Ryan Moon scored the game winner on Sunday afternoon as the Alberni Valley Bulldogs broke a deadlock midway through the third and held on for a 4-2 home ice victory over the Langley Rivermen.
Langley’s Will Stromp opened the scoring seven minutes into the first but the Bulldogs answered right back when Isaac Tonkin-Palmer beat Rivermen netminder Shayne Battler 24 seconds later.
Tanner Versluis restored the Langley lead minutes later, and the Rivermen led 2-1 until late in the second period when Jackson Doucet poked a rebound home past Battler on a Bulldogs’ man-advantage.
The teams exchanged chances through the first half of the third period but the game remained tied until Moon picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and scored to the glove side on the ensuing breakaway. Langley pressed with the goalie pulled for the extra attacker but Alberni Valley held strong and Cole Demers made a number of big saves late in the game before Doucet scored his second of the night into an open net.
Demers made 40 saves on the day to pick up his fourth win of the season. Battler allowed three goals in the loss in a game where Langley outshot the Bulldogs by a 42-20 margin.
Alberni Valley is back in action on Friday when they open a three-game weekend road trip against the Wenatchee Wild before heading to West Kelowna and Coquitlam on Saturday and Sunday.
