It was a shootout that didn't make it that far.
Trevor Kang's unassisted goal 4:15 into overtime boosted the Port Moody Black Panthers to a 2-1 triumph over the North Delta Devils in a Pacific International Jr. 'B' hockey league battle that featured a combined 80 shots on goal Saturday at Sungod Arena. The victory was vital as it kept the Cats within range -- albeit still distant -- of the Abbotsford Pilots in the five-team Harold Brittain Conference race. The Pilots entered this week five points up on the second-place Cats with a game in hand. PoMo is down to its final six regular-season contests.
"We got the job done," said Black Panthers general manager Ron Luniw. "But our possibility of winning the [conference] now is pretty slim and narrow. We have to be concerned about what we do, is all."
The Cats wouldn't have needed overtime if they would have cashed in on more of their many scoring chances, having peppered 51 shots at the Devils' cage, including out-shooting the visitors 17-7 in a scoreless first period. North Delta responded with 29 blasts at Cats 'keeper Nicholas Taylor, who received second-star status behind Devils' goalie Alexander Ahnert.
"[Ahnert] is a good one but we have to put more pucks in the net when we get the opportunity," Luniw said. The Cats' Ryan Hankin opened the scoring seven minutes into the second, only to have the Devils' Christian Rodriguez reply at the 14:09 mark to even the count 1-1 before the two squads skated through a scoreless third. The 20-14-6 Cats were set to host the Devils yesterday (Tuesday, after The News' deadline) in a rematch before the 31-5-3 Richmond Sockeyes visit PoMo Rec Complex on Saturday, 7:45 p.m.
