Fourteen wins in past 15 games has Eagles soaring
The white-hot Langley midget A1 Eagles are off to the provincial championships.
The hockey team qualified for the tournament after going 2-1 at the Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association final four championships, which were held March 2-4 at the Chilliwack Twin Rinks.
The playoffs didn't begin very well for the Langley squad as they dropped their opening game, 4-3 to the Seafair Islanders, on a last-second goal.
It was the team's first loss since Dec. 15.
But they bounced back, defeating Cloverdale 3-1 and then Semiahmoo 5-3.
The last victory was huge as it gave the Eagles a 2-1 round-robin record along with Cloverdale. And because Langley won the teams' head-to-head matchup, they got the nod for the provincial tournament, which runs March 17 to 21 in Abbotsford.
"The (Semiahmoo) victory was probably our best game of the year that the team played," said Langley coach Ron Leroux.
"It was fantastic by all accounts."
Kurt Klimek delivered a stellar performance in goal, while Carsen Petersen and Quincy Leroux scored twice apiece. Jordan Gracie had opened the scoring for Langley with a short-handed marker.
At the start of the year, the coach said provincials was in the back of the team's mind, but they weren't sure how the season would play out, especially considering six players who figured to be a part of the LMHA midget teams landed full-time roster spots with their respective junior clubs.
And the A1 Eagles themselves had an average start to the year before catching fire with wins in 14 of their past 15 games.
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