The Express and Vees gave us all a solid hockey game on Diabetes Awareness Night. Penticton would get the last laugh but the moments along that way are what made the game a great building block for the end of season stretch.
One of our beloved Express family members, Terri Cook, dropped the puck as a heartfelt moment to kick off the evening the right way.
Some games just mean more than others. Last night for the Express that game was fueled well before the opening faceoff was held. With Patrick Sexton and Luke Vardy both having their own histories with the Vees, it was like a lightning rod in the locker room. From the onset the passion was visible and the energy then translated to the physicality and forechecking which became a spectacle.
The story was told of Patrick Sexton’s involvement with the Vees, but what of the Express’ Co-Captain. Luke Vardy has always worn his heart on his sleeve and played with an edge that few players possess. Those are just some of the reasons the Penticton Vees recruited him. The pride of Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia would play 13 games with the interior powerhouse, with the COVID pandemic being a factor for a unique start to his BCHL career. He was then moved to the Express and has risen to the high calibre defenseman we see before us today.
Vardy stepped up big for the Express last night, playing solid defence and wiring a slapshot home on the powerplay to bring Coquitlam within one during the second period. The emotion as he turned and roared towards the benches was palpable. Everyone gets up when they know their former team is coming, Vardy got up and got going.
The other Express to solve Andrew Ness during the match was David Brandes with his first career BCHL goal. He charged hard to the goal in behind the defence and was able to flip the puck past the Penticton netminder thanks to a deft pass from Sebastian Bradshaw. It got Coquitlam on the board so to say his first was timely is an understatement.
As for the Vees, Billy Renfrew led the charge offensively with a hat trick including the opening goal and two in the third period to really deaden the momentum Coquitlam was manufacturing. Former Chilliwack Chief Lucas Sorace also tallied and Larry Keenan, a Detroit Red Wings prospect, walked in to wire a wrist shot as part of the scoreline. Tomas Pichette was the final scorer with the empty netter 17:41 into the third. James Fisher earned second star honours with his work in the assist column. Three of them on the night and they were all primaries.
It was a blueliner bonanza in general through the first two periods as of the five goals notched between the two teams, four were by defenceman.
The best powerplay and best penalty kill in the league met last night with Penticton holding the former and Coquitlam the latter. The Vees came in with an impressive 30+% figure for the season and the Express managed to hold them to 1 for 4. Albeit the goal is to not let any past the goal line, the one Penticton did score was pretty close to the perfect play with a tic tac toe passing foray including a spinning backhand touch beside the goal. This PK unit played with ferocity and tenacity, giving the Vees all they could handle.
That was the sentiment of the evening when it came down to it. Penticton is a good team and they had to be a great team to get past Coquitlam. The Express challenged the Vees at every opportunity and during the early stages of the contest, without having prior knowledge of the teams’ seasons, you might have thought Coquitlam the incumbent favorite. Penticton ended up scrambling in their own zone on a few occasions under the relentless forechecking pressure from the home side and Drew Garzone nearly tucked a backhand through the five-hole of Andrew Ness on a shorthanded breakaway.
Garzone was a standout for the Express with the newly minted alternate Captain coming very close to blasting a power play one-timer home from the left circle during the third period. That is but a snapshot of his impact with his pressure on the defence forcing them to be critically cautious in their approach.
Talking with Jeff Wagner, Express Associate Coach, after the game he had high praise for the hockey that was played that night. Coquitlam once again proved it can hang around with the best teams the BCHL has to offer and if a couple bounces go the other way, then it’s a completely different game. Obviously that isn’t good enough to rest on, he did clarify, with the team needing to buckle in in the late stages of periods. If the two goals in the last 1:30 of the first don’t happen and the Express escape to the locker room with a 0-0 game, then you enter the second period with a bit of a different outlook and the entire complexion of the game can change thereafter.
The Express are excited about the opportunity to sharpen their craft heading into the final month of the season. If you play against good competition, you will undoubtedly be better off for it. To have this tougher schedule at the end of the campaign is being looked at as a blessing as opposed to a curse. Coquitlam will be ready when Fred Page comes calling.
Up next for your Express is a Wednesday night home game against the Surrey Eagles. 7pm PST is the scheduled opening faceoff.
FORTIS BC ENERGY PLAYER – David Brandes
MARINER BREWING 3 STARS
3rd – COQ – Luke Vardy – 1G
2nd – PEN – James Fisher – 3A
1st – PEN – Billy Renfrew – 3G
– Ian Wilson
