The Langley Rivermen sent the home fans happy on Sunday afternoon.
Playing for the final time in the junior A hockey league season, the Rivermen defeated the Alberni Valley Bulldogs 3-1 at the Langley Events Centre.
Derek Sutliffe had the only goal of the first period and Mike Tebbutt and Sebastian Pare scored in the second to put the home side up 3-0.
Alberni Valley’s Walker Hyland broke James Barr’s shutout bid with a goal late in the second.
Barr finished with 43 saves.
The Rivermen also dropped both ends of a home-and-home series with the Coquitlam Express by identical 5-4 scores.
At the Poirier Sports and Leisure Centre on Friday, the Rivermen failed to hold a 3-0 lead.
Ben Grenier and Chris Tracy scored in the first, while Mario Puskarich’s power play goal made it 3-0 midway through the contest.
But Clinton Atkinson and Alex Petan made it 3-2 after two periods and Brady Shaw’s power play goal made it a tie game early in the third.
Darnell Dyck put the Rivermen back up with a goal 30 seconds later, but Petan tied the score at four and then struck for his third of the night with less than two minutes remaining.
The Express again used a late goal with overtime looming on Saturday at the LEC.
Zach Hodder snapped a 4-4 tie with 27 seconds to go in regulation.
Coquitlam led 2-0 after one on goals from Shaw and Eric Margo.
Puskarich scored twice in the second to tie the game, before Justin Georgeson put the visitors ahead 3-2 after 40 minutes.
In the third, Peter McMullen tied the game at three, and after Petan put the Express in front again, Jackson Playfair struck on the power play.
The Rivermen close out the season with games in Victoria, Cowichan Valley and Alberni Valley on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (Mar. 9-11.)
