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Outlaws split weekend games

Mission triumphs in Abbotsford, falls on home ice to Delta
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Outlaws goalie Matthew Trulsen makes a save during PJHL action in Abbotsford on Friday. / Ben Lypka Photo

It was a good news, bad news weekend of action for the Mission City Outlaws.

The good - becoming the first team to defeat the Abbotsford Pilots on home ice with a 4-2 win on Friday.

The bad - a 6-1 loss to the Delta Ice Hawks on home ice on Saturday.

Friday’s game saw the Outlaws jump out to a 2-1 lead after the first period, and hang onto that lead for the remainder of the game.

Mission’s power play was on fire on Friday, scoring three times on six chances with the man advantage and goalie Matthew Trulsen made 35 saves for the win.

“I thought we played good from beginning to end,” said Outlaws head coach Brad Veitch. “It’s the first time we’ve finished a third period the way we really wanted to. And our special teams were excellent, we have to make Abbotsford pay for the way they play and we did that tonight.”

Conner Jollymore opened the scoring at 11:28 of the first period on the power play, but the Pilots tied the game up just two minutes later. Justin Hargrave added another power play goal late in the first to give the Outlaws would turn out to be a permanent lead.

Mission’s Maximilian Corazza scored the lone goal in the second period, but Abbotsford made it a one-goal game in the third period. Chase Heslop scored a late insurance goal, another power play marker, to give the Outlaws the victory.

Veitch said his team wasn’t aware that they became the first team to beat Abbotsford on home ice in regulation, but it still felt good.

“Everytime we come here we want two point,” he said. “And it’s always satisfying to beat Abby. We’ve been rivals for years so it’s nice to have some bragging rights for now.”

He said it’s been an easy transition back behind the bench. Veitch became head coach again on Nov. 3, when Mike Renner had to step away due to a family situation. He had previously been the bench boss when the Outlaws won the Pacific Junior Hockey League championship in 2016.

“It’s fun to be back,” he said. “We have a good young group of guys that were already going in the right direction. We have to work on closing out games, which is why I was happy about tonight.”

Saturday saw the top-ranked Ice Hawks come to the Mission Leisure Centre, and score three unanswered goals over the first two periods to cruise to a 6-1 win.

Corazza scored the lone goal for the Outlaws, a power play marker in the second period. Trulsen made 34 saves in the loss.

Mission sits in third place in the Harold Brittain conference, with a record of nine wins and 15 losses. They next travel to Port Moody to take on the Panthers on Saturday.

The next home game for the club is on Dec. 2, when the Abbotsford Pilots come to town.

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Ben Lypka

About the Author: Ben Lypka

I joined the Abbotsford News in 2015.
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