Langley BC – The Langley Rivermen improved their record to 14-6-1-2 and move back in to first place with a 2-1 win over the Surrey Eagles on Monday afternoon.
After some bag pipes and a moment of silence in honor of Remembrance Day, the Rivermen played the Eagles for the fifth time this season. The game started off exactly the as Rivermen would hope, as Mitch McLain would slot home his 11th just before the five minute mark on a quick release from ten feet out.
The Riv would get in some penalty trouble near the mid point of the period. A very questionable call on Kevan Killistoff would put the Eagles on a two man advantage and Mathew Dawson would score the first power play goal surrendered by Langley in four games to tie things up. However, that was not the end of the action in the opening period. A full scale line brawl would break out after some extended pushing and shoving with less than a minute to go. Multiple major penalties were assessed to both teams including McLain and Jonah Renouf who were also ejected for their scrap at centre ice. (Decision McLain)
The 2nd period was rather uneventful for both teams until the late stages. Austin Azurdia would centre a puck and find a red hot Marcus Vela who slammed home his 3rd goal in as many games.
Surrey would out shoot the Riv 11-4 in the third period including a post, but could not beat Brock Crossthwaite who got back to back starts and was the first star of the evening.
The Stats
Final Score – 2-1 Rivermen
Shots – Surrey 29 Langley 21
Three Stars – 3rd Brett Mulcahy 2nd Mathew Dawson 1st Brock Crossthwaite
Special Teams – Langley – 0/2 Surrey – 1/4
Extras: Chris Forney moved in to 5th in team scoring picking up his 12th assist to go along with his 2 goals. Mitch McLain continues to be the only Rivermen with double digits in goals with 11.
Langley will play another divisional road game before they return home on Saturday to face the Victoria Grizzlies. The Rivermen will head to the train station on Friday night to take on the Coquitlam Express for a 7pm start.
