Picking up up three wins in three games last weekend was the perfect way to begin a new month for the Langley Rivermen. After a pair of victories over Chilliwack, and a buzzer beating win over Cowichan Valley, the ‘Riv are off to their best start in franchise history through eight games. The team currently sits on top of the Mainland Division with a 6-2-0-0 record.
“Winning three games in three days is a tough thing to do in this league and was pretty proud of the guys. We did a great job of grinding it out and managed to find a way to win in all three games. It’s a nice achievement, but it means nothing if we don’t follow it up with a good effort this weekend,” said Rivermen Head Coach and General Manager Bobby Henderson.
A great story early on this season for the ‘Riv, has been the play of goaltender Nick Trencianksy. Coming in as a rookie, he was to be the back-up goalie to returnee Bo Didur. After Didur went down to injury in the third game of the season, it has been Trencianky’s net and he has not looked back. In the last five games, the Surrey native has a 4-1 record and stopped 147 of 160 shots put towards his way. Last weekend was a memorable one for Trenciansky, who won all three starts, and earned a honoruable mention for BCHL player of the week.
“Nick has been awesome back there in the net for us .It’s tough to get put into a spot like that, but he has responded well to the situation and has been looking more and more confident with each passing game,” Henderson said.
Friday (Oct. 9, 7:15pm) vs. Wenatchee Wild
The Wild are off to a great start in their inaugural season in the BCHL. They came out of the gates winning their first five games in a row, which all happened to be on the road. In fact, their first eight games of the season are all away from home, and do not play in front of their crowd until this Saturday night when they host Coquitlam. The Wild and Rivermen have met once already this season, with Wenatchee coming away with a 5-3 win back on September 20th at the LEC.
“Their pace of play is the thing I remember most about our last meeting. They like to push the envelope and we have to be prepared for that style of game. We can’t wait five or ten minutes to get into the game, we have to have a good start and push the tempo right away,” Henderson said about Wenatchee.
The scoring for the Wild has been spread throughout the line-up, as five players have at least a point per game average. Goaltender Chase Perry might be the teams MVP thus far boasting a sparkling 5-0-1 record, to go along with a 1.79 GAA and a .926 save percentage.
Sunday (Oct. 11, 3:00pm) vs. Chilliwack Chiefs
This Sunday’s matinee will be the third meeting in the past 10 days between the Rivermen and Chiefs. In last weekend’s home and home series, it was the Rivermen winning both games by 6-4 and 3-2 (double OT) scores. Coming into the weekend, the Chiefs sit fourth in the Mainland Division with a 3-3-1-2 record for nine points. The ‘Boatmen may see a tired Chilliwack club, who will be playing their third game in three days after a meeting in Surrey on Friday night, and then host Penticton at Prospera Centre on Saturday. After the Rivermen swept the Chiefs last weekend, Coach Henderson is expecting a hungry team to come at his group on Sunday.
“I would think they are going to come out hard against us. There is a lot of pride in that organization and their coaching staff will have them ready to go.”
