The Ridge Meadows Flames could finish off their best-of-seven series with the Delta Ice Hawks tonight, in game five, on the home ice of Cam Neely Arena.
The Flames are up three games to one in the series, after a second overtime win on Wednesday night, March 18, at Delta’s Sungod Arena. One more win lets them advance to continue their quest for a third straight Stonehouse Cup championship.
It was winger Matthew Dowdall getting the game winner about four minutes into the overtime. He had a two-goal game, in just his fourth game with the Flames this season, and first match of the Pacific Junior Hockey League playoffs. The 17-year-old from Coquitlam played this season with the Vancouver NorthEast Chiefs U18 squad.
Flames captain Zack Lagrange was named the game’s first star, and he had three assists. Marco Oliviero and Tyler Blatz also scored for Ridge, and Jonah Power Smith had a pair of assists.
Lagrange leads the conference in playoff scoring with 22 points in nine games.
Game five goes Friday night, March 20, at Cam Neely Arena at 7:30 p.m.
Game six, if necessary, would be in Delta on Saturday at 7 p.m.; and game seven is scheduled for Monday at The Cam, at 7:30 p.m., if it comes to that.
In the other PJHL semi-final, the upstart Langley Trappers have pushed the first-place and dominant Richmond Sockeyes to game seven, which will be played on March 22 at Minoru Arena.