The Train Station is the place to be tonight if you’re looking to change your luck. It’s Casino Night and prizes aplenty are set to be won. The team the Express will have to hold their poker face against are the Nanaimo Clippers, a side they just saw one week ago. That game was favourable for Coquitlam, a 7-5 final scoreline. There are still aspects of that game for both teams likely lingering in their minds.
Nanaimo got out to a blazing start last Friday and lit the Express up for four goals in the opening period. The only problem with that is they proceeded to give it all away throughout the rest of the game. That has been a tale too often told by the Clippers in recent memory as prior to that contest, they had a similar collapse to Cowichan. Credit where it is due they bounced back last Saturday and took down a Chilliwack Chiefs team that is making huge waves over the last few weekends. Defensive identity will be a key for the Clippers to establish early on tonight at the Poirier. They made a big trade sending one of their leading offensive producers in Alex Hebblewaite to the Victoria Grizzlies for Braydan Smith as they looked to shore up the back end. Will that be enough to change their outcomes when the offence earns a lead? Chemistry plays a factor as well, considering that the aforementioned swap wasn’t the only new face joining the team. Carson Lesiuk was acquired from the Penticton Vees in exchange for future considerations and has one assist so far in his Nanaimo tenure. Given some time the Clippers will likely gel and find some more rhythm on both ends of the ice.
Coquitlam have been stuck in some .500 hockey as of late. They dropped two in a row between Brooks and Okotoks and then picked up some big wins versus Langley and Nanaimo before dropping the following two to Alberni and Surrey. One of the biggest culprits of that has been the offence and defence being out of sync. It’s been discussed at length that the Express need to find both facets of their game at a more consistent level. In the opening weeks of the season, Coquitlam were generating most of their offence from the transition plays they earned from playing solid defence. If you frustrate your opponent into making mistakes, then it gives a plethora of options for the impending counterattack. Perhaps the most glaring defensive stat is the Express have surrendered at least four goals every game over their last five. Those are numbers that only elite offences can score their way out of. Coquitlam have done it, with six against Langley and seven against Nanaimo, but it is not a sustainable approach.
Watch Nick Wellenreiter tonight for the Express, and if you so happen to be in his section for Casino Night then you just may be in luck. He got his second of the season with a beautiful backhand play to beat Maddox Osaka on Wednesday and that may be the jumpstart his goalscoring was waiting for. Despite the lack of lamp lighting, he has been excellent at driving play in the offensive end and has six assists that prove his willingness to set up his teammates. Expect Eric Young to have a big night as well. The Coquitlam netminder has made key saves throughout recent memory but with the recent increase in opponents production against the Express, he will be hungry to leave his mark and return to the form we saw in the opening weekends of the campaign.
Casino Night is likely to dazzle tonight at the Poirier. Every section is assigned a player, and should they score then that section will be treated to some wonderful prizes.
One last important thing to remember. When it comes to gambling? The house always wins.
– Ian Wilson
