Class was indeed in session this afternoon with the Express coming away victorious on the road. This contest was exciting from front to back with a little sample of everything you could want from an entertaining hockey game. Big hits, rough stuff after the whistle, trading odd-man rushes, wonderful goals and game-changing saves. This one had it all.
Langley got out the blocks first, fueled by the roaring schoolkids in attendance. Dalton MacGillivray snapped home his 12th of the season to open the scoring 6:47 into the first. It wouldn’t take the Express long to respond as Thomas Zocco made a beautiful drag move through a defender and fired home a wrister to beat Dylan Johnson.
In the second period, the lone goal came from James Shannon as the Express converted with the special teams. Mason Kesselring whipped a pass from the right circle to the back post and Captain Coquitlam was waiting to tap it home. Coquitlam passed their trigonometry exam with flying colours. Andrew Ness had some of his finest work in the second frame to preserve the 2-1 lead. He made multiple key stops and even got in on the rough stuff himself after some liberties were taken by Ryan Schelling. Overall on the evening the Coquitlam netminder had 35 saves on 37 shots, another fantastic feather in his cap.
The Express built upon the lead in period three thanks to a Thomas Zocco – Mason Kesselring connection. Zocco drove the puck behind the goal only to throw a pass back the way he came to a waiting Kesselring on the goal line. Johnson had moved to the other post to follow Zocco so the cage was yawning for Mason to send it home. The celebrations were short lived as Langley made the game a one-goal differential again just over 20 seconds later. Sid McNeil ripped a shot off the chest of Andrew Ness and Greye Rampton batted home a rebound five-hole to send the Rivermen fans into another frenzy. Langley took that momentum and ran with it. Several times the Rivermen had consecutive chances in the attacking zone and controlled much of the zone time in the late third. The Express dug in and played excellent defensive hockey, with their patience yielding not one, but two empty net goals. The execution under pressure to protect the lead is exactly the outcome this group needed.
So much went right for Coquitlam today. They got the usual goal scoring potency, but were able to pair it with an intensity in the defensive zone that has been up and down in recent weeks. Combine that with another stellar performance from Andrew Ness and you have a recipe for success. Kyle Johnson talked during the pre-game interview about consistency. The version of Coquitlam we saw today needs to be a version that regularly shows up going forward. Good things come to those that battle together on both ends of the ice.
The Express now prepare to travel up north to Prince George for a doubleheader with the Spruce Kings at Kopar Memorial Arena.
FORTIS BC ENERGY PLAYER – Sebastian Bradshaw
MARINER BREWNG THREE STARS
3rd – LAN – Dalton MacGillivray – 1G
2nd – COQ – Mason Kesselring – 2G 1A
1st – COQ – Thomas Zocco – 1G 1A
– Ian Wilson
