Rough Weekend for Rivermen

This weekends test's proved to be too much for the young Langley Rivermen squad.  The Rivermen played 3 games in 3 nights this weekend, wrapping up a 3 game series with Surrey and starting a new 3 out of 4 games set with the Powell River Kings.

First on Friday the Langley Rivermen made there way to the South Surrey arena to face the Eagles in their last contest until November.  Langley came out strong in the first period.  But for their efforts the game remained scoreless until the second period when Brandon Morley, on a bad turnover on the PP, took the puck and completely undressed goaltender Jim Kruger for the games first goal.  Sean McGovern would give the Eagles a 2 goal cushion late in the second.  In the third it was Langley's turn to pot one in as Derek Sutliffe, on a turnover at center, went in all alone and scored one of the nicest goals I have seen in a while. With Just 3.8 seconds left and the face-off deep in the Eagles zone Austin Plevy let a hard wrist shot go and rung it off the crossbar as time expired handing the Eagles their second victory of the season.

On Saturday the Rivermen made the trip out to Powell River's Hap Parker Arena for the first of 2 games this weekend.  Langley once again came out strong but were not rewarded for their efforts as this game was scoreless after the first period of play.  In the second, Powell River's Jarryd Leung potted his first ever BCHL goal and gave the Kings a 1-0 lead going into the final frame.  In the third, it seemed that Leung's goal took the Rivermen out of the game and the Kings would score 4 more in the period and cruise to a 5-0 win.  Goaltender Jamie Phillips recorded his first shut out of the season and the first shut out of the BCHL this season thus far.

On Sunday, The Rivermen were looking to put the previous game behind them with a stronger effort.  And although the Langley squad played better the Kings seemed to be too much for the team to handle as Powell River posted a 3-0 win, the second shut out in as many games.  If you are going to take something positive out of this weekends action is that the Rivermen had many scoring chances they just couldn't seem to get the puck past these very good goaltenders.  I would expect the Rivermen to work on turnovers and shooting the puck a lot this week in practice.

This weekend the Rivermen pay a visit out to Poirier Sports and Leisure Centre when they face off against the Coquitlam Express.  Then on Saturday, Langley makes their way back home to face the Powell River Kings. Puck drops at 7pm @ the LEC.

On Saturday I will be out at the Cranberry Festval in Fort Langley.  This event draws 15000 - 20000 a year so come on out for food, fun and games.  I would love to see you all there.  Bring your cameras and get a picture with me.

As for now you are up to date.  See you at the rink.