Photo credits: Aaron Armstrong (Levyy), Matt Lawson (Gundarah), Tami Quan (Løkkeberg)
Langley Rivermen forward Vitaly Levyy, Surrey Eagles golatender Ajeet Gundarah and West Kelowna Warriors forward Johannes Løkkeberg have been named the NAPA Auto Parts 3 Stars of the Week.
1st Star – Vitaly Levyy (F) – Langley Rivermen
Levyy is the BCHL’s leading scorer through the first weekend of play after he piled up three goals and two assists in a pair of close games.
In Langley’s season-opener on Friday night, the third-year BCHLer opened the scoring with a goal 3:31 into the first period. With the score tied 1-1, he chipped in an assist to give his team the lead and scored another of his own all before the end of the opening frame. He finished with three points and was named first star of the game in an eventual 5-4 loss to the Chilliwack Chiefs.
Levyy kept it rolling on Saturday against the Alberni Valley Bulldogs. With Langley down 3-2 at the second intermission, he sparked the Rivermen comeback with his third of the year just 31 seconds into the final stanza as his team came back to win 6-4. He added an assist for his second straight multi-point outing to start the year.
2nd Star – Ajeet Gundarah (G) – Surrey Eagles
In his first regular-season action with his new team, Gundarah proved why he has been one of the best goalies in the BCHL over the past two years. He won both of his starts, stopping 74 of the 77 shots he faced to post a .961 save percentage and a 1.50 goals-against average.
The Richmond, B.C. native stopped 35 of 37 shots in Friday’s opener at home against the Victoria Grizzlies to earn his first win in an Eagles uniform. In a low-scoring, tight-checking game, he held his team in it, making 16 saves in the first and 11 in the third, allowing Surrey to win the game on a goal in the final minute. They added an empty-netter to make it a 4-2 final.
On Saturday, on the road against the Coquitlam Express, Gundarah was even busier, facing 40 shots, but only allowing one goal in a 4-1 victory. His most challenging stretch came in the second period where faced 18 shots, but only allowed a single goal.
3rd Star – Johannes Løkkeberg (F) – West Kelowna Warriors
Løkkeberg had an impressive debut in the BCHL, scoring three times in two games and adding an assist for a four-point weekend.
The Norwegian forward was named first star in his first game in the league on Friday night, helping the Warriors to a 5-3 home win over the two-time defending league champion Penticton Vees. With the game tied 1-1 in the second period, Løkkeberg netted his first of the year on the power play to give his team a 2-1 edge at intermission. After Penticton tied the game early in the third, he responded with his second of the game less than four minutes later to reestablish the lead. After another exchange of goals, he assisted on the empty-netter to seal the victory.
On Saturday on the road against the Trail Smoke Eaters, Løkkeberg found the back of the net again, this time just two minutes into the contest to give the Warriors an early lead in an eventual 5-4 overtime win.
+++
Honourable mentions:
Penticton Vees F Ryan MacPherson: 2GP – 3G – 1A – 4PTS
Salmon Arm Silverbacks G Ryan Grout: 2GP – 2W – .930 SV% – 1.50 GAA
Salmon Arm Silverbacks F Isaac Lambert: 2GP – 2G – 2A – 4PTS
Trail Smoke Eaters F Maxim Potvin: 2GP – 1G – 3A – 4PTS
Alberni Valley Bulldogs F Hayden Stavroff: 2GP – 3G – 3PTS
Penticton Vees G Will Ingemann: 1GP – 1W – 1SO – 1.000 SV% – 0.00 GAA
