The Langley Rivermen are beginning to heat up at the right time of the year. After knocking off Prince George on Thursday night by a score of 5-1, the Riv followed it up beating the Coquitlam Express last night by that same score. Matthew Graham and Justin Fregona led the way offensively with a goal and two assists each, while Bo Didur stopped 20 of 21 shots and picked up the win. The Rivermen have now won four out of their last five games going into this afternoon’s match-up.
“It’s nice to see the guys starting to play well these last few games. With Playoffs around the corner, it is important to get momentum going our way and if we continue to play the way we are, we are going to be a tough team to beat,” said Rivermen Associate Head Coach & Assistant GM Kurt Astle.
This afternoons game against the Grizzlies is the last home game of the regular season for the Rivermen. The squad has played very well at the LEC all season with a 17-9-2-0 record, but have not played in front of the home fans a whole lot this month. It has been a very road heavy February with eight of the 10 games being played away from home. The last game of the season is on Tuesday, February 23 in Wenatchee, who in all likelihood will be the Riv’s first round opponent in the post-season.
The Grizzlies lead the season series after beating the Rivermen by a score of 5-0 back on January 10 at the Q Centre in Victoria. The ‘Grizz currently sit tied with the Alberni Valley Bulldogs for the last playoff spot in the Island Division with a record of 22-29-4-0 for 48 points. Both Victoria and Alberni Valley have three games left. The Grizzlies were in Penticton last night and took a 5-0 defeat and lost to Wentachee on Friday night 2-1.
“Every game is critical for them the rest of the way and we are expecting to see a desperate hockey team. With it being our last home game before playoffs, we want to play well in front of our fans who have been great all year for us. Hopefully we put in a great effort for 60 minutes,” said captian Jordan Schneider.
Game time is set for 3:00pm at the Langley Events Centre. It is ‘Fan Appreciation’ with many great prizes to be won and there will also be one last ‘Skate with the Rivermen’ promotion immediately following the game.
