The Coquitlam Express are set to host the Chilliwack Chiefs in tonight’s season opener at the Train Station! Puck drop is at 7:00pm.
It’s been a long time since fans were at the Poirier Sport & Leisure Complex to watch an Express regular season hockey game, but the wait is finally over. The community is excited and GM Tali Campbell says the feeling is the same throughout the Express organization,
“Excited would be an understatement. It’s been a long road for everyone and we can’t wait to see our fans back in the building to cheer the boys on.”
To date, the Express are 1-1 on the season and looking to get back into the win column with a revenge victory over the Chiefs, who defeated them in their last game back on the ninth. As expected, there have been some hiccups early in the campaign as players become acquainted with each other and learn the speed of the BCHL. Through the two games, the Express have been offensively potent with nine collective goals, but they’ve also surrendered 11. Head Coach, Brandon Shaw has liked what he’s seen, but also knows there is a lot of room for improvement,
“We need to continue to work to play a full 60 minutes where we have discipline in our habits and details. We had flashes of what this team is capable of, but we need to continue to build to play that full 60 minutes to win consistently in this league night in and night out.”
The Express have had a solid powerplay to date, operating at 30% so far – it was particularly effective in their season-opener against the Surrey Eagles when they potted three goals on the man advantage. With that being said, they were unable to capitalize on all three of their opportunities in their earlier meeting with the Chiefs. Given how talented this Chiefs squad is, making them pay when they are penalized is a necessity to come out on top. Ryan Tattle has been a weapon on the powerplay for the Express as he has found three of his six points with the extra man, and he’ll need to keep that prowess moving forward.
A trend that the Express will need to continue is their disciplined play – so far, the Express are the third-least penalized team in the league, only being shorthanded five times in two contests. The Chiefs’ powerplay is running at a steady 25%, so keeping them off the man advantage is critical in tonight’s contest.
This will be the first opportunity for the majority of the Express to experience fans at the Train Station, and Shaw says that the boys are fired up,
“We are extremely excited to play in the Train Station in front of our great fans. This will be the first time for a lot of the organization and the word ‘excited’ is an understatement.”
A few Express players are making their season debut tonight including 2005-born defender Brody Juck, 2001-born forward Kahlil Fontana, Canisius College commit Christian MacDougall, and defender Matthew Campbell, who is poised for a massive breakout season!
We’ll see you at the Train Station!
#AllAboard #WeAreAllExpress
