The Coquitlam Express are in Chilliwack tonight to take on the Salmon Arm Silverbacks in one of the BCHL’s Showcase games! Puck drop is at 4:00pm.
Coming off of a big 7-4 victory over the Surrey Eagles in their last outing, the Express will look to add another ‘W’ to their 2021-22 portfolio. The Express got their offensive legs moving, particularly their top line of Ryan Tattle, Arlo Merritt, and Ray Hamlin, who chipped in on five of their squad’s seven tallies. They’re starting to learn each other’s strengths and tendencies and find some true chemistry. Tattle is fourth in league scoring, while Hamlin and Merritt are in a seven-way tie for sixth.
The Express went 1/2 on the powerplay in that aforementioned meeting with the Eagles and are currently sitting at 28.6% on the season, good enough for fifth-best in the BCHL. Notably, the Silverbacks are on the opposite end of the spectrum with the fifth-worst man advantage, sitting at a meager 9.1%.
With that being said, this is not a hockey club to take lightly – the Silverbacks remain undefeated in regulation and are boasting a roster tonight that consists of 12/18 skaters being NCAA or WHL commits. They play a close-checking style of hockey that is reminiscent of Barry Trotz’ New York Islanders – they’ve given up the fewest goals in the league (7) and have also scored the fifth-lowest amount of goals in the league (10). They have also yet to allow more than 24 shots in a game.
The key to tonight’s game is to capitalize on the powerplay and to not be too cute with the puck in the offensive zone – this Silverbacks team does not give a lot of quality looks, so when they do, the Express need to be ready to pounce.
Adam Manji is getting the nod tonight and will look to collect his first victory of the regular season.
#AllAboard | #WeAreAllExpress
