Tonight was medicine for the confidence of Coquitlam as they rattled off five unanswered goals to erase a 3-1 deficit and come away from Game 3 with a 2-1 series. Sometimes your best defense is a good offence, and on a night where the hole was dug early, it’s precisely what the doctor ordered.
Victoria knew the importance of a Game 3 victory on the road. One of the best ways to ensure that outcome is a great start to take the energy out of the opposition crowd. They manufactured about as textbook an opening six minutes as you could imagine. Landon Mackie banged home a rebound off a Will Schumacher shot and then Julian Cull received a slick thru-pass from Mackie on a future play to give the Grizzlies a commanding 2-0 advantage at the 6:09 mark. Jeff Wagner called a timeout and proceeded to tear a strip off the Express. It served as the match they needed to light a fire beneath them. About four minutes later, Jack Sullivan scored his first career BCHL playoff goal with a hard one-timer into the top corner. Victoria had an answer in the form of a Chase Pirtle snipe from the high slot. Andrew Ness was screened by a plethora of bodies and nearly spotted the wrister in time.
Down 3-1 after 20 minutes there was a rightful amount of concern about whether the Express would be staring down the barrel of elimination tomorrow evening. Coquitlam went to the locker room…
…and woke up.
Mason Kesselring was the first of the big guns to sign his name on the scoresheet as just over a minute in he was sprung on a break away and finished it off with a beautiful tuck through the five-hole of Kyle Kelsey. Then the Express converted on a crucial powerplay opportunity courtesy of a James Shannon cannon from the left faceoff circle.
Coquitlam kept pushing as Andrej Kovacevic threw a puck on goal and Kelsey denied it with the blocker, only to have Carson McGinley bat the rebound out of the air on the backhand.
No lead is safe heading into a third period so the home side knew they had work to do to defend it. A statement goal came at the 2:12 mark with Cam Russo threading a backdoor feed to Nate Crema on a 2-on-1 to put the Express up 5-3.
They never looked back as they held the Grizzlies at bay and added an empty netter thanks to some steady play from Carson McGinley and Trip Pendy.
There is an immense amount of pressure on any team that is down 2-0 in a series. That pressure can either form a diamond or it can cause an implosion. The Express were certainly sparkling in their 6-3 response tonight. The most exciting aspect of this victory is perhaps the emergence of offence from the big names. Coquitlam have relied on guys like Shannon, Kesselring, McGinley and Crema all year to produce and if they can keep up the consistency, paired with depth scoring and contributions from the backend, it’s a scary time to be their opponents. Now the task is to replicate the success of tonight when the rivalry renews Wednesday at the Train Station once again.
Andrew Ness had another sensational night, making 45 saves* enroute to the bounce back win. Coquitlam did a great job in front of him ensuring that most of the Grizzlies’ chances were at a distance or at least not dangerous. That volume allowed for the Loch Ness Monster to get comfortable and battle their way through whatever Victoria threw at him. Jimmy Dodig earned energy player of the game honours as he showcased the grit and tenacity required to win with diving efforts and all around solid defensive play. He also displayed a mean streak and swagger tonight that reminds one of a certain former Express Captain that also patrolled the blueline.
Yes, I’m referring to Luke Vardy.
Game 4 is yet again a crucial encounter as the Express have a chance to tie the series before heading back to the now guaranteed Game 5 in Victoria. With how good home teams have been, the Grizzlies certainly would like to try their hands at ending this affair Friday night. The energy this evening at the Poirier was electric and we will need each and every one of you again on Wednesday so be sure to secure your tickets and help us send the Grizzlies packing.
FORTIS BC ENERGY PLAYER – Jimmy Dodig
MARINER BREWING THREE STARS
3rd – COQ – Nate Crema – 1G 1A
2nd – COQ – Mason Kesselring – 1G 2A
1st – COQ – Carson McGinley – 1G 2A
– Ian Wilson
*There is a discrepancy between the shots listed on the boxscore and what was on the scoreboard in the arena*
