The Mission City Outlaws extended their win streak to six games with victories over the Grandview Steelers, Abbotsford Pilots and Port Moody Panthers this past week. The team improves their record to 16-8 on the season, sitting third in the PJHL’s Harold Brittain Conference.
“This win streak happened because of a combination of hard work and everybody pitching in — it’s really a team effort for our guys. We’re not a team of superstars, but everybody makes everyone else that much better,” Outlaws head coach Brad Veitch said.
On Tuesday (Nov. 22) at Mission Leisure Centre, the Outlaws came back to defeat the Steelers 8-4 in a high-scoring affair. After trailing 3-1 in the second period, the Outlaws stormed back into the game with six unanswered goals to power past Grandview and avenge their 5-3 loss to the Steelers earlier in the month.
Eleven players tallied a point for Mission in the win, with defenceman Jayden Martin and forward Kyle Sackmann each notching four points. Sackmann scored a goal to go along with three asssists, while Martin assisted on four goals. Brayden Chenier and Austin Charlton both had a goal and an assist in the victory with Chenier named the game’s first star. James Veitch, Brayden Candy, Owen Elson, Blake Clease, and Andrew Keras all scored for Mission as well. Vincent Timperio led the way for Grandview in the loss with one goal and two assists.
On Friday, the Outlaws kicked off a four-game road trip with a 6-4 win in another goal-filled showdown with the Abbotsford Pilots. Callum Lind opened the scoring for Abbotsford early in the first period, but Mission answered with two unanswered goals from Martin and Chase Newman to take a 2-1 lead into the second period. Nick Rusnak tied the game at two almost nine minutes into the second period before Shane McKay and Clease scored goals just over a minute apart to put the Outlaws ahead 4-2. However, the Pilots’ special teams stepped up to close out the second, with Mason Brown scoring shorthanded and Ruben Gurm finding goal on the power-play to tie the game at four heading into the third period. Brayden Candy scored the game winner three and a half minutes into the third period with Cole Moffat adding insurance to secure a 6-4 win for Mission.
For the second consecutive game, eleven players had a point for the Outlaws. Candy, Newman and Moffat all scored a goal and an assist in the victory, with Candy named first star and Moffat named third star. Mason Brown earned the second star and had a game-high three points for the Pilots with a goal and two assists.
In the second half of a back-to-back on Saturday, the Outlaws picked up their sixth straight win with a 3-1 defeat of the Port Moody Panthers at Port Moody Arena. Owen Elson opened the scoring eight minutes into the first period to give the Outlaws a 1-0 advantage heading into the second period. Newman found the back of the net late in the second to put Mission ahead 2-0 heading into the final frame. Johnny Lopez cut the lead in half for the Panthers with 8 minutes to go, but Kyle Sackmann answered just seven seconds later to ice the game for Mission.
Brian Dale was spectacular for the Outlaws in between the pipes, stopping 36 of 37 shots to earn the first star of the game. Newman was named second star while Lopez was the third star.
At the midway point of the season with 24 games remaining, the Outlaws currently sit in a playoff position. Head coach Brad Veitch says because the team is struggling with injuries, they could make some roster moves.
“We want to solidify our roster — there’s still some changes to be made in the next couple of weeks. We’re looking at maybe adding some pieces to strengthen us a little bit more for the back half and add depth up front and on the back.”
Mission continues their road trip this weekend with a matchup with North Vancouver at Harry Jerome Arena on Saturday at 6:45 p.m. They play again on Sunday at Sardis Sports Complex at 5:00 p.m. in a matchup with the Chilliwack Jets before returning home December 6 for a showdown with the White Rock Whalers at 7 p.m.