Chiefs and Rivermen Battle in One-Goal Game
By Shaelee Dombrowski
The final matchup of the regular season didn’t go Chilliwack’s way in a 3-2 loss to the Langley Rivermen.
The Chilliwack Chiefs and the Langley Rivermen met for the final time this regular season in their rescheduled game from December 12th. It was Dash Hound Night at the Chilliwack Coliseum, presented by Kal Tire, where the fun of the game continued into the intermissions for our first-ever Wiener Dog Race and the return of the Lions Club Outhouse Race in support of the Alzheimer’s Society.
Sunday’s game saw the tension you could expect from two teams who were seeing each other for the third time in just over a week, having last faced off just two nights ago in Langley. There was no love lost in the sixty-one minutes of penalties, including a big fight in the second period between Chiefs rookie Gabriel Anctil and Rivermen captain Darius Bachler.
Going into the second period with a 1-0 deficit, Chiefs’ captain, Nico Grabas, scored his team-leading twenty-ninth and thirtieth goals of the season to not only tie the game but gain the lead. A great pass from Edvin Nillson to Grabas, who was waiting out front, evened the score before a tic-tac-toe play between Grabas and Luke Pilkington beat Langley’s goalie to go into the second period ahead by one.
Things tightened up in the third period, with fewer penalties, as Chilliwack looked to hold onto its lead and Langley sought to even the score. Two goals, less than three minutes apart, by the Rivermen in the final five minutes of the game, silenced the Coliseum as the Chiefs fought to even it back up and force overtime with two minutes to go. Despite Chilliwack’s best efforts, they weren’t able to force extra time.
The Chiefs will be back at the Chilliwack Coliseum for their final home game of the regular season on Sunday, March 29th, for a 5 pm puck drop, as they take on their first round opponents, the Coquitlam Express, in what is likely to be a home ice deciding game. It will be Fan Appreciation Night and Figure Skating Night as the Cheam Skating Club joins us to showcase figure skating. Join us for a night of fun and a good taste of what the first round of playoffs will bring.
Photo Credit: Darren Francis