BCHL

Rivermen snap six game losing streak

Written by BCHLNetwork Staff on

The month of February has not been kind to the Langley Rivermen. Their last win came back on February 3rd when they beat the Chilliwack Chiefs 3-2. After that win, it saw the team drop their next five in a row and be outscored 21-8. Not ideal when the playoffs are around the corner.

This weekend saw the Rivermen travel up north to Kitimat to play the Prince George Spruce Kings for the BCHL Road Show. Both teams had a busy couple of days in Kitimat as they were involved with events in the community such as hosting hockey clinics and visiting elementary schools. There was also a BCHL Fan Zone set up in the arena which consisted of autograph sessions and even an obstacle course the fans could take part in. All in all, it looked like a great event put on by the BCHL, I used to live in Kitimat and I know first hand how passionate the community is about hockey.

Hockey Night in Kitimat

Game one of the BCHL Road Show did not disappoint. The Spruce Kings opened the scoring less than five minutes into the game as Andrew Seaman picked up his third goal of the season. Haydn Delorme also got his third of the season shortly after to have the Spruce Kings up 2-0 heading into the second period.

The second period started out fast for the Spruce Kings as Finlay Williams and Corey Cunningham both scored just over five minutes in to put them up 4-0. Hunter McCoy finally got the Rivermen on the board with five minutes left in the second period, but that was all the goal-scoring they could muster up.

The third period saw a couple of fights, Kolton Cousins and Matteo Pecchia squared off first, followed by Tanner Versluis and Delorme pairing off a couple of minutes later. Cunningham added his second of the game in the third period as the Spruce Kings handed the Rivermen a 5-1 defeat for their sixth straight loss.

Sunday Funday

The final day of the BCHL Road Show seemed to treat the Rivermen better. The Rivermen forgot about the night before and got ready for a matinee game against the Spruce Kings.

Carter Cochrane of the Spruce Kings scored the lone goal in the first period, with assists to Nick Bochen and Andrew Seaman. The Rivermen out shot the Spruce Kings 19-5, but were unable to solve goaltender Carter Woodside. There was no scoring in the second period.

The third period started with the Rivermen still down 1-0 until eight minutes in. Sean Bunting finally solved Woodside as he got his fourth of the year with the helpers going to Matthew Hubbarde and Jake Livingstone. Boom! 1-1.

After a back and forth sixty minutes the game was tied and overtime was needed, and trust me when I tell you it was intense! The first two minutes of overtime were full of excitement. But when the dust settled, McCoy sniped one top corner to end the six game losing streak. What a wild weekend of hockey for both teams.

Playoff Picture

After their win on Sunday, the Rivermen will match up against the best team in the BCHL in the first round of the post-season – the Coquitlam Express. This is only the second time these teams have played each other in the playoffs. The first time came in 2014 when they met in the second round. It is a tough challenge for the Rivermen, they were only able to beat the Express twice this season. Before that though, the Rivermen have to finish off their season with games against the Surrey Eagles and Chilliwack Chiefs.