A natural hat trick from Langley’s James Malm helped the Valley West Hawks soar to a 9-4 victory as they captured the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League championship.
Malm finished the game with four goals — including three in the third period after the Cariboo Cougars battled back to tie the score at four — and six points.
Another Langley player on the squad, Christian Bosa, had a goal and five assists in the victory.
The game was played on Saturday at South Surrey Arena and coupled with the Hawks’ 4-1 victory the day before at the Langley Events Centre, it sent the Hawks to the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League championship as they won the best-of-three playoff series two games to none.
The Hawks now travel to Alberta to face the Alberta Midget AAA Hockey League champion in the Pacific Midget Regional Championship.
They will play either the Lloydminster Bobcats or the Foothills Bisons.
The Bobcats lead the best-of-five series two games to none.
The best-of-three series runs April 1 to 3 with the winner competing at the 2016 Telus Cup in Quispamsis, New Brunswick from April 18 to 24.
During the regular season, Bosa had 30 goals and 56 points in 40 games while Malm — who began the season with the Western Hockey League’s Vancouver Giants — had 14 goals and 43 points in just 18 games.
Bosa was also named the league’s player of the month for February.