Township of Langley, BC (Monday, March 9, 2015) – A two goal night from Matthew Graham wasn’t enough as the Langley Rivermen fell 5-4 in overtime to the Prince George Spruce Kings on Monday night at the Langley Events Centre.
Chad Staley was the hero for the Spruce Kings who scored the winner after Langley was called for an interference penalty. Staley made no mistake beating Bo Didur top corner blocker side at 8:56 in overtime to take a 3-2 series lead in the best-of-seven Mainland Division semi-final.
The teams traded goals for most of the game but it was the undisciplined play late in the game that cost the Rivermen, who will now head to Prince George tomorrow as they try to force a seventh and deciding game back in Langley.
The Rivermen trailed 1-0 after the first period but answered with two straight goals from Jake Kearley, who was playing forward with no Gage Torrel or Marcus Vela in the lineup. Graham scored his first of the game fooling goaltender Jesse Jenks to take a 2-1 lead. Prince George evened the game up late in the second period on the man advantage as Michael Buonincontri netted his third of the playoffs heading into dressing room deadlocked at three.
It was anyone’s game in period number three and it was the Rivermen who scored 1:10 into it thanks to Graham’s second of the game with Captain Kevan Kilistoff setting it up for a 3-2 lead. A short-handed marker from Staley tied the game, as Prince George once again refused to give up. Kilistoff put Langley out in front with a power play goal at the 8:05 mark to go ahead 4-3. However, 16 seconds after that, Buonincontri evened things up forcing overtime for the first time in the series.
An early penalty from Erik Udahl put Langley short-handed to start the extra period. Didur made some big time saves to keep the Rivermen’s hopes alive but another penalty minutes later would decide Langley’s fate. Will Campion went for a big hit in the neutral zone but instead was called for interference sending the Spruce Kings on their second man advantage in overtime. Staley’s second of the game was the game-winner as Prince George is now one win away from moving on to the second round of the BCHL postseason.
Game 6 goes tomorrow at the Prince George Coliseum. Face-off is at 7:00PM and can be heard onhttp://mixlr.com/langley-rivermen. If the Rivermen win, Game 7 will be back in Langley at the George Preston Recreation Centre at 7:00PM.
NOTES: Score: LAN 4 – PG 5 (OT) Shots on Goal: LAN 32, PG 22. Power play: LAN 1-5, PG 2-4.Saves/Shots: LAN – Bo Didur 17/22 (L), PG – Jesse Jenks 28/32 (W). Three Stars: 1st: PG Chad Staley, 2nd: LAN Matt Graham, 3rd: PG Michael Buonincontri. Fortis Energy Player: LAN: Will Campion
For details visit www.LangleyRivermen.com
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For More Information:
Kevin Berar, Langley Events Centre, 604.396.6633, kberar@langleyeventscentre.com
Taylor Henderson, Langley Rivermen, 604.455.8892, taylor@langleyrivermen.com
