Should these teams be destined for a first round faceoff in the Fred Page Cup playoffs, not a soul should come away disappointed. The hockey through this regular season series has been fantastic and everyone knows that it only dials up firther in the postseason. Being that tonight was the finale for these teams until an eventual playoff meeting, it is only fitting it went beyond 60 minutes.
Coquitlam and Cowichan started off strong by trading powerplay goals in the opening frame. Nico Beaudoin and Mason Kesslering both let it rip with one-timers from the right-wing faceoff dot to light the lamp for their respective teams.
The Capitals would take a 2-1 lead through 20 minutes thanks to Jordan Bax continuing his scoring successes against the Express.
43 seconds into the middle frame Andrej Kovacevic tied the game back up as he finished off a beautiful centring pass from Trip Pendy. Sometimes the puck just finds a way and with the Express skating hard to start the frame they were rewarded by the biscuit getting through. Cowichan managed two unanswered to pull ahead 4-2 with former Express Gavin Giesbrecht snapping home one of his two on the night on the rush and Jordan Bax grabbing his second of the game. Before the frame was done, Nolan Flynn would etch his name onto the score sheet and give the Express some much needed energy heading into the third.
Flynn didn’t waste much time in finding his first multi-goal game in an Express jersey as he notched another at the 3:06 mark of the third. The Express showcased their own end-to-end abilities as Flynn finished off a rush up ice as the trailer man. Down the stretch it looked like both teams would break the deadlock but they managed to ward off multiple dangerous chances both ways to give the fans their dollars worth and then some.
Into overtime this game went and the home fans would be sent away happy thanks to their Captain. Gavin Giesbrecht scored his first of the night on the rush, so of course he had to one up himself. Three-on-three extra frames mean a ton of space to work with and he took advantage. He broke into the attacking zone on the right wing and wired one past Andrew Ness to secure the extra point.
Overall the Express went blow for blow with a potent offensive team in the Capitals. It was a different feeling out there for the defensive core too as they had consistent partners throughout the night and it showed with solid physicality and streaks of play. The challenge today was for the d-core to step up and for the most part, they did. Jack Sullivan and Koray Bozkaya looked particularly solid as a pairing on the backend. To see them shine with extra minutes and partner consistency was fantastic. Sullivan in particular had a physical edge to his game we hadn’t truly witnessed before this contest. With David Brandes out for the long term, it will be a continued determination to elevate themselves that will serve this defensive unit extremely well now and for the future.
The Express now prepare for a clash with the Bulldogs in the Heart of Hockey Valley. The puck drops at 7PM PST on Saturday Night.
FORTIS BC ENERGY PLAYER – Jake Gutwirth
MARINER BREWING THREE STARS
3rd – COQ – Nolan Flynn – 2 Goals
2nd – COW – Jordan Bax – 2 Goals
1st – COW – Gavin Giesbrecht – 2 Goals including Game Winner
– Ian Wilson
