An Owen Rahn hat trick powered the New Westminster Salmonbellies to a hard-fought 7-6 victory over the Coquitlam Adanacs on Thursday night in WLA action.
Rahn finished with three goals and one assist, while Ashton Leclair was outstanding between the pipes for the Salmonbellies, making 39 saves on 45 shots.
David Charney led the Adanacs’ comeback effort with a hat trick and one assist. Christian Del Bianco got the start in goal for Coquitlam and stopped 34 of 41 shots in the loss.
After the Salmonbellies built a 6-2 lead through two periods, they survived a furious late rally from Coquitlam in the third.
The win keeps New Westminster in a tight race for third place in the WLA standings. The Salmonbellies improve to 5-5 and move into a three-way tie with the Nanaimo Timbermen and the Adanacs for third place.
First Period
The Salmonbellies opened the scoring 4:46 into the game when Axel Sanderson found the back of the net.
Coquitlam answered on the power play at the 13:38 mark as Kean Moon converted off assists from Jalen Chaster and David Charney to tie the game 1-1.
New Westminster responded with two late goals to seize control. Owen Rahn scored on the power play at 15:38 off feeds from Will Malcom and Dylan McIntosh.
Rahn struck again at 17:29, finishing a setup from Malcom and Noah Armitage to give the Salmonbellies a 3-1 lead after one period.
Second Period
The Adanacs narrowed the deficit early when Adam Noakes scored 2:30 into the second period.
The Salmonbellies quickly took over from there.
Armitage restored the two-goal lead at the 5:54 mark with assists from Kobe Noda and Rahn.
Malcom added a power-play goal at 7:47, with Lukas Nielsen and Will MacKay collecting assists.
Dylan McIntosh capped the second-period scoring at 11:25 as New Westminster extended its advantage to 6-2 heading into the third period.
Third Period
Coquitlam attempted to mount a comeback early in the third.
Moon scored at the 3:06 mark off a feed from Dennon Armstrong to cut the lead to 6-3.
However, Rahn completed his hat trick less than two minutes later, restoring New Westminster’s four-goal cushion.
The Adanacs refused to go away.
With the extra attacker on the floor, Charney ignited the comeback by scoring at 14:16 before adding another at 18:34.
He completed his hat trick just 21 seconds later with 1:05 remaining in regulation to pull Coquitlam within one.
The Owen Rahn hat trick proved to be the difference as the Salmonbellies held off the dramatic late push from the Adanacs to earn a 7-6 victory.
Top Scorers
New Westminster Salmonbellies
- Owen Rahn, 3g, 1a
- Will Malcom, 1g, 3a
- Noah Armitage, 1g, 2a
Coquitlam Adanacs
- David Charney, 3g, 1a
- Kean Moon, 2g, 2a
- Adam Noakes, 1g, 2a
Three Stars
- Owen Rahn, New Westminster Salmonbellies
- David Charney, Coquitlam Adanacs
- Ashton Leclair, New Westminster Salmonbellies
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