The Coquitlam Express were in Chilliwack Wednesday night to take on the Salmon Arm Silverbacks as part of the BCHL Showcase.
The first period was as expected: tight-checking and relatively slow-paced. The Silverbacks owned the majority of the quality chances, though, as they showcased their skill in transition. They pounce on neutral zone mistakes in a hurry and quickly turn them into offensive rushes. The Express would give the Silverbacks three powerplay looks in the last 10 minutes of the period and ultimately surrender a powerplay goal, which proved to be the edge in the frame, as the Silverbacks took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. Arlo Merritt stayed hot as he found a goal for the Express in the final minute of the period following an end-to-end rush.
The majority of the second period was relatively uneventful with each team playing a safe and tentative style. The Express had an extended four-minute look on the powerplay but Salmon Arm’s impressive penalty kill gave the Express little-to-no ground in their end and nothing was mustered, with the exception of a short momentum swing following the man advantage. Three goals were scored in the final three minutes of the middle frame – the Silverbacks chalked up a pair of goals 28 seconds apart, but Jaeger Murdock managed to snipe one in the final minute to limit the Silverback’s lead to two after 40 minutes of play.
The Silverbacks came as advertised in the final frame, completely locking it down and restricting the pressing Express to only five shots in the period. Their prowess on the penalty kill was on full display and they were exceptional at clogging the neutral zone and preventing zone entry. If the Express did get in, they were kept from the inside of the ice and couldn’t generate anything offensively. The Silverbacks would go on to add an empty-netter and close out the game 5-2.
The Express are back in some BCHL Showcase action on Friday morning as they take on the Nanaimo Clippers. Puck drop is at 10:00am in Chilliwack!
#AllAboard | #WeAreAllExpress
