal and 4 assist performance while Iannucci earned third star for his 2 goal and 2 assist performance. Game 4 will take place on Thursday August 8th in Burnaby.
