The Express have been facing a revolving door of island opponents through the recent weeks. They saw Alberni and Victoria last weekend after having faced Powell River the roadtrip prior. And of course who can forget the explosive Casino Night game on November 1st versus Nanaimo. It’s been all island all the time and this weekend’s trip will be no different.
The Capitals have been hanging around the middle of the pack in the Coastal Conference for most of the season. When you look at their stats it is easy to see why the law of averages has placed them in seventh to this point. Cowichan are currently the second highest scoring team in the conference, but they have also let in the second most goals. How does that stack up with the Express? Coquitlam have scored the third most in the Coastal while being the fourth stingiest defensive unit. Defence has always been a hallmark of winning teams and the Express, as a result, are sitting tied for second place with 27 points.
The lone meeting of the year between these teams came back on season-opening weekend as the Express flexed their offensive muscles and put up eight on the Capitals, while also surrendering four. Coquitlam went down 3-1 partway through the first period before storming back and rattling off a 7-1 scoring run over the remainder of the contest. With the Express defence’s up-and-down last few weekends, they may need that offensive punch again tonight.
While yes, the Express defence has needed a shot in the arm after some high goals-against outings, they did take a step in the right direction last weekend. The Alberni game was 3-3 when it went to overtime and the winning goal was a powerplay marker so it’s tough to be critical of that conclusion. As for the Victoria game, they held a very potent offence to two goals on the night. As well they were great at maintaining composure through transition and when it came to minding the counterattack of the Grizzlies. One can even argue the second goal shouldn’t be in the discussion because it was scored during a 5-on-3 with a screen shot finding its way home. At the end of the day a goal is a goal but Coquitlam are making strides in the right direction. If they can shut down Cowichan tonight then it bodes well for the rematch against the Grizzlies on Saturday.
The Capitals are led up front by Camden Bajzer, who is having a fantastic sophomore campaign in the BCHL with nine goals and 21 points through 20 games. Overall though it has been a score by committee to get to the second best offensive numbers in the conference as nine players on the roster have at least four goals. The defence for Coquitlam won’t be able to let anyone get comfortable tonight as any player is liable to snipe one if you aren’t careful.
Joseph Odyniec and James Shannon are on three game point streaks heading into tonight so look for them to keep the hot sticks sharp. On the backend David Brandes has been putting together some exceptional numbers. Coming into tonight he has 14 assists which ties him with several players for seventh in the league. Defence and energy wise for the forward core expect some big things from whichever bottom six the Express field as no matter who has stepped into the lineup, they have been making their minutes matter. Of particular spark lately has been the consistent work of Cale Colwell and Trip Pendy. There isn’t often a shift they take to the ice where someone isn’t getting hit or losing the puck to them due to their relentless work ethic on the forecheck.
Tune in on FloHockey around 6:45 PM PST to catch the pregame show! It should be a fantastic night at the Cowichan Community Centre.
FLOHOCKEY BROADCAST (Select “Away” Stream)
– Ian Wilson
