In a double sweep over the Coquitlam Express this weekend, Langley Rivermen are now holding on to the third place spot in the junior A hockey’s Mainland division.
Earning their fourth straight win Saturday over Coquitlam, by a score of 2-1, helped seal that position – as did the game the night before, when they won a 3-2 victory over the Express in Coquitlam.
Rivermen called it a “pivotal” weekend.
In the first game, the Express went ahead early and took a 2-0 lead into the locker room after the first period.
After the break, it was all Langley as they went on to score three unanswered goals, including a power play goal from Tanner Versluis with 1:23 left in the game to secure the win.
Ryley Lanthier and Daneel Lategan also found the score sheet for the Rivermen, with Braedon Fleming making 25 saves.
And in the second game, Joshua Wildauer got Coquitlam on the board just over two minutes into the game.
Langley waited to respond until the third period, on a Jake Livingstone point shot to bring the game into overtime.
After a fast-paced extra period, the game was taken to a shootout, where goals from Mark Gallant and Chase Pletzke sealed the sweep for the Rivermen.
Shayne Battler turned in another strong outing for the Langley goaltenders, stopping 23 of 24 shots along with six more in the shootout.
The Rivermen went for their fifth straight win on Tuesday night, against West Kelowna. The results of that game were not available by press deadline.