Better but not yet where he wants them to be.
That was the assessment of coach Bobby Henderson following a pair of weekend victories, which halted a three-game losing streak for the Langley Rivermen junior A hockey club.
“We got better as the weekend went on,” Henderson said.
“But we are not quite where we want to be yet.”
“We are getting closer and taking steps in the right direction,” he added.
The team had lost a 4-3 decision to the visiting Prince George Spruce Kings last Thursday (Nov. 21) in a battle between the top two teams in the BCHL’s Mainland Division.
The Spruce Kings (16-8-2-2, 36 points) hold a one-point advantage over Langley (16-9-1-2, 35 points) heading into last night’s (Wednesday) rematch in Prince George.
The game concluded after The Times’ press deadline.
Langley did bounce back from that Prince George defeat, knocking off the Salmon Arm SilverBacks 3-2 in overtime on Nov. 22 at the LEC and then travelling to Chilliwack where they shut-out the Chiefs 4-0 on Nov. 23.
Brock Crossthwaite was in goal for both games, stopping 35 saves in the first win and then making another 27 to pick up his second shutout of the season.
Gage Torrel’s power-play goal in overtime sent the Rivermen to the first victory while James Robinson and Mitch McLain scored the other goals.
Nathan Craft, Matt Ustaski, Will Cook and McLain had the goals, with the first and the last coming while the Rivermen were down a man.
Cook’s goal was on the power-play, the third man-advantage goal over the two games.
In addition to last night’s game in Prince George, the Rivermen have a busy week with four games in five days.
They are in Penticton on Friday and Kelowna on Saturday. They wrap the weekend up with a home matinee on Sunday at the LEC versus the Chiefs. Game time is 2 p.m.
And while the team is getting healthier, they are still not 100 per cent.
“We have plenty of depth and it gives other guys a chance to step up,” Henderson said.
