Coming off of a big victory at the Train Station last night, the Express are looking to claim back-to-back victories over the visiting Chilliwack Chiefs tonight! Puck drop is at 7:00pm.
If these two teams weren’t well acquainted before January, they certainly will be by the end of it – tonight marks their third of four clashes in the month, their third of three consecutive meetings, and the second half of a back-to-back swing at the Train Station. Temperatures have been steadily rising throughout the month as this rivalry continues to boil. We’ve seen plenty of goals, lots of physicality, and an abundance of emotion. This series has pumped life into an Express team that just snapped a three-game slide to start 2022.
The Express looked very offensively potent last night as they went 2/4 on the powerplay, chipped in a shorthanded goal, and even featured two hat-tricks off the sticks of Ray Hamlin and Mateo Dixon. Ultimately, they won the special teams battle against the best powerplay and penalty kill in the BCHL. Beyond their own success on the man advantage, the Express also shut down 5/6 Chiefs powerplays, including a lengthy 5-on-3 look. They did this without the services of Christian MacDougall, Kahlil Fontana, and Carter Cochrane, who are all fixtures on various special teams units. Tonight, they will once again be without the services of MacDougall and Cochrane, but Fontana will be returning from injury.
Special teams will once again be a major key to success in this one. As mentioned, the Chiefs are king in both special teams categories, but the Express have been heating up as of late – they have now scored five powerplay goals in their last five games and have operated at 27.7% over that stretch. Continuing that pace is, not only vital in tonight’s game, but vital for the remainder of the season.
Carter Woodside will once again get the net for the Express. He is coming off of his first victory as a member of the Express and he’ll look to build on it tonight.
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