Home ice advantage has pushed the North Delta Devils into third place in the Pacific Junior Hockey League.
North Delta defeated the Abbotsford Pilots 3-1 Saturday night in the Sungod Arena for their fifth win in six games at home, and moved up one position in the Tom Shaw Conference standings.
The Devils record improves to 6-7-0-0 (won-lost-overtime loss-tied), tied with the 5-6-1-1 Grandview Steelers and a point up on the 5-5-0-1 North Vancouver Wolf Pack.
Although outshot 29-20, North Delta never trailed against the Pilots, and while leading 2-1 after 40 minutes, they hung on to the lead with goaltender Steve Myland stopping all 17 shots he faced in the third period while Abbotsford pressed for a tying goal.
Myland, a Cloverdale native, was named the first star in Saturday’s contest and now has a 3-1-0-0 record in four games played for the Devils this season.
North Delta native Arvin Atwal, 16, gave the home team a 1-0 lead 11 minutes into the game, but Abbotsford tied the score with a shorthanded goal three minutes later.
Kurt Thrussell, playing his first game in a Devils uniform, scored the winning goal midway through the second period. Levi De Waal added an insurance goal into an empty net with eight seconds to play.
Both teams failed to score on the power play, with Abbotsford having six opportunities to North Delta’s four.
The Devils were in Port Moody last night (Monday) for a game with the 3-8-0-0 Panthers, then will be on the road again for two games next weekend, playing the 4-5-0-1 Ridge Meadows Flames Friday night and North Vancouver on Saturday.