Bye, bye regular season.
Hello playoffs.
With the B.C. Hockey League campaign behind them, the Langley Rivermen will begin their quest for the Fred Page Cup Friday, when they visit Chilliwack’s Prospera Centre to take on the Chilliwack Chiefs.
The Rivermen hope their playoff travels don’t end abruptly in the first round but the task — and team — in front of them is formidable.
The Chiefs finished second in the Mainland Division with a 41-11-6 record for 88 points. Only the Mainland (and BCHL)-leading Wenatchee Wild had a better record, at 49-9-4.
Langley had a very good regular season, at 30-20-6-2, but still finished a whopping 20 points behind the Chiefs in the Mainland standings.
The season series was extremely close, with the Chiefs holding a 4-3 edge in wins. The last time the teams met, the Chiefs skated to a 4-3 win Feb. 11 at the Prospera Centre.
Rivermen head coach and general manager Bobby Henderson said, despite their records, not much separates the two teams.
“I think we are extremely close; it’s been a pretty entertaining series all year,” Henderson said. “For us to beat them, we have to commit to playing good team defence and continue to produce offensively.”
The bench boss’s scouting report on the Chiefs: “They are pretty well balanced team that can score goals. They’re good off the rush and they have some crafty players, but they defend hard, too, and have a good goaltender.”
The Chiefs are led by skilled forward Jordan Kawaguchi, who finished second in BCHL league scoring with 38 goals and 85 points.
But the Rivermen can hold their own and then some in the scoring department, sparked by top scorer Ryan Barrow (28 goals, 68 points), high scoring defenceman Cameron Ginnetti (47 assists, 56 points, both tops among BCHL blue liners), speedy Max Kaufman (31 goals, 55 points in just 47 games) and veteran Zac Masson (54 points). In fact, the Rivermen had 11 skaters register 35 points or more.
Henderson said the Rivermen aren’t lacking confidence going into the series.
“We’ve felt all along that we can beat any team in the league,” Henderson said. “It will be a good test to start against one of the top teams in the league, but that’s the way we like it. We’re excited to play them.”
The teams meet again Saturday at the Prospera for game two of the series.
Both Friday’s and Saturday’s games have 7 p.m. start times.
The series shifts back to Langley’s George Preston Recreation Centre for games three and four next Monday (March 6) and Tuesday (March 7).
Both those games get underway at 7:15 p.m.
If necessary, game five is set for Friday, March 10 at Prospera Centre with a 7 p.m. opening puck drop.
If the series goes six games, the teams will meet Saturday, March 11 at the GPRC starting at 6 p.m.
And if proceedings are stretched to a full seven games, the deciding matchup is set for Sunday, March 12 at Prospera beginning at 5 p.m.
Kings crowned
The Rivermen head into the series with momentum, after capping their regular season with a 7-0 blowout of the Prince George Spruce Kings this past Saturday at the GPRC.
Nicholas Ponak and Max Kaufman led the Rivermen’s offence with a pair of goals each in the win.
