Wabbit season, duck season, whatever season you want to call it, the Express cashed in on all their hunting permits tonight at the Lodge. A 5-4 overtime thriller in Langley gave the fans their dollar’s worth and then some with fast skating, huge hits, big goals and wonderful netminding all adding up to a fantastic game at George Preston Arena.
Langley needed a big start to this game after some unfortunate outcomes the weekend prior against Chilliwack and Surrey. They got it from Ryan Schelling and Tyler Chan. Schelling got his 21st of the season when he tipped home a Sid McNeil point shot for the only goal of the opening frame. The Captain of the Rivermen, Tyler Chan, then drove hard to the goal within the first few minutes of the second and slipped one past Andrew Ness in tight. Those goals were accompanied by an overall excellent commitment to forechecking and skating hard. Langley had the edge in the early goings and it looked like this could go from bad to worse for the Express.
Andrej Kovacevic then reintroduced himself to his former team.
Cale Colwell worked the puck away from the defence and found Nate Crema, who then wasted little time sending it to Kovacevic in the slot. A quick wrister off the post and in was all it took for this game to be back on the right track for Coquitlam. It didn’t take long for the tying goal to materialize as after a faceoff draw a few minutes later, Mitch Kneidel walked down the left wing right to the front of the goal before passing to Carson McGinley right on the front door step of Charlie Tritt. The Phoenix, AZ product now has three goals in three games since joining the team. The Express were not nearly done as Langley tried to clear the zone but failed as Liam Loughery got his stick to the puck just in time to tip it to Thomas Zocco. Number 14 then made a nifty spin-o-rama pass to Joseph Odyniec who blasted home a one-timer from the left faceoff circle. All the momentum in the world was surging through Coquitlam but luckily for Langley that resulted in a defensive misstep. The defence left Greye Rampton all alone in front of Andrew Ness, and the Chilliwack-born forward banged home a rebound to tie the game back up at three.
It was anyone’s contest heading into the third period. Both sides pushed and generated quality chances in succession. The Rivermen bent first as Sam Frandina joined a rush and with a beautiful drag move got around the defender and rifled a wrister past Charlie Tritt. The answer for the Rivermen came from Ryan Schelling once again as his second of the night was a fortuitus bounce. Sebastian Bradshaw centered the puck and it deflected off two different Express players in front of the goal before landing on the stick of Schelling at the back post.
So for the second time in three games, Coquitlam went to the land beyond 60 minutes. This time they would be the prevailing side as Sam Frandina found his second of the night.
Not seen in the above clip is Frandina breaking up a Langley rush in his own end before passing to Thomas Zocco and heading down ice. He skated with purpose right to the front of the goal and was rewarded with a great feed by Nate Crema. After the contest Franny joined the post game show in the broadcast booth and was clearly ecstatic about the final result, but also about how the team rallied to get there. He commented about how much seeing the guys work so hard and play for each other means to him. That right there is a guy who leads by example.
Coquitlam had some defensive lapses tonight but some of the goals against were just solid plays or lucky breaks for the Rivermen. A perfect tip in front of Andrew Ness and the bouncing, deflecting puck are the two glaring ones of that variety. The Chan and Rampton goals should never happen if the defence is minding their structure and communicating on who had who. At the end of the day, hockey is about who scores more goals than the other, but the deeper this season gets, the more coveted goals are going to be. It is a well known phenomenon, nearly as mythical as the certainties of death and taxes, that once playoff time hits, hockey changes. The game shifts to more of a grind. The chess match really presents itself as two teams lock horns and consistently analyze and break each other down. It’s not out of the realm of possibility to score your way to a championship, but defence just makes life so much easier.
Yes there is a healthy amount of criticism following a win, because this team is merely scratching the surface of its potential. It should be noted amongst this questioning of the defence, there have absolutely been exceptional plays as a counterbalance to the gaffs. David Brandes made perhaps the best defensive play of the night when he stopped a breakaway with sheer determination and hard skating. He went so fast on the backcheck he didn’t even have to poke the puck away, he simply skated in front and past Greye Rampton, sweeping the puck away in the process. One beautiful fluid motion.
Andrew Ness had another big night in goal for his second straight start. He backstopped Coquitlam to the OT win with 35 saves on 39 shots including some difference-makers down the stretch and into the extra frame.
The second half of the home-and-home goes Sunday afternoon at the Poirier Sports and Leisure Complex. Be sure to join us, 3pm at the Train Station for our Autism Acceptance Game. The team will be wearing custom themed jerseys designed by Lucas Gates. It’s sure to be an incredible afternoon of inclusivity and great hockey.
FORTIS BC ENERGY PLAYER – Jackson Krill
MARINER BREWING THREE STARS
3rd – COQ – Thomas Zocco – 3A
2nd – LAN – Ryan Schelling – 2G 1A
1st – COQ – Sam Frandina – 2G (OT Winner)
– Ian Wilson
