WHITE ROCK – Saturday night in White Rock the Abbotsford Pilots (23-10-1-1) shut out the White Rock Whalers (13-20-0-2) by a score of 4-0. Aidan Taylor got his 2nd straight win and first shutout in a Pilots uniform after being assigned to the team earlier in the week. It was a historic night for Pilots captain Baylee Wright who finished the night with three goals and an assist to become the first PJHL player since Josh Chapman of the Pilots in the 1998-99 season to surpass the 100 point mark. Wright finished the evening with 103 points on the season.
1st Period: Baylee Wright opened the scoring at the 6:59 mark of the first period. Assists were credited to Sean McCracken and Austin Moar, who was playing in his first game for the Pilots as an affiliate call up. Shots were 13-7 for the Pilots in the opening frame, the score was 1-0.
2nd Period: The Pilots built on their lead in the early stages of the second period with a pair of goals. Wright gave the Pilots a 2-0 lead with his 2nd of the night at 0:25 of the 2nd to double up on the expansion squad. Then Jake de Waal netted his 33rd of the season at 3:00 to make it 3-0 for the Pilots. That would be the night for starting goaltender Zachary Everett as head coach Jason Rogers elected to pull Everett after 12 saves on 15 shots. Backup Evan McCune finished the period in relief. Shots were 15-7 for the Pilots who held on to the 3-0 lead after 40 minutes.
3rd Period: A stretch pass from de Waal connected with Wright and he scored his hat-trick goal at 4:03 of the 3rd. With 1:14 to go in regulation, Dawson Wollf and Noah Findlater were sent to the penalty box to give the Whalers a two-man advantage in the late stages. However, Abbotsford was able to hold off the White Rock attack and goaltender Aidan Taylor kept his shutout.
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Final Score: Abbotsford Pilots 4 – White Rock Whalers 0
Final Shots: 42 – 25 Abbotsford
Zachary Everett – 12/15 saves for White Rock, L (6-13)
Evan McCune – 26/27 saves for White Rock (Backup)
Aidan Taylor – 25/25 saves for Abbotsford, W (5-5)
Three Stars:1. Baylee Wright (ABB – 3G, 1A, GWG)
2. Jake de Waal (ABB – 1G, 1A)
3. Aidan Taylor (ABB – W, 25 saves)
Next Pilots Game: Thursday in Surrey against the Knights at 7:45 PM.
NOTES:
- Several Pilots were not present due to suspensions. Brady Morton was suspended for Verbal Abuse of an Official on Jan. 11th and is out until the 18th. Noah Wiebe received a Gross Misconduct on Jan. 4th and will not play until the 17th. Keaton Dyck received a Game Misconduct in the last 10 minutes of the Jan. 4th game and will be back in time to play the All Star Game, Jan. 14th.
- Saturday’s three goal effort from Baylee Wright was his 3rd hat trick of the 2018-19 season.
- Saturday morning, it was announced that Jamie Housch would be a late addition to the 2019 PJHL All Star Game. He replaces Jesse Nelson of the Ridge Meadows Flames. This makes Abbotsford the team with the most representatives at the game with 7 players. The All Star Game will take place this Monday at 7:30pm at Cam Neely Arena in Maple Ridge.
