The Coquitlam Express visited the Powell River Kings Friday evening and fell short 3-2 in what was a very close hockey game. The Express played one of their best games of the season tonight and unfortunately just couldn’t find the win.
Outside of three and a half minutes of play, the Express put together a fantastic effort – the Kings found their second goal with 1:35 left in the second period and then potted their third just 1:55 into the third period. Beyond that small window, the team’s urgency and effort level were at a level that has been a rare sight this season.
The man advantages were 6-2 in favour of the Kings, who have had the most power plays in the BCHL (73). Over their past two games, the Kings have had 15 power plays to their opponents three. Yes, the Kings went 0/6 tonight, but that’s a healthy chunk of a hockey game to spend down a man, which makes it difficult to swing momentum. Notably, captain Danny Pearson spent 12 of tonight’s 60 minutes in the box.
In terms of what the Express could control, they played great. The shakeup of the lineup that we talked about pregame really seemed to give this team another gear, as they weren’t relying intensively on just two lines up front. It was the second and third lines that found goals for the Express – Christian MacDougall from the second, and Pearson from his new home on the third line.
As previously mentioned, the Express’ penalty kill was perfect Friday evening. In fact, they’ve been perfect through their last two outings, killing 10/10. This just so happens to correlate with the deployment of Ryan Tattle and Pearson as a duo on the kill – they play a very offensively-minded and aggressive style that has caused problems for the opposition.
This contest wraps up the month of April for the Express. They went 4-9-3 in their 16 games and will look to have a much more successful stretch in May. Their next game is May 2nd, when they’ll visit the Surrey Eagles for another matinee meeting.
#allaboard
