Coquitlam faced a setback last night in Langley as the Rivermen improved their early season stock furthermore. Now the two sides sit tied for first place atop the Coastal Conference with 12 points heading into the BCHL Showcase.
Momentum is a funny thing. It can both help and hinder you and in the case of the Express last night it was the latter. The overtime win Friday night left the team in high spirits and that translated to some good energy early at the Lodge but the lapses defensively as a result were punished. The opening goal is a prime example. Coquitlam sent four players towards the front of the goal on a rush as everyone piled into the slot hoping to come away with the early marker. The result was a quick pokecheck from Sid McNeill and Langley were off to the races. Adyn Merrick cashed in after the odd man rush concluded and that dictated the pace in the opening frame. Throughout most of the first, Langley had the upperhand in the quality scoring chance department. Mason Kesselring pounded a one timer off the crossbar in another chance that could have further raised the mountain to climb. The piece of the puzzle keeping Coquitlam in it early was Eric Young as the Express netminder had a plethora of key stops while his team got their feet under them.
Once the second period got underway the Express woke up and started to resemble their recent form more closely. Andrej Kovacevic potted his third of the season, doing so against a club he once spent over 100 games with, as a nice wrist shot beat Charlie Tritt. Overall the Express outshot Langley 14-9 in the frame and the odd man rush chances for the Rivermen were reduced, but not entirely eliminated. Enter Jack Bakker. A 3-on-1 rush in the final minute of the frame off a Coquitlam turnover resulted in Bakker’s first goal in the BCHL as he beat Eric Young with a clean shot. A backbreaker for an Express team that had built so much forward momentum in the period after the rocky start.
In the third the Express and Rivermen traded a goal back and forth with Austin Borggaard cleaning up a net front scramble play and Nate Crema tipping home a powerplay goal. James Shannon picked up his fifth apple of the campaign as he waited patiently for Crema’s stick to be in just the right place before he rifled a pass right on the money. The dying minutes of the game were filled with end to end rushes for both sides but the defence won the rest of the day. Coquitlam had their chances with the extra attacker to finish off the night but ultimately came up just shy.
Things just felt a bit off for the Express at the Lodge Saturday night. The offence was unusually disjointed and couldn’t set up too many quality chances. A general rushed feeling in the attacking end was a result of Langley playing a hyper aggressive style of coverage. There was little to no time and space for the Express whenever they made a pass or took a shot. Near the end of the game Sam Frandina was able to exploit this and make some quick moves to use the oncoming defender’s momentum against them and generate. Overall it was the turnovers the Langley pressure created and resulting rushes towards Coquitlam’s end that spelled defeat for the Express. Credit where credit is due, the Rivermen played a great home game last night and Charlie Tritt was exceptional. The Vancouver born goalie earned first star honours on the back of 27 saves including some timely denials when the Express did manage to break through the stingy defence.
A busy week is ahead for Coquitlam with three Alberta opponents. Two games at the Showcase during the midweek followed up by a Friday and Sunday home game weekend versus Okotoks and Langley.
FORTIS BC ENERGY PLAYER – Sid McNeill
MARINER BREWING THREE STARS
3rd – COQ – Nate Crema – PPG
2nd – LAN – Jack Bakker – 1st Career Goal
1st – LAN – Charlie Tritt – 27 Saves on 29 Shots
– Ian Wilson
