Hockey may be a 60-minute game but every once in a while a singular bad period is all it takes to delineate victory from defeat.
That is exactly what happened to the Coquitlam Express tonight as they got run out of the building in the opening 20 minutes and then woke up to play extremely solid hockey for the remaining 40.
The Spruce Kings looked like a team desperate for change right from the opening faceoff. They controlled the flow of play and didn’t waste much time getting the opening goal. A shot by Ethan Montroy beat Eric Young five-hole and opened the floodgates. Their next flurry of offence started at the 11 minute mark into the frame and within a three minute span they made it a 4-0 game. Skogen Schrott broke in down the far wing off a pass from Montroy and then fed Brock Cummings who slipped behind the defence back door to tap it home. Then it was a powerplay goal driving the wedge further as Ethan Montroy got his third point of the period when his shot from the high slot was tipped home by Lucas Veilleux. Last but certainly not least was Evan Bellamy. The defender joined the rush and was rewarded with a tape to tape pass that he rifled home top shelf with a beautiful shot. That fourth goal was the last straw for Eric Young who was pulled in favor of Andrew Ness.
The Spruce Kings offence looked nigh unstoppable in the first period but that is all the damage they would do (there is an error on the boxscore at time of writing. The final goal by Prince George is an empty net). Ness got revenge on his unfortunate welcome to Coquitlam Wednesday by holding the line and turning away every puck he saw for the rest of the night. This included an absolutely massive save where he lunged from right to left to deny a cross-ice one timer.
Coquitlam were fantastic for the second and third period. Which is both encouraging and disappointing because if they found that spark in the opening period than tonight’s story would have played out entirely different. However it does show that the defensive minded, hard-nosed team of old is still within them. They outshot Prince George 30-9 over the latter two periods and looked poised to come all the way back from the 4-0 deficit. Ryder Green stood tall for the Spruce Kings, stopping 35 of 37 on the night and grabbing some key denials down the stretch. Coquitlam also hit at least one post and tipped a few chances barely wide.
The two markers the Express did come by were off the sticks of Nate Crema and Sam Frandina. Crema got his 11th of the campaign in period two when he cleaned up a rebound off a David Brandes rush to the goal in transition. Frandina’s tally made the game extremely interesting as he brought it to within two with under eight remaining in regulation. A seeing-eye point shot on the powerplay got past Green and into the back of the net.
The message tonight post game from Head Coach Jeff Wagner was simple. You have to show up on time. If you wait for the second period to get started, the other team is not going to do you the same courtesy. That will be the number one priority for Coquitlam when they return to action on December 7th against the Chilliwack Chiefs out at the Coliseum.
Off the ice, #HockeyFightsCancer night was a rousing success. The crowd was excellent and people were extremely generous in donating to the Canadian Cancer Society. We were incredibly honoured to have Eric out to drop the ceremonial puck, as the young man is an unbelievably brave warrior in the battle against this terrible disease.
Tonight was a night that transcended the game. Jeff Wagner put it very well in his post game interview. Losing a hockey game sucks, but a night like tonight really puts into perspective the more important battles going on every single day.
Thank you to everyone who was a part of this evening and continues the fight against cancer each and every day with unwavering courage <3
FORTIS BC ENERGY PLAYER – Ryder Riedel
MARINER BREWING THREE STARS
3rd – COQ – Sam Frandina – 1G
2nd – PG – Ryder Green – 35 Saves on 37 Shots
1st – PG – Ethan Montroy – 1G 2A
– Ian Wilson
