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.
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