A late stumble in the Pacific Junior Hockey League season means that the Mission City Outlaws will be opening the playoffs on the road.
The Outlaws have lost three games in a row and, with just one game left to go, the club will likely finish either seventh or eighth in the league.
Mission hit the road on Wednesday and, after opening the scoring, saw the Langley Trappers score six consecutive goals over the first two periods to earn the 6-2 win.
Outlaws forward Dylan Tonks opened the scoring just 25 seconds into the game, but Langley scored three in the first and equalled that amount in the second. Mission’s Kade Padgham added a power play goal in the third to reach the final score.
Langley outshot Mission 32-31 in the win, with Outlaws goalie Daniel Zuvic getting yanked after allowing six goals on 17 shots. Isaac Elias came on in relief and stopped all 15 shots he faced. Forward Brayden Stewart had a two-point night for the Outlaws.
Mission then hosted the Aldergrove Kodiaks on Saturday in an important game for the playoff picture, but also fell 4-2.
Aldergrove took over in the second period and led for the remainder of the game.
The teams traded goals in the first, with Mission’s Dylan Devers opening the scoring at 17:26. The Kodiaks then scored twice in the second to go up 3-1. Devers scored again, this time on the power play, in the third period and the Kodiaks added a late power play of their own.
Mission managed just 21 shots in the contest, and was outshot 29-21. Elias made 25 saves in the loss.
The results drop Mission to third place in the PJHL’s Harold Brittain Conference and they sit seventh overall in the league.
The Outlaws could finish anywhere from sixth to eighth overall in the conference, depending on how they do in their final game on Saturday.
The final regular-season home game for Mission occurs at 6:45 p.m. on Saturday against Langley.