Township of Langley, BC (Saturday, January 24, 2015) – Make it three in a row and back in first place for the time being, as the Langley Rivermen snuck past the Trail Smoke Eaters 4-3 on Back to Business Night at the Langley Events Centre.
Marcus Vela scored twice and Gage Torrel had a goal and two assists as the Rivermen won their 14th home game this season. Darren Martin backstopped the team, making 35 saves to pick up his 9th win of the season.
“They (Trail) had a hard fought battle yesterday,” said Assistant Coach Kurt Astle. “We knew today they wouldn’t go away. We wanted to maintain our composure and not get sucked in; we defended well, identified their top guys and at the end of the day those are two big points for us.”
“We came in with some injuries and were down a couple of players,” said Vela. The AP’s that came in played really well for us and the whole team rallied together. It might not be the prettiest game but we got it done.”
In a night without their Captain, the Rivermen were able to get production from all four lines as well as some timely saves by Martin, who looked sharp the entire game.
“We didn’t have our best game defensively,” said Astle. “We caused some unnecessary turnovers and gave up a couple breakaways but lucky for us Darren was there to save the day.”
Kevan Kilistoff, who scored the game-winning goal against Chilliwack last Wednesday, was resting a lower body injury which occurred in that game.
Langley led 2-1 after the first period thanks to goals by Colton Kehler and Vela. They would add two more in the second as Vela and Torrel scored special team goals to put the Rivermen up 4-2 after forty minutes. With the net empty, Trail scored a late 6-on-5 goal to cut the deficit to one, but that’s as close as it would get as the Rivermen have won a season-high three straight on home ice.
“We’ve had a lot more depth scoring lately,” commented Astle. “That’s definitely contributing to our recent success and if you’re going to have any success in the playoffs you need that. We’ve got a little bit of a break coming up so it’s a much deserved rest and then get ready for Prince George.”
Force and Scully, the Green Men were in attendance thanks to Pacific Coastal Airlines and were taking pictures, signing autographs and performed their famous penalty box routines.
The Rivermen’s next game is on Thursday, January 29 when they host the Prince George Spruce Kings. Puck-drop is at 7:00PM at the LEC.
NOTES: Shots on Goal: LAN 28, TRA 38. Powerplay: LAN 1-4, TRA 1-5. Saves/Shots: LAN – Darren Martin 35/38 (W), TRA – Adam Todd 24/28 (L). Three Stars: 1st: LAN Marcus Vela, 2nd: TRA Jake Lucchini, 3rd: LAN Gage Torrel. Fortis Energy Player: LAN: Darren Martin
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
