A four-point night from Ben Butcher sent the Langley Rivermen to a 5-2 victory over the division-leading Prince George Spruce Kings.
The Rivermen improved to 6-4-1-3 and 16 points, which puts them in third spot in the BCHL’s Mainland Division.
The Spruce Kings (10-6-0-2) lead the way with 22 points, but they have played four more games than both the Rivermen and the second-place Chilliwack Chiefs (10-3-0-1, 21 points).
Langley never trailed in the junior A hockey game — which was played at the Langley Events Centre on Oct. 30 — as Butcher opened the scoring for the first of two goals with a deflection from the point 10:46 into the game.
But the Rivermen were fortunate not to be down as goaltender Bo Didur made one of the saves of the year, diving across the crease to stop an easy goal for Prince George.
“I think everyone’s heart beat skipped for a second,” said Didur, who stopped 23 of 25 shots.
“I just dove across and it hit me and went straight down. I don’t know who the angel was the cleared it off the line but thank you to him.”
“Bo set the tone,” said Langley assistant coach Astle.
“If that puck goes in it could be a different outcome. Our guys fed off that and we wanted to get one back for Bo and we did.”
Prince George’s Chad Staley tied the game prior to the first intermission with a power-play marker.
The Rivermen scored on the power play early in the second period as Gage Torrel put home his sixth of the season to give the team a 2-1 lead. Dante Hahn would extend the lead to 3-1 midway through before Jordan Low scored for the Spruce Kings to cut the Rivermen lead to 3-2 going into the third period.
The third period saw goals from Evan Anderson and Ben Butcher, who scored his second of the game and fourth point of the night.
“We’re not a one line team,” said Kevan Kilistoff, who chipped in with two assists. “All four lines contribute and we’ve got all four going right now.”
“That line is generating a lot of opportunities,” said Astle. “Ben’s getting himself in a lot of scoring positions and having Killy (Kilistoff) and Andy (Anderson) as line mates is a big help. All three of them are clicking and it’s fun to see.”
“I’m more confident with the puck,” said Kilistoff. “I’m making more plays and holding on to it a little longer and it’s paying off right now.”
Jake Kearley added two assists, while Zac Masson and Charlie Pelnik had one helper apiece.
The Rivermen outshot Prince George 37-25.
Langley next plays the Coquitlam Express in a home-and-home series.
The teams are at Coquitlam’s Poirier Sports and Leisure Centre on Oct. 31 and then play the return engagement at the LEC on Nov. 1.
