Township of Langley, BC (Friday, October 30, 2015) – A four goal first period from the Langley Rivermen was the difference in a 6-3 win over the Coquitlam Express on Friday night at the Langley Events Centre. Justin Fregona led the offensive outburst with a career high four point night (2 goals, 2 assists).
The Rivermen struck early courtesy of Fregona at 1:19 of the first period. Matthew Graham made the play happen with a burst of speed through the neutral zone and set-up Fregona, who was going hard to the net on the right-wing. For Fregona, it was his team leading 12th goal of the season. At the 5:30 mark, Matty Saharchuk made it a 2-0 score, as he buried a one-time shot past Lawson Fenton on a great pass from Fregona behind the net. Coquitlam was able to cut the lead to one goal at the 10:37 mark, with a goal from Colton Kerfoot, who capitalized on a pretty passing play down low in the Rivermen zone. However, the Riv got that one right back at the 11:32 mark off the stick of Adam Sinclair. The Rivermen rookie took a pass from Max Kaufman near the right side of the goal, and roofed a shot over the shoulder of Fenton from a sharp angle. The Riv were not done there, as Saharchuk capped off the first period scoring with his second goal of the game with less than two minutes to go from Fregona and Graham. The Rivermen led the shot count 15-11 after 20 minutes.
In the second period, the Express came out with a much better effort scoring the only two goals of the frame. Jonathan Irving scored at the 54 second mark, while Owen Stout cut the deficit to one goal at 7:25. Fenton stopped all seven shots he faced.
After Nick Trenciansky made a great stop at the start of the third period, Logan Mick scored his first goal in a Rivermen uniform at 2:03. Mick found a loose puck after a faceoff in the Coquitlam end, and chipped it on goal from the corner and found its way past Fenton. Fregona scored the final goal of the game and 13th of the season at 7:31 from Logan Mick. Fregona found his way past the Express defense after taking an entry pass from Mick, and fired a perfectly placed shot past the glove side of Fenton.
With the win, the Riv are now 10-6-0-0 for 20 points, while the Express dropped to 7-8-1-2. The line of Fregona, Saharchuk, and Graham had a fantastic evening combining for eight points. Logan Mick finished with his most productive game of the season, chipping in with a goal and an assist.
The Rivermen host the Surrey Eagles on Sunday, November 1st at 3:00pm at the Langley Events Centre. Following the game will be another ‘Skate with the Rivermen promotion.
NOTES: Shots on Goal: COQ 30, LAN 29. Power play: LAN 0/2, COQ 0/6. Three Stars: 1st: LAN Justin Fregona, 2nd: LAN Matty Saharchuk, 3rd: COQ Colton Kerfoot.
