Penalties and power plays decide latest battle of the Langley teams

Langley Trappers were, once again, winners of the battle of the Langley teams, in a rematch that saw the Aldergrove Kodiaks fall 6-3 to the Trappers in a game where penalties and power plays were a deciding factor.

They met at the Minorua Arena in Richmond, on Dec. 29, in a regular season game in the early afternoon that was also part of the PJHL Winter Classic showcase event, where teams got to play in front of scouts from Junior A, Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), and colleges across North America.

Late in the first, Trappers’ Anthony Bosnjak, assisted by Austin Ungurean and Austin Moar, scored on a power play while Kodiaks’ Jackson Foster was serving a four-minute penalty for kneeing.

A few second later, while Foster was still in the penalty box, Moar made it 2-0 for Langley assisted by Justin Sumners and Dylan Wormald.

In the second, Samuel Brown and Tyler Shaughnessy each scored unassisted for the Trappers to widen the gap to 4-0, at which point Kodiaks pulled netminder Allen Gillis and put Rahul Sharma in (Trappers kept Brodie Haylock in the net for the whole game).

At the 10:40 mark of second period, Kodiaks defenceman Oliver Melnychuk put Aldergrove on the board, with help from Caleb Douglas and Ryan Sullivan.

Just four minutes later, Jameson Flint, with Jackson Foster, scored, and then, at 19.59, Dylan Garland with Flint and Foster stuck to narrow the Trappers lead to 4-3. Kodiaks’ third goal of the afternoon came on a power play while Trappers’ Jacob Zaurrini was in the penalty box for tripping.

In the third period, Trappers had two power play goals, one while Kodiaks Yianni Kyrtsos was off for tripping, with Trappers Wyatt Christiansen, assisted by Bosnjak and Dylan Wormald getting the goal for Langley; and one while Kodiaks’ Duncan Miller was serving two minutes for hooking, with Trappers Jacob Zaurrini combining with Liam Bressette and Hayden Yahn.

In all, Trappers scored on four of six power play attempts, while Kodiaks managed one out of four.

Trappers’ Bosnjak was named first star of the game, while Kodiaks’ Flint was second.

READ ALSO: VIDEO: Trappers win first battle of the Langleys, downing crosstown rival Kodiaks 6-0

READ ALSO: Langley Trappers and Aldergrove Kodiaks rematch a much closer contest

Since then, Aldergrove has lost their first three games of the new year, against Chilliwack (2-10), North Vancouver (4-2) and Abbotsford (7-3), while Langley won their first two January games against White Rock (4-1) and Chilliwack (4-1)

Both teams had home games set for Wednesday night, Jan 11, with Aldergrove playing Ridge Meadows and Trappers playing Grandview. Trappers game at George Preston starts at 7 p.m. while Kodiaks game at Aldergrove Credit Union Community Arena begins at 7:15 p.m.

Trappers currently lead the Harold Brittain Conference, while Kodiaks are ranked sixth.