Goals two minutes apart and 39 saves from Bo Didur helped the Langley Rivermen take down the division leaders.
The Rivermen were in Prince George to face the Spruce Kings on Thursday (Oct. 9) in the first of back-to-back games between the junior A hockey clubs, both of which are at the Prince George Coliseum.
After a scoreless opening period, Brendan Gulka and Hunter Anderson struck for goals on consecutive shots 1:40 apart.
“Our line played really well tonight,” Anderson said. “I got a feed right in the middle and just put it home.
“It felt good to finally get on the score sheet.”
It was Anderson’s first goal of the season, with Ryan Coulter and Dante Hahn picking up the helpers.
Gulka’s goal was his team-leading fourth, with Gage Torrel getting the lone assist. Torrel leads the Rivermen with eight points in seven games.
And the two goals would be more than enough offence for Didur who stopped every Prince George attempt at a goal.
It was his first career BCHL shutout.
The Spruce Kings out-shot the Rivermen 39-24.
“Bo was outstanding,” said Langley assistant coach Kurt Astle.
“We went through a couple of lulls where he made some key saves to keep the momentum and kept us in the game.”
The win snapped a two-game losing streak for Langley, as the Rivermen had lost in overtime and in regulation their past two games.
“We’ve been harping on playing a full 60 minutes and this is as close as it gets for us this season,” said Astle.
“Our defence really dictated the play — we got pucks out early, go them to the forwards and our team defence was great.”
The team’s discipline was much better as well as they only took four minor penalties.
The loss dropped the Spruce Kings to 5-2-0-1 and their 11 points lead the BCHL’s Mainland Division. Langley is third at 3-3-0-1.
The two teams meet again tonight (Oct. 10) in Prince George.
The Rivermen’s next home game is Oct. 15 when they host the Surrey Eagles at the Langley Events Centre.
