A huge second period led the Mission City Outlaws to victory over the Aldergrove Kodiaks on Wednesday night (Jan. 25) at Aldergrove Credit Union Community Arena.
Outlaws’ captain Chase Newman powered the squad to victory with a game-high three points off of a power play goal and two assists. Blake Clease also had a big night for Mission, netting two goals to earn the second star of the game. Oliver Melnychuk and Wendell Adriano each notched a goal and an assist for Aldergrove, while Devyn Hayre contributed two assists.
After back-to-back 40 save performances, Max Fowle was less busy between the pipes for Mission. Fowle turned aside 32 of 36 shots and earned the win for the Outlaws.
In the first period, Clease opened the scoring for Mission on a goal assisted by Newman and Kade Padgham. Owen Blyth answered with less than a minute remaining with his first of the season. After 20 minutes, the game was tied 1-1 with shots also even at 11.
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Early in the second period, Clease scored again to put the Outlaws ahead 2-1. Mission maintained the advantage for much of the period before a flurry of goals in the 18th minute. Melnychuk tied the game 2-2 before the Outlaws answered with a pair of quick goals less than a minute later from Brayden Chenier and Kyle Sackmann to put them ahead 4-2 heading into the intermission.
Isaiah Fernandez cut the lead in half for the Kodiaks early in the third period. However, Brayden Candy and Newman scored back-to-back goals to provide Mission with a 6-3 lead. Wendell Adriano found the back of the net with less than a minute remaining for Aldergrove, but the Outlaws held on to win by a final score of 6-4.
The victory pulls the Outlaws even with the Chilliwack Jets at 44 points on the season with a game in hand. Because they currently hold the tiebreaker, Mission sits third in the Harold Brittain conference standings with a playoff spot clinched.
Mission will look to win back-to-back games for the first time since November in a matchup with the Surrey Knights at Mission Leisure Centre at 6:45 p.m.
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dillon.white@missioncityrecord.com
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