Payton Cormier led the Maple Ridge Burrards with a sock trick as they cruised to a 13-6 win over the Langley Thunder in Sunday night WLA action.
Cormier finished with an eight-point night for the Burrards, while Marcus Klarich had a pair of goals and four assists for six points.
Jack Kask got the start in goal for Maple Ridge and stopped 32 of 38 shots for the win. Maple Ridge currently sits atop the WLA standings with a 2-0 record to start the season.
Meanwhile, Langley is looking for answers after starting the season 0-2.
On Sunday, the Thunder were led by Dante Kulas with a hat trick and two assists, while Jon Phillips added five assists.
Keegan Okino started in goal and was peppered with 69 shots, making 56 saves in the loss.
First Period
Maple Ridge jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead. Garret Winter opened the scoring just 56 seconds into the game.
Klarich then added to the tally off a feed from Cameron Squarek at 3:49, and Cormier scored his first of six goals at 9:11.
Langley got on the board at the 10:58 mark of the first period when Kulas found the back of the net to make it 3-1.
Maple Ridge responded 47 seconds later as Dagan Carlson found Cormier to restore the three-goal lead.
On the power play, Phillips fed Kulas at 12:26 as Langley cut the deficit to 4-2.
However, the Burrards took over from there as Cormier scored on the power play with 3:33 remaining in the period to make it 5-2 heading into the first intermission. It also marked the beginning of a five-goal run spanning the first and second periods for Maple Ridge.
Second Period
Cormier continued to dominate the game in the second period, opening the scoring at 3:47 off an assist from Nathan Miller.
Tyler Pace then made it 7-2 for the Burrards at the 8:11 mark.
Carlson found the back of the net at 11:04, and Squarek rounded out the five-goal run at 13:02 to extend Maple Ridge’s lead to 9-2.
The Thunder finally ended their 21:52 scoreless drought. With the extra attacker on the floor and 1:41 remaining in the period, Nathaniel Kozevnikov scored to make it 9-3 heading into the third.
Third Period
Maple Ridge struck quickly once again to open the third period. Reese Barnes won the opening draw and found Klarich for a goal just six seconds into the frame.
The Burrards made it 11-3 at the 1:52 mark as Drew Andre scored for Maple Ridge.
Cormier scored his fifth of the game off an assist from Brayden Laity at 3:35 to cap off a three-goal run for the Burrards.
Langley responded with a pair of goals of its own. Bailey Vanichuk scored on the power play at 11:28, and Kozevnikov added another power-play marker at 15:10 to narrow Maple Ridge’s lead to seven goals.
Cormier completed his sock trick at the 15:51 mark to make it 13-5 before Kulas scored on the power play with 1:01 remaining to make the final 13-6.
Top Scorers
Maple Ridge Burrards
- Payton Cormier, 6g 2a
- Marcus Klarich, 2g 4a
- Kaden Doughty, 3a
- Brayden Laity, 3a
- Dagan Carlson, 1g 2a
- Tyler Pace, 1g 2a
Langley Thunder
- Dante Kulas, 3g 2a
- Jon Phillips, 5a
- Bailey Vanichuk, 1g 2a
Three Stars
- Payton Cormier, Maple Ridge Burrards
- Jack Kask, Maple Ridge Burrards
- Marcus Klarich, Maple Ridge Burrards
Don’t forget to check us out every Sunday night at 8pm (ET)
