Hawks split, stay in sixth
Barring the unexpected, the Valley West Hawks will be headed to Kelowna in 10 days for the playoffs.
The Hawks will go into the final weekend of play in the BC Hockey Major Midget League in sixth place, two points behind the Vancouver Canadians with two games to play.
Only two wins by Valley West, coupled with two losses by the Canadians, will vault the Hawks into fifth place. Unless that happens, Valley West will be on the road for a best-of-three series with the Okanagan Rockets the weekend of Mar. 8-10.
Valley West managed only a split last week in Nanaimo against the North Island Silvertips, and failed to gain ground on the Canadians. After a 6-4 win Saturday, Valley West lost 3-1 Sunday morning.
The Hawks rallied from a two-goal deficit for the win Saturday.
Spencer Unger netted the first Valley West goal, and the visitors trailed 3-1 late in the first period. Cole Plotnikoff scored with nine seconds left in the opening frame, then tied the game nine minutes into the second. Josh Pollock gave Valley West a 4-3 lead after 40 minutes, and Matt Bradley netted the eventual winner with six minutes remaining.
The North Island led 2-0 after one period in Sunday’s game. Parker Wotherspoon of Cloverdale got one back for the Hawks in the second period, but the Silvertips scored into an empty net with a minute to play in the game to clinch the win.
The South Island Royals are the visitors for two games this weekend at the Langley Events Centre. The two teams face-off Saturday at 2:15 p.m., and again Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
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