Sometimes a hockey game leaves a lasting impression on you. Maybe it was the big scoreline, the huge hits, the rock em sock em rough stuff, the energy in the building, the community coming together, the list goes on. Last night had all of that and then some. The Train Station opened its doors to the Express faithful and Centennial Secondary’s students as they celebrated their spirit night. What happened next will be fondly seated in everyone’s memory as we head into the holiday break. Special thank you again to the Gamar Foundation, Adel Gamar and Naomi Khan, for helping organize such a great atmosphere and taking the time to talk on the broadcast about the Express, what the Gamar foundation does for this community and the platform it gives young people to grow and do incredible things.
Coquitlam knew they needed a good start to this game. Wednesday night they dug themselves a 4-0 hole before they started to try and climb out, and tonight they could ill afford a similar fate. Alberni came out swinging with good speed and a solid breakout plan. Multiple chances went the way of the Bulldogs with Adam Manji holding strong as the last line of defence. They did get one past the Burnaby Brick Wall as Hayden Stavroff potted his 16th of the year on the powerplay. For a team that has scored the second most goals in the BCHL going into last night’s game, not many of them have come on the special teams. 5 minutes later, enter Grady Lenton. Lenton has been one of the feature players on the Express’ energy line alongside Cale Colwell and Kye Benoche. Night in and night out he’s worked his tail off out there on the ice, and he finally got his first BCHL goal. A rebound came off a sharp angle shot on the rush and Lenton made no mistake when it appeared on his stick. Then Drew Garzone joined the scoring 2 and a half minutes later when Michael Rubin sprung him with a nice stretch pass to split the defence of Alberni. A nifty deke onto the backhand in tight on Callum Tung sent the energy of the Train Station into the stratosphere.
He wasn’t done there as he then rifled home a powerplay goal on a rebound in the slot with 4 to go in the first.
The second period was fairly calm in the scoring department with Jake Manfre kicking the Bulldogs’ door in 1:34 in for his 14th of the year. It was solid play on both ends the rest of the way for both teams as Alberni tried to scratch and claw their way back into it. Frustration started to boil over though with multiple roughing incidents including Brady McIsaac being tossed from the game after some pushes and punches to Jackson Krill while McIsaac had him down on the ice.
Coquitlam hasn’t excelled offensively this season, that’s no secret. They have been willed forward by their defence and goaltending while the goals came in just enough to get them over the finish line. Tonight, they signaled a changing of the guard is here. Joseph Odyniec roofed one from the slot to finish off a nice sharp angle pass from Kasper Walther-Sneve, Jackson Krill danced his way through half the Bulldogs’ defence before depositing one through the legs of Evan Leggett and then Drew Garzone completed the hat trick sweeping the puck home following a tip off a defender that sailed over Alberni’s netminder. Talking with Jeff Wagner after the contest on the post game coaches interview, he was thrilled about the team’s commitment to the system and each other. After the Nanaimo game Wednesday, there were a lot of hard conversations and challenges laid down to players after it looked like a lack of care and effort was out on the ice. The call was answered in droves last night. He continued to speak to how Drew Garzone has really elevated his offensive game this season. Last year Drew was a part of what the team called its “Identity Line”, going out to shut down all the key matchups on the opposing side and making opponents long for their next change off the ice. This season he has been in a much bigger scoring role, but not at the cost of his defensive presence, which is immensely valued out there.
The Express now enter the Holiday break for 10 days before they start a long road trip beginning in Powell River on December 29th. Going home to family after a game like this will certainly make for lots of Holiday cheer and likely result in an extra pep in their step come the start of this season’s second half. Their next home game is a fair distance away, not happening until January 24th where the sold-out School Day Game will kick off 2024 with a bang.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from all of us at the Coquitlam Express <3
FORTIS BC ENERGY PLAYER – Grady Lenton
MARINER BREWING 3 STARS
3rd – COQ – Jackson Krill – 1G 1A
2nd – COQ – Jake Manfre – 1G 2A
1st – COQ – Drew Garzone – 3G 1A
– Ian Wilson
