Sharpen up on your trivia knowledge and be ready to think quick on your feet because it’s Gameshow Night at the Train Station. The only thing sure to not be in Jeopardy is the quality of hockey out on the ice. Coquitlam host the Nanaimo Clippers as the regular season dives right in to its penultimate month.
This is the final head-to-head of 2023-2024 for these teams with the season series sitting at 2-1 in favour of the Clippers. Last time out was January 6th where the Express picked up the 5-4 win on the road which served as one of the few victories the team enjoyed in the early stages of 2024. Offence won the day with Ethan Simcoe stopping 28 of 32 to help lead Coquitlam to victory.
The Clippers are a fast and well-structured team with the lion’s share of their offence coming on efficient counterattacking out of the defensive end. Watch out for homegrown hero Brett Merner to be dishing the biscuit from the backend as the Clippers captain and Nanaimo local sits at 32 helpers so far this season. Nanaimo only sports one 20-year-old on the blueline in Isa Parekh but are very veteran up front and that poise has helped them on several occasions.
For the Express, this game will be a great test of consistency. They took down a top team in the league in overtime last weekend when they bested West Kelowna 3-2. With the season winding down and home ice advantage in the opening round on the line, a win against a team they are chasing will do wonders for their status. Coquitlam sit sixth with 44 points, five behind Victoria at 49 and seven behind the Clippers at 51. Ten games remain to decide who gets the home cooking when the Fred Page Cup kicks off in April.
The pressure and defence the Express exemplified on Saturday was extremely promising for a team searching to reestablish its identity following the plethora of moves at the trading deadline in February. This roster is bigger, faster and more talented than the one we began the season with, they just need to keep their sights on the goal at hand. Nobody can afford bad habits coming into the post season. Nanaimo is a team that will exploit those habits if offered the opportunity. Therefore, expect the Express to play with a purpose tonight. They need to be smart in their neutral zone transition and not give up free ice to the creators on the other side. The Clippers are also the third worst penalty killing team in the BCHL at present so if there were ever a time for the powerplay to get hot, tonight is the night.
Both Nanaimo and Coquitlam come into this game on equal footing through their last 10, 4-5-1 for the Clippers and 4-4-2 for the Express. Nanaimo will be looking to bump a two-game slump and avenge a final week of February where they underperformed against the Capitals and Chiefs.
On an exciting note for the Express, Drew Garzone has been added to the leadership core and will bare an ‘A’ on his sweater for the rest of the season. Originally the two alternates for this campaign were Jake Manfre and Logan Morrell. With Morrell’s departure to the Rivermen, Garzone is a fantastic choice to fill that void. The Princeton Tiger commit has had a career year already with 10 games to go and consistently is one of the hardest competitors on the ice every night.
Still plenty of time to grab tickets for tonight’s Gameshow extravaganza. If you can’t make it, be sure to join us on FloHockey for the 7pm opening faceoff!
– Ian Wilson
