A back and forth battle to the bitter end gave the fans their moneys worth Friday night at the Poirier. Coquitlam found themselves in position to take the game home heading into the third period but a combination of gritty work by Alberni Valley and some unfortunate officiating down the stretch resulted in this one slipping through their grasp.
It was a fantastic night overall as no matter the score you simply cannot beat the atmosphere of Parents Weekend. Pre-puckdrop their was a ceremony where each of the players skated over and presented their family with a rose in what was a heartwarming start to the night. Anytime the families are in attendance that energy can be a huge motivating piece, and you could see it driving the Express all evening long.
The opening marker of the contest came from a familiar duo. James Shannon and Joseph Odyniec have been a dangerous penalty killing tandem all season and they struck again last night. Shannon batted the puck away at the blueline and generated a 2-on-1 ending with a nice feed into the middle to Odyniec. The Washington, DC product made one move to the backhand and roofed the puck over the blocker of Colin Winn to kickstart the weekend and send the parents into a frenzy.
The Bulldogs were able to respond in the second period as Zeke Nicholson snuck down from the left wing and got just a shred of daylight to rifle home a pass that came from the goal-line. That goal sparked a string of good play for the Bulldogs as they pressed the Express with solid forechecking and neutral zone pressure but Coquitlam didn’t crack. They pushed back and manufactured two more goals by the time the period was through. Jack Bakker logged his fourth of the season and second in a Coquitlam jersey after a net front scramble ended up behind Colin Winn with Bakker and Cale Colwell banging away. They don’t have to be pretty, they just have to go in. However, there must always be balance as Andrej Kovacevic found his fourth of the year on a sweet setup by Nick Wellenreiter a minute later. That one was definitely pretty as the snapshot from the slot whistled past the Alberni netminder.
Period three is where things got away from the Express. Credit to Alberni Valley for hanging around in this game as they gave themselves a chance to win by refusing to give up. Their speed in transition and care of the puck entering the offensive resulted in multiple long stays in Coquitlam’s end. Transition would end up being the key aspect of the Bulldogs game that turned the tide as Massimiliano Monson ripped a wrister from the high slot that deflected off Alex Bosland’s stick and perfectly over the shoulder of Eric Young. Following that was Jacob Wingfield slipping in behind the defence and parking himself in front of the crease for Jacob Terpstra to sling him a pass that he tipped home.
With the game now tied at 3-3 and right back to square one, the atmosphere shifted and the intensity really picked up. The drawback was a flurry of missed calls that drew the ire of both teams, especially the Express. A missed two-hand slash and interference by Alberni was immediately met with a holding call against Coquitlam, however they did successfully kill it off. More odd omissions ensued as the Express had to keep their cool and battle through to the extra frame.
In Overtime the Bulldogs battled to some early opportunities but the Express held fast. One particular highlight was a massive block by Cooper Wilson as the home side desperately held on during another Alberni powerplay. That effort would be for naught as the Bulldogs finally ended the night on a one time setup for Massimiliano Monson’s second of the night and second of his BCHL career.
In the post game interview with Kyle Johnson, the messaging was the effort for the first forty minutes was stellar, but they gave Alberni the path back into this game.
That is exactly correct. One can say what they wish about the officiating down the stretch, as it did impact the game overall. But for the Express, if this game was still a two-goal lead heading to the final buzzer, then the non-calls don’t matter. The two goals that Alberni tied the game on were scored five-on-five.
It was territory we hadn’t seen from the Express for a decent while last night. They built the lead through forty minutes and had a chance to take it home in the final frame but just had a few defensive lapses that cost them in the long run. As of late, Coquitlam have been deciding many games beyond 60 minutes or needing comeback bids to come away victorious. They’ll have a chance tonight to try and build a lead and hold on this time despite a team entering the Train Station that is sure to be hot out the gates following their OT victory against Surrey. It will be a good challenge for Coquitlam, as come the post season, one does not have time to dwell on missed chances and given-up leads. The best teams know how to put a loss behind them, learn from their mistakes and work to correct them.
As the parents put it at the post game dinner: That’s Hockey.
FORTIS BC ENERGY PLAYER – Cale Colwell
MARINER BREWING THREE STARS
3rd – COQ – Andrej Kovacevic – 1G
2nd – AVB – Zeke Nicholson – 1G
1st – AVB – Massimiliano Monson – 2 Goals and Overtime Winner
– Ian Wilson
