Langley, BC – The Rivermen earned their 4th straight win with a huge comeback victory over the Alberni Valley Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon (October 6), improving their record to 7-3-0-1. The Rivermen now move into sole possession of 1st place in the BCHL Mainland Division, two points ahead of Prince George.
It wasn’t the start the Rivermen were hoping for as they found themselves down 2 goals heading into the 3rd period. They were able to generate a number of scoring opportunities but they couldn’t find the back of the net. There looked to be a few sure goals but the Rivermen hit a couple posts as they didn’t seem to have the puck luck in the first two periods.
The Rivermen’s luck changed in the third as they had a huge power play to open the period being in a two goal hole and needing something to get them back into the game. It didn’t turn out to be a power play goal but they generated some momentum and were able to get on the board shortly after. Tanner Johnson got his second goal of the season with a slap shot from the point as the puck found its way through some traffic.
Once the Rivermen scored their first goal it seemed to give them life as they had a little more jump in their strides. That extra jump forced Alberni Valley into taking some penalties giving the Rivermen a chance to tie the game. The power play was unsuccessful but again it put some added pressure on the Bulldogs as the Rivermen were able to score shortly after the man advantage. A great save at the blue line by Tanner Johnson keeping the puck in helped set up Mitch Mclain behind the net who found Matt Ustaski wide open out in front, and he made no mistake tying the game at 2-2.
From there the stage was set for overtime and one of the hottest goal scorers on the Rivermen was able to finish it in style, as Austin Azurdia gave the Rivermen their 3rd overtime win of the season. It was a perfect way to cap off a solid weekend for the Rivermen who came away with 3 wins in 3 days.
The weekend started with a 4-3 win in Surrey on Friday night, followed by a dominant 5-1 over Surrey at home on Saturday and they finished off the weekend with the 3-2 overtime victory over Alberni Valley Sunday afternoon.
The Rivermen will return to the Langley Events Centre next Saturday October 12th as they host the Surrey Eagles in their 4th meeting of the season.
For ticket information on all Rivermen home games visit www.ticketmaster.ca
