Chase Scanlan scored the overtime winner as the Langley Thunder narrowly defeated the Maple Ridge Burrards 7-6 on Sunday night to become the first WLA team to clinch a playoff spot this season.
Maple Ridge threw everything but the kitchen sink at Langley. Thunder goaltender Aden Walsh faced 66 shots and turned aside 60 for the win.
On the other side of the floor, Joel Watson was equally as impressive, stopping 46 of 53 shots despite the loss.
Back-And-Forth Battle in the First Period
Maple Ridge got the hometown crowd on their feet by getting on the board first. Dennon Armstrong found the back of the net 5:52 into the game to give the Burrards the early lead.
Langley struck right back 1:04 later with Dylan Kinnear picking up a marker to tie it up.
The Burrards refused to go away. Gabe Procyk scored with 8:52 on the clock to put Maple Ridge back up by one.
It only took 30 seconds for Connor Robinson to find Curtis Dickson with a pass to knot up the game 2-2.
Will Clayton put Maple Ridge back up a goal with 3:21 left, but a two-goal run by Langley have them a 4-3 lead to the first break. Scoring for the Thunder were Robert Church on the power play and Dickson.
Penalties Cost Langley in the Second
Maple Ridge took over the lead in the second period as the Langley Thunder found themselves in penalty trouble.
Jake Boudreau went off of slashing 6:33 into the first. Less than a minute into the power play Dylan McIntosh tied up the game 4-4.
Langley would then take a too many men bench minor with 8:30 left in the seconds. With only 30 seconds left in the man advantage, Ryan Jones scored unassisted to give Maple Ridge a 5-4 lead heading into the third period.
Chase Scanlan Scores The Winner
Robinson scored for Langley on the power play 27 seconds into the third period to even up the game 5-5.
Robinson would then strike again at 3:33 at the Thunder took a 6-5 lead.
Jacob Motiuk took an interference penalty, the only infraction of the period, to give Maple Ridge the power play. It proved to be costly. Twenty-eight seconds into the power play Ryan Jones scored. Both teams went scoreless for the remaining 12:53 as the game went into overtime.
Chase Scanlan took a transition pass from Jake Bourdeau 3:22 into the overtime period and buried the winner to help Langley clinch a playoff spot.
Three Stars
- Aden Walsh, Langley Thunder
- Joel Watson, Maple Ridge Burrards
- Curtis Dickson, Langley Thunder
Top Scorers
Langley Thunder
Curtis Dickson, 2g 3a
Connor Robinson, 2g 1a
Robert Church, 1g 1a
Dane Dobbie, 2a
Maple Ridge Burrards
Dennon Armstrong, 1g 3a
Ryan Jones, 2g 1a
Gabe Procyk, 1g 1a
Will Clayton, 1g 1a
Don’t forget to check us out every Sunday night at 9 pm (ET) on eopsports.com
Shawn Slaght has been a sports reporter across the Canadian prairies for over 10 years and has experience covering everything from junior hockey to World Cup skiing to all levels of lacrosse. He is the Saskatchewan correspondent for All Lacrosse All The Time.
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