The boat rocked in Coquitlam tonight, but it was not to capsize. The Clippers held fast to the rigging and braced for the worst Coquitlam had to offer and once the murky waters had passed, they sailed to a 7-3 victory on the road. The Express’ slow start from the last Nanaimo game reared its ugly head and that momentum was too much to overcome once again.
The first period saw a blazing start for Nanaimo with the league’s best offence attacking through speed and controlled play. The counterattack was swift and fierce after any semblance of puck possession Coquitlam could muster. Fuel their fire it would as the Clippers saw a 3-0 lead by the time 8 minutes remained on the first period clock. A two-on-one was finished off by Luke Buss, followed by Connor DeTurris swiping home an absurd pass from Mike Murtagh, and punctuated by Erik Sollied’s first goal as a Clipper from the left faceoff circle through traffic.
The second period saw Coquitlam start to wake up. The forecheck got back into gear with chances being generated and the explosive counterattack from Nanaimo was being contained. The wind appeared back in the Express’ sails as it were, but it only takes a moment for that to be challenged. Cole Lonsdale broke free down the right wing side, got some space and sent a beautiful backhand centering feed tape-to-tape to the stick of Connor Haynes who tapped one home at the back post. Threading the needle is an understatement with pressure on Lonsdale as well as Haynes and with how close that puck came to Simcoe’s pads. Now Coquitlam found themselves down 4-0 with an answer desperately needed. James Shannon would help provide that. He went to work in the tough areas around the crease and pounded home a rebound through the pads of Tyler Hodges to give Coquitlam a mark on the scoresheet. As an encore, he set the puck loose in the high slot for Sebastian Bradshaw to float home an unconventional goal over the outstretched glove of Hodges to cut the lead down to two.
Momentum was Coquitlam’s entering the third. They had fully caught up to speed and were the driving force of play after they found their two unanswered goals in the second. Six minutes into the frame, Melady and Frandina combined for a sweet give and go pass allowing Sam to unleash a one timer from the right circle for his first BCHL goal. Coquitlam looked like the unstoppable force kicking into perpetual motion, with Nanaimo on their heels the sky was the limit for the comeback kids. It all came grinding to a halt once the Big Swede Gabriel Westling rifled home a drop pass in transition unchecked from the high zone. The Express faltered from there with Nanaimo adding another pair of goals to push the game to 7-3 while Coquitlam also picked up a pair of penalties, significantly hampering their efforts to work back into the game.
The Express will need to be better against Alberni Valley. They will need the same 60-minute commitment they showed last Saturday against Chilliwack. The energy from the crowd should also spark some tough play with Centennial Secondary hosting their spirit night at the Train Station with the game. Honorable mentions for the Fortis BC Energy Player tonight included Jackson Krill and Kye Benoche. Both had great strides in their game tonight to force the pace of play and get to their assigned areas with purpose. Talking with Jeff Wagner post-game it was clear to see the frustration surrounding this team and their nights like this where 60 minutes just isn’t achieved. Challenging players to take accountability has been a big part of the locker room motivation when the effort disperses, and it does show when Coquitlam finds more urgency to their play in the latter stages of games. The Express just need more games where they sit in the driver’s seat rather than playing catch up once the damage is done.
Up next is the aforementioned game against the Alberni Valley Bulldogs, Saturday Dec 16th with a 7pm puck drop.
FORTIS BC ENERGY PLAYER – Sam Frandina
MARINER BREWING 3 STARS
3rd – COQ – James Shannon – 1 G 1A
2nd – NAN – Cole Lonsdale – 1G 1A (Set up Game Winner)
1st – NAN – Connor Haynes – 2G 1A (Scored Game Winner)
– Ian
