BULLDOGS @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

Here's the highlight's of Alberni Valley's 4-2 win over the Express Tuesday night.

Highlights courtesy of Cary Derksen.

MERRY XMAS FROM THE CHIEFS

I got this at work today. First off thank you for the Langley Chiefs for sending me the best of the holiday season. I send those sentiments right back.

But I have to ask the question, I can't truly accept this considering my position and the long standing rivalry between the two teams can I?

ORLAND KURTENBACH INTERVIEW

During the 2nd intermission of Friday's game vs. Quesnel, I had a chance to interview the original Captain Canuck Orland Kurtenbach.

We talked about his involvement with the Canucks as an ambassador, the ring of honour induction, and the 1987 Centennial Cup Champion Richmond Sockeyes team he was the head coach of.

Click to here to listen to my interview with Orland

MILLIONAIRES @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

Here's the highlights of the Express 4-2 win over the Quesnel Millionaires Friday night.



Highlights courtesy of Cary Derksen.

DEKANICH NHL DEBUT & TURRIS S-OUT MAGIC

I was beginning to think that Anders Lindback was never going to let Mark Dekanich play.

The former Express has been up for his second call up with the Nashville Predators this season for a few weeks. But Anders Lindback has been unreal since Pekka Rinne went down with an injury going 6-0-1 in Rinne's absence and 9-1-2 overall this season.

But Lindback finally cracked tonight vs. the LA Kings and was pulled after allowing 3 goals on 6 shots in just under 10 minutes. And Mark Dekanich came off the bench to officially become the 6th Express alum to play in an NHL game.

But that hasn't stopped the Kings as the offence kept on rolling as they're well on their way to victory.

Congrats Mark.

Kyle Turris showed some of his flash that we all know so well from his days with the Express. Tonight in the shootout vs. the New York Islanders, he made a pretty cheeky move for a goal.

Click on the link below for Shane Doan and Kyle's post game comments.

http://coyotes.nhl.com/club/podcastplayer.htm?pid=335&iid=26970&navid=DL|PHX|home

EXPRESS SURVIVE MILLS PUSH

It wasn't the prettiest of wins, but the Express survived a Quesnel team that gave them all they could handle to head to the Christmas break with a 4-2 win.

The Express opened the scoring less than 90 seconds into the scoring when Malcom Mckinney wired a shot past Bryant Udy.

Mike Krgovich added to the Express lead when he banged in a loose puck at the side of the net.

The Express could have put Quesnel away in the opening 20 minutes. But couldn't convert on any of their three first period powerplays.

Quesnel entered the game with a BCHL low of just 10 goals on the powerplay all season.

On this night however, they found the right formula. Derek Huisman scored early in the second period on the powerplay to cut the Express lead to one.

The Express re-stored their 2 goal lead on a powerplay of their own when Mike Krgovich scored his second of the night tipping a Cole Gelley point shot.

But that vaunted Quesnel powerplay struck again shortly after Krgovich's marker as Skyler Smutek scored from the slot to pull the Mills back within one.

From there the pesky Mills stuck around and gave the Express a battle looking for the equalizer.

Khaleed Devji making his 7th straight start, clutched up with key saves in the 3rd period off Bradley Buckingham and Skyler Smutek's coast to coast rush to keep the Express up by a goal.

The Express had more opportunites to put the game away in the third period when the Mills were called for conseutive powerplays. But the Express couldn't convert on the opportunity that included a 5 on 3 for 28 seconds.

Then with 2:37 remaining, Mark Begert was called for interference.

This time the Express clutched up and got the penalty kill that they needed. Then as Begert's penalty expired, he came out of the box and scored his first BCHL goal into the empty net to seal the Express win.

The Express posted consecutive wins for the first time since November 10th and 12th over Nanaimo and Langley.

This month the Express have posted a very solid pre-christmas record of 4-2-0-3 picking up 11 of a possible 18 points.

The win combined with Victoria's 5-4 win over Alberni Valley has moved the Express into 6th place in the Coastal conference. But the Dogs do have 3 games in hand on the Express.

The Express are also 6 points clear of Cowichan Valley for the final playoff spot in the conference.

However, the Dogs and the Caps will wrap up their pre-christmas schedule going head to head Saturday night. I will let you decide who you want to win. All I know is I don't want a 3 point game between those two teams. Now that I say that, it will probably happen.

I will post the highlights when I get them shortly. Until then, the blog will probably be pretty quiet.

So I would like to wish you all a safe and merry christmas. And when the Express return on the 28th vs. Alberni Valley, lets have a strong finish to the season and make a push for the playoffs.

SPRUCE KINGS @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

Here's the highlights of the Express 7-4 win over Prince George Wednesday night.



Highlights courtesy of Cary Derksen.

EXPRESS TRIM SPRUCE KINGS

Coquitlam used a balanced attack and a red hot powerplay to defeat the Prince George Spruce Kings 7-4 Wednesday night.

9 players hit the score sheet and 6 players had multiple point nights for the Express.

Jason Grecica led all scorers with 1 goal and 3 assists, while other veterans Massimo Lamacchia and Riley Mcintosh had multiple point nights. But the rookies had strong nights too with Destry Straight scoring twice and adding an assist, while Justin Georgeson had 1 goal and 1 assist, and Jake Charles scored his first BCHL goal in the third period.

The Express got 4 goals and 4 assists from 1st year players in the win. Khaleed Devji made 36 saves for his 10th win of the season.

The powerplay had a season high 4 goals on 5 opportunites. The Spruce Kings powerplay had a strong night as well. RJay Berra scored his 30th and 31st goals of the season on the powerplay, and Lyndon Martell rounded out the scoring late in the third period.

Mike Krgovich, Nick Desousa and RJay Berra all picked up their 100th career BCHL points.

The Express wrap up their pre-christmas schedule Friday night vs. Quesnel who won have just one road win this season which came on the opening night of the season.

That game is the Express teddy bear toss night.

WHERE IS BRETT HEMINGWAY?

The former Express star is currently playing with the Belfast Giants.

He and the rest of his temamates just want one thing for Christmas.

Brett is wearing his familiar #15. The video speaks for itself...

REID TRADED TO SILVERBACKS

The Express made a pretty significant move Tuesday trading 20 year old forward Brad Reid to the Salmon Arm Silverbacks in exchange for future considerations.

This season Brad Reid scored 14 goals and 31 points in 33 games. He played 1 and a half seasons with the Express racking up 41 goals and 86 points in 93 games.

Reid didn't dress for the last 3 games. He got off to a fast start this season with 9 goals in his first 10 games, and 10 in his first 13, but then his production dropped off dramatically scoring just 3 goals in his next 20 games.

Earlier this season Brad committed to the Rochester Institute of Technology.

SMOKIES @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

Here's the highlights of Trail's 3-2 overtime over the Express Sunday afternoon.



Highlights courtesy of Cary Derksen.

CHIEFS @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

Here's the highlights of Coquitlam's 4-0 win over the Langley Chiefs Friday night.



Highlights courtesy of Cary Derksen.

DEVJI BLANKS CHIEFS

Khaleed Devji stopped all 27 shots sent his way as the Express opened a 6 game home stand with a 4-o win over the Langley Chiefs.

Destry Straight returned to the Express from the CJHL Top Prospects games in Dauphin Manitoba and had 2 assists in the win.

Jared Eng opened the scoring for the Express in the first period on a 5 on 3 when he wired a slap shot past Wyatt Galley at 14:36.

Captain Garrick Perry added to the Express lead in the 2nd as he finished off a great passing play with Destry Straight and Jake Charles at 16:18.

Click to hear for Perry's 2-0 goal

Through 40 minutes the Express shutdown a ice cold Langley powerplay killing off all 4 Langley man advantages. The Chiefs powerplay is now 0 for its last 21 advantages in the last 5 games.

Matt Mazzarolo gave the Express a 3 goal buldge wiring home his first goal of the season early in the third period. That was followed 3 and a half minutes later when Jason Grecica was on the business end of a 3 on 2 with Destry Straight and Justin Georgeson.

Click to hear for Grecica's 4-0 goal

From there, the Express cruised to the victory and didn't give Devji much to sweat about in the third period as he finished off his shutout. The Express outshot the Chiefs 16-8 in the third period.

The Cowichan Valley Capitals and Alberni Valley Bulldogs didn't help the Express much in the standings. As they both erased late third period deficits to send their games to overtime where the Caps tied the Trail Smoke Eaters at 4, and the Nanaimo Clippers needed overtime to knock off Alberni Valley 4-3.

Coquitlam picked up one point on Cowichan Valley and has a 2 point cushion on the final playoff spot. The Express are now 2 points back of Alberni Valley for 6th place in the Coastal Conference.

It's now a day of rest for the Express before they welcome the Trail Smoke Eaters to town on Sunday afternoon.

ANOTHER OT LOSS

The powerplays were plentiful, as were the goals that came with the opportunities and that included the game winning goal as the Eagles defeated the Express 5-4 in overtime at the South Surrey Arena Wednesday night.

The teams combined for 17 powerplays and 6 of the 9 goals came on the powerplay.

Coquitlam got off to a good start as they scored a pair of powerplay goals in the first period by Massimo Lamacchia and Jason Grecica to give the Express a 2-0 lead.

The Eagles were then given 3 straight powerplays and that included a 5 on 3 for 1:40. Surrey didn't score on that opportunity.

But Riley Sweeney did score on the Eagles next advantage a few minutes later as his point shot got past a screened Khaleed Devji.

The second period saw Coquitlam called for 4 of the 5 penalties assessed in the second period, but the only goal of the period came at even strength as Robert Lindores banged in a loose puck at the side of the Express net to tie the game at 2.

Surrey began the third period with you guessed it, a powerplay. And they capitalized on it as Richard Vanderhoek scored from the slot just 31 seconds into the third period to give the Eagles their first lead.

3:02 later the Eagles gave themselves a 2 goal cushion when the Express turned the puck over at the Eagle blueline and Micheal Stenerson came in on a 2 on 1 and kept the puck and wired a perfect shot over the glove of Khaleed Devji.

Malcom Mckinney cut the lead back down to one midway through the third as he beat Eagles goaltender Karel St. Lauraent to the puck and Mckinney swept it home at 9:11.

The Express were then given back to back powerplays and they scored on the second to tie it up at 4 as Riley Mcintosh pinched in from the point and scored on a feed from behind the net from Mike Krgovich.

So for the second straight meeting between the two clubs in a week the Express battled back from a two goal third period deficit to send the game to overtime.

It didn't take long for the first powerplay of overtime to be handed out when Garrick Perry was called for hooking on Steve Koshey beside the Eagle net at 27 seconds of overtime.

Seconds later the Eagles won it with their powerplay as Riley Sweeney scored his second of the night taking a feed at the left circle and blasting it past Khaleed Devji. It was the second overtime win in a week for the Eagles over the Express.

The loss sent the Express to another overtime loss. They are still searching for their first overtime win this season with a overtime record that now stands at 0-7-1.

With the point for the overtime loss combined with Vernon's 5-2 win over Cowichan Valley, the Express have a 2 point lead on the Caps for the 7th and final playoff spot.

Wednesday's game was the final road game for the Express in 2010. They will now begin a 6 game home stand Friday night vs. Langley.

EXPRESS SPLIT FINAL 2 GAMES ON WEEKEND

After their 6-2 loss in Nanaimo Friday, the Express followed that up with a 4-2 win in Alberni Valley Saturday and a 4-0 loss in Powell River Sunday.

In Alberni, the Express picked up just their 4th road win of the season. Khaleed Devji was stellar in the third period stopping all 12 Bulldog shots sent his way as the Express protected a one goal lead.

The third period performance capped off a stellar 34 save win for the Express rookie netminder.

Mike Krgovich led the Express offensive attack with 1 goal and 2 assists. The Express also got goals from Justin Georgeson on a penalty shot and Taylor Gray scored his first BCHL goal in the first period as an AP for the Express this weekend.

The game was a fairly physical affair as Sawyer Mick set the tone for the game with hits on defencemen Riley Mcintosh and Matt Hutchinson on the same shift. Coquitlam had a solid response to the physicality by matching the Bulldogs hit for hit.

As this team looks for positives in what has been a difficult run in the last few weeks, a sign of team unity may have came to the forefront at the start of the 2nd period when the whole Express bench banged their sticks in unison.

Sunday Powell River simply outclassed the Express. The BCHL's top team set the tone in the opening 90 seconds by hemming the Express in their own end for the entire time. That shift was a sign of things to come for the rest of the day. Powell River's speed and counter attack allowed them to control the pace of the game for the entire game.

Powell River's fast start eventually led the Kings to play that way for the full 60 minutes en route to out shooting the Express 46-16. It's pretty easy to be the BCHL's top defensive team if the puck doesn't come near your goaltender.

Matt Garbowsky and Chad Niddery performed as expected for the Kings as they led their attack with a goal and an assist in the first period. Teagan Waugh and Brendon Hawryluk added goals in the 2nd and 3rd periods.

Micheal Gartieg wasn't tested all that much turning aside just 16 shots sent his way for his 5th shutout of the season. Garteig's best save of the game came when Destry Straight and Riley Mcintosh played give and go and Garteig came to his left to rob the Express rookie with a spectacular glove save. A pretty good indication of just the lack of a test Garteig was given on Sunday was reflected in the three stars where he wasn't selected.

Powell River has now shutout their opponents 7 times this season.

An encouraging sign from an Express point of view was killing off all 5 Powell River powerplays. In the first two meetings of the season, the Kings got key game deciding goals on the powerplay by winning offensive zone faceoffs and getting screened point shots through and they found the back of the net.

Sunday's game saw considerable improvement in that department for the Express. They were stellar getting in the shooting lanes as Powell River tried to get those point shots through for deflections and screen shots.

The Express will play their final road game of 2010 when they will travel to Surrey for the 2nd meeting in a week with the Eagles at the South Surrey Arena.

EXPRESS TOP 10 - MOMENT 5

Today we look at the day Kyle Turris made Canadian Junior A Hockey history by being the highest Junior A player selected in the NHL draft 3rd overall by the Phoenix Coyotes in 2007.

Click to hear moment 5

EXPRESS SUFFER 2ND PERIOD MELTDOWN IN NANAIMO

It was a 2nd period from H#%L!!! in Nanaimo for the Express as they watched Nanaimo score 6 times in the middle frame en route to a 6-2 loss to the Nanaimo Clippers at the Frank Crane Arena.

Colton Cyr scored twice while former Express Ryan Stanimir and Graeme McCormack each scored a goal and an assist to lead the Clipper attack. The Clippers also got singles from Kiefer McNaughton and Gerry Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald's goal was assisted from his other two triplet brother linemates Leo and Myles.

Luke Hernandez was pulled after allowing 4 goals on 12 shots in the 2nd period. It didn't get much better for Khaleed Devji as he allowed 2 goals on 3 shots to mop up the second period.

Coquitlam scored two goals by Brad Reid and Taylor Grabowski's first BCHL goal in the third period to break Charles Andre Pelletier's shutout bid on a 5 minute major power play with Nick Bell serving a checking from behind penalty.

The loss combined with Cowichan Valley winning 4-3 in Prince George have the Express and Caps tied for 7th place in the Coastal Conference with 27 points.

The Express are back in action Saturday night in Alberni Valley.

EXPRESS TOP 10 - MOMENT 6

Moment number 6 takes a look back at the Express finally knocking off their playoff nemisis the Chilliwack Chiefs for the first time in 5 tries in 2006.

Click to hear moment 6