Coquitlam kept the good times rolling Saturday night with a follow up to opening night that Express fans were hoping for. This game had a bit of everything as Coquitlam took the early lead, lost it, and then battled hard to get it back.
The best part was, once the lead was theirs again, the gas pedal didn’t let off. It went straight through the floor.
The Express opened the scoring just over a minute in on a beautiful tic tac toe play that resulted in Max Pendy’s first career BCHL goal. The Capitals answered back shortly after with a wild deflection on a Carter Dekay point shot that fooled Eric Young. A few minutes later a former Delta Ice Hawk in Brayden Sinclair scored followed by a Tommy Karmiris powerplay marker. All the momentum was in Cowichan’s hands until Joseph Odyniec took it upon himself to shift the tide. Jumbo Joe made a brilliant coast to coast rush and roofed the puck to bring the game back to 3-2.
That would kick off a five-goal run for Coquitlam as the Express dialed in defensively and held the Caps at bay despite the early offensive flourishes. Cowichan were definitely the better attacking team of the early stages with the way they used their speed to move the defenders and the puck. It was looking like they were prepared to bounce back from yesterday’s tough loss.
Come period two Coquitlam reset and resembled more closely the team that dispatched the Chiefs the night before. The attention to detail in the defensive zone and care of the puck in transition limited the chances Cowichan had to build their speed and confidence back into the game. Just over halfway through the frame the Express got their first powerplay of the game and Captain James Shannon was the target for the puck movement. Shannon set up at the left faceoff circle and on the first feed couldn’t trigger the one timer but if at first you don’t succeed… The Express worked the puck right back to him as he unloaded a howitzer into the top of the goal. Then to take the lead back who else but Joseph Odyniec stole the puck in the neutral zone and labeled another beauty in transition.
The train kept rolling down the tracks unperturbed in the third as Andrej Kovacevic got some sweet revenge on his former team. The veteran attacked two blueliners and with a quick chip move to the middle was in alone on Dylan Krick. A quick shot made quick work of the exchange and the lead was now 5-3. Ryan Staples was goal number six for the Express as Jackson Krill found the first year forward on a nice tip in play right in front of the goal. Cowichan got their fourth and final goal from Ben Portner who now has goals in back to back games for the Caps. A jam away play in front of the goal fraught with goalie contact but sometimes you just got to get the dirty goals to claw back into a game. Nick Wellenreiter added to the parade of first BCHL goals with a wicked shot top shelf that sent the Cowichan netminder’s water bottle into the stratosphere. And finally Cale Colwell capped off a fantastic night of pestering the Capitals every time he was on the ice. Similar to Staples’ goal he slipped behind the defence in front of the goal and received a nice feed to tap home.
The Express were playing for something greater than themselves tonight. We honoured our local heroes in the annual First Responders Night and in the building was the family of Cst. Rick O’Brien. He was an RCMP officer that loved sport in his community and tragically lost his life in the line of duty. Rick’s wife Nicole dropped the ceremonial puck and was kind enough to chat briefly with the broadcast about Rick and a first responders tournament they host in his memory. Coquitlam hand out the Cst. Rick O’Brien challenge coin after each game to the player who most embodied the courage Cst. O’Brien showed on a daily basis. The coin was actually designed by Nicole in memoriam of him. With all that extra emotion laden throughout the building, the Express rose to the occasion.
Defence, offence, grit and determination. It was the full meal deal once again for the hometown squad as they improved to 2-0 on the Campaign.
Up next for your Express is a roadtrip to Prince George next weekend where they take on the Spruce Kings Friday and Saturday.
FORTIS BC ENERGY PLAYER – Cale Colwell
3 STARS
3rd – COW – Jordan Bax – 2A
2nd – COQ – Nick Wellenreiter – 1G 1A
1st – COQ – Joseph Odyniec – 2G 1A
– Ian Wilson
