The Langley Rivermen swept a home-and-home series with the Coquitlam Express to open the pre-season.
The Rivermen won 8-3 both nights.
The first game was Sept. 5 at Langley Sportsplex with the rematch the next night at the Poirier Sports and Leisure Centre.
“Lots of positives to take from the two games,” said head coach and general manager Bobby Henderson.
“Some of the young guys that we expected to play well, rose to the occasion. All in all, there weren’t too many guys that didn’t contribute over the course of the two games.”
Langley used both their goaltenders, as Darren Martin played Friday night and newly acquired Bo Didur started on Saturday night.
“Both were good when they had to be, especially early on,” said Henderson.
“They both showed what they’re capable of and we’re very happy with what we saw out of both guys.”
After missing most of last season, Evan Anderson looked to be back to form, finding the back of the net early in Saturday’s game.
“It was good to see Evan get on the score sheet,” said Henderson.
“Matthew Graham and Zac Masson were also very solid. They displayed great work ethic, were strong on pucks and created a lot of chances.”
The coaching staff will have some tough decisions to make as they continue to narrow down the active roster to the twenty-two player league maximum before the regular season opens on Sept. 19.
“We’ll take what’s left of the weekend to digest things,” said Henderson.
“We have a meeting scheduled on Monday, we’ll whittle it down over the course of the week and by next week we’ll be right down to it.”
The Rivermen have two more pre-season games remaining. Their next one is on Friday, Sept. 12, when they visit the Surrey Eagles. Langley will wrap up their pre-season at home on Sunday, Sept. 14, as they host Powell River, 2 p.m. at the Langley Events Centre.
