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Rivermen blank Kings, fall to Wild

Langley wins home Debut 5-0 before losing 5-3 to Wenatchee
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Langley Rivermen’s Dominic Franco (centre) celebrates his second-period goal with Adam Sinclair and Cameron Ginnetti during the junior A hockey club’s 5-0 victory over the Prince George Spruce Kings on Saturday night at the Langley Events Centre. The Rivermen were also in action the next afternoon, hosting the Wenatchee Wild, with the visitors winning 5-3 to leave Langley with a 2-1-0-0 mark on the season.

In an early-season first-place showdown, it was the visiting Wenatchee Wild landing the first blow, defeating the Langley Rivermen 5-3.

The two junior A hockey clubs squared off on Sunday afternoon at the Langley Events Centre, both sporting 2-0-0-0 records and a share of top spot in the BCHL’s Mainland Division.

Despite the defeat, Rivermen coach Bobby Henderson liked his team’s bounce back after a tough start.

Less than two minutes into the game, they lost starting goaltender Bo Didur to injury and the Wild then jumped out to a 3-1 lead after one period.

Langley battled back with a pair of goals to tie the game before Wenatchee scored the eventual winner late in the second period.

Langley’s Justin Fregona scored all three goals in the defeat and he leads the team with four goals in three games.

“We didn’t get it done at the end of the day, but all in all, I thought there were some good things and some areas we need to work on,” Henderson said.

The Rivermen were coming off a shutout victory the night before in their home opener, as they blanked the Prince George Spruce Kings 5-0.

Justin Szeto, Dominic Franco, Cameron Ginnetti, Zac Masson and Fregona each registering a goal in the victory while Didur was called upon to make just 10 saves.

“We did a good job of taking away time and space and our defence played really solid the entire game,” Henderson said.

“It (10 shots) was pretty indicative of the game.

“We made the most of our opportunities and didn’t give up a whole lot.”

Langley is in action this weekend at Chilliwack’s Propsera Centre as part of the BCHL Bauer Showcase. The team plays the Salmon Arm Silverbacks (3-0-1-0) on Thursday afternoon and the West Kelowna Warriors (2-2-0-0) on Sunday night.