The Coquitlam Express hosted the Powell River Kings in an afternoon contest Sunday and fell short 4-2. Coming off an embarrassing 13-1 loss to the Surrey Eagles, this is not the response game that the Express were hoping for.
The story this afternoon was the running story of this season – undisciplined play. The Express gave the Kings seven power play attempts in this one and ultimately saw their net filled with three power play goals, which really was the difference in this one. Notably, captain Danny Pearson was ejected for a hit from behind and given a major penalty. We’ll have to see how this pans out, but according to the rules, he is expected to serve a mandatory two-game suspension which is huge with only 10 games remaining.
The Express have been struggling to generate offence in the last two games and one has to wonder how much fatigue is contributing to their struggles – four games in five nights is a tall order for any team. The Express have had essentially no energy in their last two outings and are now heading into a much-needed two-day break here at the midway point of this season. Hopefully, these off days will be enough for Ryan Tattle to recover from his injury and be ready to go on the 21st. The thought of not having both Tattle and Pearson in perhaps the next two games is a daunting one, considering they compose two-thirds of the top line.
Frustration was evident for the Express throughout this tough weekend of play and they need this two-day reset. They’ll get another shot at the Kings in that aforementioned game on the 21st, in what will be a pivotal game in the season as the Kings are currently only back one point in the standings with one game in hand – keep in mind that they’ll play the Eagles on the 19th and could possibly catch up and maybe even overtake the Express before the 21st.
Rest. Recover. Reset. We’ll see you on the 21st.
#allaboard
