Battle of the Langleys resumes as Trappers and Kodiaks hockey teams prepare to renew crosstown rivalry

On Sunday, Oct. 9, the battle of the Langleys will resume.

Crosstown rivals Langley Trappers and Aldergrove Kodiaks are set to meet for their first clash of the Pacific Junior Hockey League (PJHL) regular season, with the Trappers hosting the Kodiaks.

Last season, the Kodiaks were edged out of the Harold Brittain Conference division playoffs, while the Trappers won the divisional points race, as well as the Stonehouse Cup, then went on to take gold in the Cyclone Taylor Cup provincial junior “B” hockey championships.

This season, the Kodiaks have a new head coach, Ron Johnson, a member of the 2010 league champion Kodiaks team, while Brad Bakken returns as head coach and general manager of the reigning PJHL and B.C. junior ‘B’ provincial champion Trappers.

Currently, Trappers are third and Kodiaks fourth in the seven-team conference standings.

READ ALSO: VIDEO: Langley Trappers win Cyclone Taylor Cup

Johnson described the team as a “work in progress” with only eight returning veterans.

He expects it will take time for the rookies to learn how to play as a team, a process he expects will show results in December.

“They’re getting better,” Johnson told the Langley Advance Times.

“I’m happy with the guys.”

Kodiaks are expecting a tough battle on Sunday, with Johnson noting the rival Trappers team has more returning players.

“We’ve got our hands full,” Johnson predicted.

Bakken said only 12 of 25 players on the Trappers roster last year have returned, the result of some moving up to play for the Junior “A” Rivermen, and others deciding to step back from hockey to concentrate on their studies.

“Not as much as I was forecasting,” Bakken summarized, but he likes the lineup he has.

“I like how young we are, how we move the puck around,” Bakken remarked.

He expects the resumption of the “fun” rivalry between the two teams on Sunday will be a “pretty good test” that should produce entertaining hockey.

Puck will drop at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at George Preston arena, 20699 42nd Ave.

READ ALSO: Aldergrove Kodiaks triumphant at Winter Classic

They will meet again in November, when the Kodiaks will host the Trappers on Sunday Nov. 9 at the Aldergrove Credit Union Community Centre arena, 27032 Fraser Hwy, at 7:15 p.m.