The Express held onto their winning ways with a convincing victory at Kopar Memorial Arena Saturday night. The pressure was on to keep the momentum moving forward and they accomplished that in spades. The Spruce Kings put up a valiant effort and pushed the pace early but Coquitlam’s defence and timely offence ground them down over the course of the game.
James Shannon struck first for the Express for the second night in a row. A beauty set up by Andrej Kovacevic gave the Captain five on the year and three on the weekend. Fast forward three and a half minutes and Thomas Zocco netted his second of the weekend and second of his young BCHL career. The Stallion of Staten Island stole a pass at his own defensive blueline and skated hard to beat three Spruce Kings down the ice. Mono-e-mono with Ryder Green he snapped it glove side and firmly cemented the early game momentum.
That 2-0 score carried through to the second where the Spruce Kings mounted their comeback effort. It was a solid pushback to start the frame and they were aided by some less than ideal penalties taken by the Express. Prince George had yet to score on the powerplay this season but managed to work the puck around to Ty Paisley who wired home a one-timer for his first of the year. With the weight off their shoulders from breaking the goose egg and ending the special teams drought, PG kept coming and forced Coquitlam to dig in. Then the old adage goes that sometimes you have to be good to be lucky and lucky to be good. Cale Colwell found a puck off the faceoff draw and turned, whipping it towards the goal and fooling Ryder Green to restore the Express two goal lead. At the 15:43 mark the Express powerplay kept their hot sticks smoking as Nick Wellenreiter threaded a nice cross seam feed to Andrej Kovacevic for the veteran’s second of the season. Then when you thought Coquitlam were already firing on all cylinders, Liam Loughery shot a puck from the blueline off a faceoff play and that puck had eyes. It made its way to the back of the goal through traffic and the Express had a 5-1 game on their hands.
A cool moment for Prince George transpired in the third. Another powerplay opportunity within the first few minutes saw a set play end up on the stick of Evan Bellamy. The second year Spruce King wired a slapshot home for his first career BCHL goal in his 59th career game.
Coquitlam tagged on one more in the form of Nate Crema banging home a quick shot in front of the PG goal to send the game to its 6-2 final.
The Express took home the weekend sweep on the backs of smart play in their own zone, care of the puck in the neutral zone, and some offensive flair at the right times. It was all summed up well in the post game interview tonight by Captain James Shannon. He talked about how well this team has gelled already and that they play not just together, but for one another. And more importantly, that you don’t need a letter to be a leader in that locker room. Guys are stepping up when needed and making their voices heard. This group trusts one another, respects one another, and works hard for each guy wearing that jersey. It’s a winning formula that will keep paying dividends.
Up next for the Express is a home and home with the Chilliwack Chiefs next weekend. The first game is at the Train Station Friday night, 7PM PST.
FORTIS BC ENERGY PLAYER OF THE GAME – Nick Wellenreiter
THREE STARS
3rd – COQ – Trip Pendy – 2A
2nd – COQ – Andrej Kovacevic – 1G 1A
1st – COQ – Thomas Zocco – 1G 1A
– Ian Wilson
