The Langley Rivermen had a tough go at holding their own against the Coquitlam Express; the junior hockey team lost 1 to 8 at an away game on Sunday.
Coach Bobby Henderson said he’s not overly happy with how the team handled themselves, adding that they’ve had a bit of shaky start to the season.
“We we’re coming off a good game in Chilliwack and I’m not sure if they just came in overconfident or what,” Henderson said.
The Rivermen were down early in the first period, but not my much. Hunter McCoy scored the only Langley goal early in the game, bringing the score 2 to 1 as they entered the second.
Henderson said that’s the moment when his team began to have troubles that led to a massive lead for the Express.
“We had a lot of penalties in the second – high sticking and cross checking. When you give a team like that an opportunity with power plays… it just snowballed on them,” the coach continued.
Henderson said the Rivermen were able to get back on charge towards the end of the third, but by then, the gap was far too great to catch up.
Ethan O’Rourke and Adam Trotman both scored two goals each for Coquitlam while Greg Lapointe, Massimo Rizzo, Cooper Conell, and Wyatt Head all got one.
The Rivermen currently sit at 12th out of 17 in the league while the Express currently tops the standings with 37 wins and only 6 losses. The Langley team is evenly split, earning 19 victories so far and 20 losses.
“We’ve fought and clawed our way to stay relevant in the standings,” Henderson added. “There’s a lot of character in our dressing room and adversity is the biggest take away going forward.”
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It’s been a mixed bag for the Riverman so far in 2020; Langley earned a 7-2 victory over the Surrey Eagles and a narrow 6-5 win against Chilliwack this past Friday.
The team is mostly on the road this month, set to play Prince George on Jan. 17 and Chilliwack again this coming Sunday.
The Rivermen don’t return home to the George Preston Arena until Feb. 2nd where the’ll face off against the Chiefs for a third time this year.
A stretch of home games will follow throughout the month.
Fans can catch up with results and standings at www.langleyrivermen.com.
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Email: ryan.uytdewilligen@langleyadvancetimes.com
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