Coming off of an embarrassing 13-1 defeat at the hands of the Surrey Eagles yesterday, the Coquitlam Express come into this one against the Powell River Kings with something to prove. This game marks the halfway point of this shortened pod season and every one of the remaining 10 games is extremely important considering just how close this Coquitlam pod is. Puck drop is at 1:00 PM once again.
Much like the Express, the Kings are coming off a big loss in a game against the Eagles – they lost 9-3 to the birds back on the 16th. Both of these teams will be hungry and in search of a big redemption game, so this one might be a lower-scoring affair than the Coquitlam pod has gotten so used to. With that being said, these two clubs have combined for 39 goals in their four meetings so far this season, so it could very well be another barnburner!
The Kings tend to give up a lot of chances, but they also generate a lot of offense to compensate. So far, this system hasn’t garnered them as much success in the standings as they’d like, but they have scored the fourth-most goals in the league and have averaged five goals per game against the Express, to their credit. They have a very potent offence, led by Josh Kagan and Adamo Santia. Kagan is second in BCHL scoring with nine goals in just seven games, with five of those markers coming against the Express in only two games. Santia, who has been red hot lately, has five goals and three helpers against the Express this season. Shutting this pair down will be vital to finding success against this trigger-happy Kings squad as this campaign progresses.
Speaking of firepower, the Express will be without the services of Ryan Tattle this afternoon, as he suffered an injury in yesterday’s second period. Good news, though, Christian MacDougall will be making his return and the Canisius College commit will hopefully pick up some of the slack on offence.
The Express had essentially no jump in yesterday’s matinee and looked a little bit fatigued. Now, coming into the tail end of a back-to-back, they’ll need to dig deep and buckle down for their fourth game in just five nights. They need to get back to their game and utilize their transition game – once they open up the game, their true colours shine and goals come in bunches.
Emotions started to boil over for the Express as the Eagles kept piling on goals yesterday and the boys will need to harness that energy and use it in fuel for this one. There’s no time in this season to dwell on the past, so they’ll need to come together and show what they’re really about because yesterday was not it.
Get off the tracks – a train is coming through!
#allaboard
