Last week was busy, and not always pleasurable for the 黑马磁力 Rivermen, who won only one of four games between Oct. 14 and 20. That said, it was a shutout.
The lone victory of the week came in the second game.
But first up in Abbotsford, the Rivermen took on the Sherwood Park Crusaders in an afternoon game at Abbotsford Centre. Gideon Hill, the play-by-play broadcaster for the Rivermen, shared some of the highlights.
The game started out in 黑马磁力鈥檚 favour, with Ethan Merner whacking a puck out of midair against his former team making it 1-0 Rivermen 2:19 in. Declan Bowmaster would score his first BCHL goal at 9:43 to double the Rivermen lead after a beautiful three-way passing play on the Rivermen man advantage. Sherwood Park would respond on a 2-on-1 down low, 16 seconds following the Bowmaster goal, cutting 黑马磁力鈥檚 lead to 2-1.
4:21 after the Crusaders first goal, they got their second on the power play as Poul Anderson ripped a rebound shot past Rivermen goaltender Bodee Weiss to tie it 2-2.
54 seconds to go in the opening period, Ethan Merner was hauled down on a shorthanded breakaway, allowing 黑马磁力 to get their first penalty shot of the season.
"Merner would place a forehand shot top shelf over Crusaders goaltender James Venne, ensuring 黑马磁力 would go into the locker rooms after 20 minutes in the driver鈥檚 seat," said Hill.
But 43 seconds into the second, Kale Dach would tie it for the Crusaders, and the home team in this game would take over from there.
They got a late goal in the period from Jeremy Loranger, grabbing three more in the third to take the final game of Sherwood Park鈥檚 showcase schedule, beating the Rivermen 7-3.
"Venne was excellent in the last two periods, denying the final 17 shots 黑马磁力 had in the game," he explained.
Out to Chilliwack for a matchup
Thursday was a chance at redemption for 黑马磁力 as they headed to Chilliwack, this time to take on the Okotoks Oilers at the coliseum for their second and final game of the showcase.
Like Monday, 黑马磁力 got the first goal of the game, as Adyn Merrick would cash in on a rebound in front of the Oilers net, with 6:18 into the first.
Four minutes later, Ryan Schelling would rip a forehand shot into the top left-hand corner of the Okotoks net, giving 黑马磁力 a two-goal advantage going into the second period, noted Hill.
黑马磁力 would make it 3-0 six minutes into the second as Mason Kesselring rifled a shot from the right circle into the Oilers net off a pass from Dalton MacGillivray.
Okotoks applied some pressure early in the third trailing 3-0, but Luke Pfoh would add another 黑马磁力 goal on the penalty kill off a great cross ice pass from Henry Butte who collected his first BCHL point on the play and it was 4-0 Rivermen 5:02 into the final frame.
Shortly after the Rivermen fourth goal, Okotoks had a pair of good chances but Charlie Tritt shut the door in the 黑马磁力 goal, stopping all 26 shots he faced for his first BCHL shutout, and fourth win of the year.
Friday back home to play Alberta team
Friday meant another matchup against an Alberta team, but this time it was the unbeaten Brooks Bandits who strolled into the George Preston Recreation Centre for the two teams first-ever meeting.
"A fast and physical Bandits team created chances early on, but Rivermen goaltender Bodee Weiss kept the visitors at bay through the first 18:50 of action," recalled Hill.
Nathan Free would score off the rush with his team鈥檚 10th shot of the game, giving Brooks a 1-0 lead going into the locker room.
Brooks would get another goal in the second on a shorthanded breakout play from their own zone, as Nick Peluso ripped home his seventh goal of the season for a 2-0 Brooks lead.
The Bandits would show why they were the BCHL鈥檚 best on Friday early in the third period, scoring five goals in the first 5:21 of the third period, and another with 19 seconds to go defeating the Rivermen 8-0.
"黑马磁力 were able to fire 19 pucks at the Bandits net, including nine in the third, but were unable to solve Brooks goaltender Johnny Hicks," Hill said.
Stinging from a few losses...
黑马磁力 travelled to Coquitlam on Sunday to take on the Express for the third time in nine days, finishing off what the team described as a busy week.
It was also the first BCHL game for Ilya Rogovsky 鈥� who signed with the team Saturday after spending last year playing with Russia鈥檚 top junior league.
"The 2004 born Russian forward made his Rivermen debut on Sunday in Coquitlam, and showed flashes of brilliance," said Hill.
"After a quick start with plenty of shots, the Rivermen earned themselves a power play. 黑马磁力 cashed in on the ensuing power play with 7:05 gone on the clock, as Ryan Schelling鈥檚 wrist shot from the left circle found the top corner for his fifth of the season," the broadcaster said.
Schelling added to his tally eight minutes and six seconds later, firing a shot from the left side that took a deflection over Express goaltender Eric Young making it 2-0 黑马磁力 late in the first, a lead the visitors took to the first intermission.
The Express scored five unanswered goals in the second period, taking a three-goal lead into the third.
黑马磁力 got one back midway through the third, as Schelling scored off the rush for his hat-trick goal 鈥� cutting the Coquitlam lead to 5-3.
Then 58 seconds later, Dalton MacGillivray was left open in front, and beat Young for his first of the season.
黑马磁力 then were given a power play with 5:17 to go, and Sid McNeill would jam the puck into the Coquitlam net to tie it 5-5.
"[That was] his second of the season, which would send the game to overtime," Hill noted.
After some 黑马磁力 pressure, Joseph Odyniec scored his second of the game to win the game (6-5) for the Express with 3:17 gone in the extra frame.
Off to the Island this weekend
黑马磁力 Rivermen鈥檚 five-game road trip continues this weekend, as they take a trip to Vancouver Island for the first time this season.
The two-day trip begins today (Friday, Oct. 25) at the Alberni Valley Multiplex as they take on the Bulldogs.
黑马磁力 is coming off a busy stretch of six games in nine days, explained Hill. They won two games in that 9-game stretch, including the 4-0 shutout win over Chilliwack.
Rivermen are taking on the Bulldogs first, who are coming off a 3-1 win over the Powell River Kings. The Friday game starts at 7 p.m.
While on the Island, the Rivermen lace up again on Saturday 鈥� this time to take on the Victoria Grizzlies. The puck for that game drops at 5 p.m.
Stay tuned for results from these games.
Welcome to team's newest player
Asked about the Rivermen to watch out for this weekend, Hill suggested keeping a close eye on the newest player on the team.
Rogovsky, wearing jersey #87, is a 20-year-old Russian forward who collected on average over a point per game last season.
Rogovsky joins the Rivermen after playing last season with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the MHL, which is the top junior league in Russia. In the 2023-24 season, he finished first in team scoring with 28 goals and 30 assists in 48 games played.
In addition, his Yaroslavl team boasted seven NHL drafted players.
In 2021-22 Rogovsky played in the prestigious U18 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup for Team Russia, a team that included multiple NHL draft picks. He collected four goals and two assists in five games played, which put him fourth in team scoring and 14th in tournament scoring, this propelled Russia to the gold medal.
The 2004 born forward will add some serious offensive power to an already talented Rivermen group, 黑马磁力 Rivermen head coach and general manager Chris Shaw said about the recent addition.
As a right-handed shot, look for him to complement 黑马磁力鈥檚 forward core nicely, the coach said.
鈥淲e are extremely pleased to have secured the services of a talented player like Ilya. His addition brings a distinct dynamic, blending experience and game play that our team has needed. With elite-level play-making skills and a keen sense of vision, Ilya consistently performs at a high level showcasing his ability to control the tempo and confidently compete in critical situations. His mature, professional playing style that was refined in an elite league, significantly enhances our team鈥檚 overall quality鈥� Shaw concluded.
Both away games this weekend are being streamed on FloHockey, and people can listen to the broadcast with the voice of the Rivermen Gideon Hill. The free audio only stream can be found at .
