The Langley Rivermen apparently have long memories.
They remember what the Prince George Spruce Kings did to them last year in the B.C. Hockey League playoffs when they ousted the Rivermen in a six-game series.
Tonight (7 p.m. start) the Rivermen return to the Coliseum for the first time since March 11, 2015, when the Spruce Kings hung on for a one-goal victory in the sixth and deciding game of their opening-round series.
The third-place Rivermen (23-17-1-1) are now 23 points ahead of the fifth-place Spruce Kings (11-30-2-1) and are on the verge of locking up a Mainland Division playoff spot. They've been punishing the Kings this season, outscoring them a combined 16-3 in three games, all played in Langley.
"We have to do a better job against them - we haven't played them at home yet but they've scored a lot of goals off the rush and we have to do a better job defending off the rush," said Spruce Kings head coach Chad van Diemen. "They've done a good job either finding pucks for rebounds or gaining the zone, getting it deep and finding that second wave. In their games against us they've been able to find that goal when they really needed it and we have to play better defensive hockey against them.
"They're a fairly big team with a lot of speed and they have a number of forwards who can put the puck in the net."
The teams last met Jan. 3 in Langley and the Rvermen handed out a 7-1 pounding. Five Langley forwards have 30 or more points, including leading scorer Matthew Graham (18-16-44, a Robert Morris University recruit), Max Kaufman (14-28-42, Vermont) and Justin Fregona (22-16-38, New Hampshire). Langley goalie Bo Didur has just committed to Penn State, either for next season or in 2017. Seven other Rivermen have locked up NCAA deals.
The Spruce Kings have 14 games left and find themselves 16 points out of a playoff spot. Van Diemen said the team's goaltending led to too many close losses, especially on the road, which took them out of the playoff race. But with Liam McCloskey and newcomer Joseph McLeod both playing well lately, the team hasn't given up on the season.
They unloaded older veterans Adam Brubacher, Jake LeBrun, Corey Hoffman and Bryan Basilico at the trade deadline Jan. 10 and brought in some new faces, namely forwards Tanner Campbell, Chong Lee, Dante Raposo and defenceman Colton Sandberg, who have energized the team.
Campbell, 18, made a big splash coming over from West Kelowna when he scored twice in each of his first three games with the Kings, all played on the road. He also picked up an assist on a power-play goal in the Kings' most recent game, a 4-2 loss to Victoria.
"Tanner has a lot of skill and lot of potential, moving forward," said van Diemen. "He's 18 and he continues to gain confidence and momentum and has the ability to have a really good 19-year-old year. I think he's enjoying coming to the rink and getting that extra icetime he wasn't getting in West Kelowna and is doing a good job of capitalizing on that opportunity."
Lee, 19, is being groomed for the 2016 South Korean Olympic team and was called up to play four games with the Spruce Kings on loan from the junior B Port Moody Panthers. The six-foot-one, 198-pound winger sniped his first BCHL goal in the loss to Victoria and looked like he belonged in the BCHL. The hard-shooting Lee had nine shots on net in the Kings' 2-0 win over Trail a week ago.
Lee was returned this week to Port Moody, and the Kings would like to get him back to play six more games (affiliates are limited to a maximum of 10 games). The Kings have 14 games left in the season, all but three of which will be played at the Coliseum.
"We'd like to try to get him up as much as we can and try to get him in here full-time next year," said van Diemen. "He skates very well, he has a good skill set, he sees the ice well and makes plays and he competes. He plays the game at a high pace and plays the right way. He's definitely exceeded expectations."
Raposo, 18, who had 11 goals and 18 points in 31 games with the junior B Kamloops Storm, scored the game-winning goal for the Kings in only his second BCHL game Oct. 30, a 3-2 win at the Coliseum over the Wenatchee Wild. He's played four games with the Spruce Kings this season and is here to stay.
The six-foot-three, 195-pound Sandberg scored the series-winning goal in double-overtime last year (his first career BCHL goal) as a 17-year-old as a member of the Powell River Kings to eliminate the Victoria Grizzlies in the first round. He's been skating with his new teammates in practice but is still at least two weeks away from recovering from a shoulder injury.
"It's definitely longer than what we were expecting when the deal was done," said van Diemen, who got to know Sandberg last season as an assistant coach at Powell River. "He'd probably be the first to admit that consistency is the thing he's had to work on through his first two years but when he's playing at the top of his game, he's a good defensive guy. He doesn't get beat on a lot of 1-on-1s ones, he uses his size, he has a good stick and a good shot and he uses his size to his advantage and he's a great person off the ice as well."
The Kings and Rivermen play each other Friday night as well.
