It was not Coquitlam’s night in the land of the big hockey stick as the Cowichan Valley Capitals continue their drive for the playoffs, holding on 2-1.
This one was testy from start to finish as was to be expected with the amount of adrenaline pumping through Cowichan as they hunt for a berth in the postseason. The Capitals need every point they can muster with Powell River breathing down their necks and picking up two points in a close contest against a team they hadn’t managed to best this season is huge.
The goal scoring funk continues for the Express. Tonight, only one goal was mustered and it came from the stick of Jackson Krill. James Shannon jumped on a turnover in the neutral zone and skated hard across the Cowichan line. He proceeded to feed Krill for a perfect shot top corner and down to bring the game within one at the time.
Coquitlam need to find their offence and with haste as the post season looms a mere few weeks away. The last time they scored more than three goals in a contest was Jan 26th against the Capitals. The defence and goaltending have taken them a fair distance over those two months, but the momentum is starting to run out when night in and night out you have to grind hard and try to be perfect on the defensive end.
Cowichan scored the two they needed from Luke Lavery and Matteo Lamoureux. Lavery’s goal streak extends to four games as he converted on a penalty shot in the first period.
As for Lamoureux, he skated hard to join in as the trailer for a 3-on-2 rush and buried his shot when the puck came back to him. Credit to Patrick Reilly for nearly being able to track him down on the back check as he had to make up a lot of ground to even attempt to pick off the drop pass before Lamoureux let it go.
On the positive side for the Express, the league best penalty kill was a perfect 5 for 5 for the evening. They worked hard and moved well to defend the crafty attack from the Capitals. The flip side of that coin is the Express needed to be far more disciplined. It’s terribly hard to build momentum in a game when you are down a man and trying to keep the puck from the back of your net.
Twice more Coquitlam will drop the puck for the regular season. Next weekend they come home to the Train Station for Score for Cancer Night and their Fan Appreciation Night. Two big games that will certainly be a great send off to the 2023-2024 season.
FORTIS BC ENERGY PLAYER – Brock Cummings
MARINER BREWING 3 STARS
3rd – COW – Aiden Fischer – 22 Saves on 23 Shots
2nd – COW – Matteo Lamoureux – 1G
1st – COW – Luke Lavery – Penalty Shot Goal
– Ian Wilson
