It was a spirited tilt at the South Surrey Arena as promised with this one coming down to the wire. Bodies were flying, hits were levied and fans went home happy as the Surrey Eagles hold on to a tie for first in the BCHL after outlasting Coquitlam.
The Express came into the Nest well rested after they had a chance to recuperate following the three-game weekend. They put the rubber to the road and came out guns blazing against the Eagles. The first period saw chances end to end for both the home and road side with Coquitlam coming away wrestling control.
Cole Melady snuck behind the defence on a solid odd man rush for the Express and finished off a tip in after a slick pass from Jake Manfre found the former Cowichan Capital. That marker came in the final 30 seconds of the first no less and spelled momentum for Coquitlam heading into the second.
The second period was a much stronger showing for the home side with the Eagles finding their stride as time went along. The Captain, Ty Brassington put home his sixth of the season after a gongshow unfolded in front of the Express goal. Bodies were strewn everywhere following a near miss at the near side post that wobbled through the crease. A second shot made it past Manji only to be stopped by Sam Frandina playing a little road-hockey goalie in the crease. They couldn’t stop the third attempt however with Brassington finding the back of the net.
Ryan Schelling showed off his scoring capabilities at the 11:32 mark of the second by shelfing one after a rebound came his way at the side of the goal. Adam Manji is a 6’5 goaltender so anytime you can get one top corner, from the goal line, over his shoulders is quite the impressive feat.
Enter the third period and it was do or die time for Coquitlam. They opened the scoring of this contest but slowly let it slip away as Surrey found their offence in the second. Credit to the Express as overall they played well in the third, outshooting Surrey 16-9 but ultimately coming up short.
Caden Cranston opened the scoring in the third after an odd man rush ended in slightly awkward fashion. He attempted a drag move that went through the defender and on goal, only for him to track down his own rebound off Manji and rip it past the Express netminder on the backhand while trending away from the net. You take em how you can get em is what they always say.
Less than a minute later, Jake Manfre hopped aboard the scoring train in this game. 14:50 into the period Cole Melady returned the favor after Manfre set him up in the first. A nice pass from the goal line back to the slot where Manfre was waiting ended up perfectly in the top right corner past Gundarah. The pride of Smithtown, NY now has points in three of his last four games including two multi point games. Plenty of momentum for Manfre ahead of the upcoming all-star tournament.
To finish this game off, there were a couple of pretty fantastic plays while Coquitlam’s net was empty. Matheson Mason took a page out of the Sam Frandina playbook and stopped an attempt at the Express goal looking like he was ready to strap the goalie pads on. Following that up when Surrey eventually did find the open cage, it was Aaron Schwartz stealing to go the other way, but instead of putting the puck in himself he gave it to Caden Cranston for his second of the game and 21st of the season. That level of unselfishness is part of what has earned Schwartz 26 assists on the campaign. The Parkland FL product is closing in on last season’s 32, which he totalled as part of the Expo Line with Jake Bongo and Jacob Bonkowski.
Tip of the hat to Adam Manji who stood on his head again in this one to help will his team forward. Several key saves were accrued enroute to a 34 save performance on the road. Ajeet Gundarah on the other end stopped 28 of 30.
Coquitlam now heads to Vernon to take on another top BCHL squad. This Express squad is very different to the one that went down to the Vipers 8-1 at the BCHL showcase back in October. It shall soon be seen how those changes and time to grow will affect the rematch.
And hey, remember that stat about what Coquitlam does after every Surrey game. Spoiler alert, they win. The Vipers just might be in for it tomorrow night.
FORTIS BC ENERGY PLAYER – Aaron Schwartz
MARINER BREWING 3 STARS
3rd – SUR – Ty Brassington – 1G
2nd – SUR – Ryan Schelling – 1G 1A
1st – SUR – Caden Cranston – 2G
– Ian Wilson
