The Langley Rivermen clinched top spot in the B.C. Hockey League with a 2-1 win over the Prince George Spruce Kings Friday night at the Coliseum.
Matt Ustaski netted his 29th goal of the season when he tipped in a point shot past Kings netminder Alex Murray for the Rivermen's go-ahead goal at the 8:57-mark of the third period.
Despite the Kings pulling Murray during the last minute of play in favour of an extra attacker, Prince George couldn't score the equalizer to send the game into overtime.
The game wrapped up the regular season for both Mainland Division rivals, with the Rivermen securing top spot in not only the division, but the BCHL to finish at 37-13-3-3 and 82 points.
The Spruce Kings wrapped up the regular season with 70 points thanks to a 32-20-4-2 record, good for second place in the division.
Friday night at the Coliseum, the Rivermen kept Prince George to the outside, forcing the Kings to turn over the puck. They outshot the Kings 34-24, after the Kings held an 11-6 edge in the the first period.
Christian Weidhauer opened the scoring for the Kings with his 13th goal of the season on the powerplay at the 7:13 mark of the first period.
Mitch McLain, Langley's leading scorer, answered for the Rivermen to tie the game midway through the second period with his 25th of the season.
Prince George went 1-7 on the power play while the Rivermen were 0-4.
The second-place Kings begin the first round of the playoffs Tuesday when they host the third-place Coquitlam Express in the first game of a best-of-seven series. The face-off is 7 p.m. at the Coliseum.
Langley returns home to battle the fourth-place Surrey Eagles on Tuesday.
LOOSE PUCKS: Brent Lashuk, 19, suffered a lower body injury during Thursday night's tilt against Langley which will keep the forward out of the playoffs. He finished the season with 19 goals, and 22 assists for 41 points.
Defencemen Karan Toor, Skylar Pacheco and forward Justin Rai remained out of the lineup to nurse some nagging injuries. Defenceman Cooper Rush will be out another month with his knee injury.
The Kings host their annual player awards banquet tonight at the Coast Inn of the North.
