If there ever was a game where a tie feels like a win, that might be the case Friday as the Kings and Express battled to a 4-4 tie.
Where do you start talking about this game from an Express point of view?
For the second straight game the penalty killers stepped up most notably with the game on the line.
You could talk about Alex Petan continuing his fine season chipping in on all 4 Express goals by scoring one and setting up three others. He now has 16 points this season which keeps him among the top scorers in the BCHL.
No question Khaleed Devi deserves recognition after coming off the bench to make 35 saves in 41 minutes of shutout hockey to allow the Express to come away with a hard earned point.
Click here to listen to Head Coach Jon Calvano's post game comments.
The Express opened the scoring on a powerplay goal by Brady Shaw as he scored his fourth goal in his last three games by re-directing Clinton Atkinson's point shot.
Teagan Waugh tied it up for the Kings shortly there after as he took a drop pass from Evan Richardson and wired it post and in past Cole Huggins who got his first Express start.
Evan Campbell's first BCHL goal gave the Express the lead again on the powerplay as he cleaned up the rebound of a Clinton Atkinson point shot.
The fans had barely stopped celebrating the goal when the Kings tied it again just 9 seconds later when Carter Shinkaruk tapped home a loose puck in the Express crease.
Evan Richardson gave the Kings their first lead early in the second period on the powerplay as his shot beat Huggins up high.
Powell River extended their lead just under 5 minutes later as they quickly moved the puck up ice and Brandon Tidy followed up on his own rebound to put it in a gaping cage to put the Kings up 4-2. That spelled the end of the Express debut for Cole Huggins who was replaced by Khaleed Devji after allowing 4 goals on 14 shots.
Devji's task was to shut the door and try and give his team a chance to battle back.
And part of that job to do it was while the Express were shorthanded as they were to open the third period with Brady Shaw in the box for boarding.
The penalty killers did their job to open the third.
Alex Petan started the Express come back by banging home the rebound of a Mitch Nardi shot from the high slot for the third powerplay goal of the game for the home team.
The comeback was complete when Alex Kerfoot swept up the rebound of Evan Campbell's wrister from the line to tie the game at 4.
At this point the drama in this game was just starting to pick up. And referee Kam Poirier left the game and his linesmen had to pick up the slack.
Late in the game Ben Murphy and Clinton Atkinson were called for penalties in back to back succession and the penalty killers needed to step up to preserve the point by getting the game to OT. And they did exactly that.
Khaleed Devji came up with a number of clutch stops. One of the more notable ones was a glove save from a blast from the point.
With the single point secured each team had their chances in the first overtime to end it. Coquitlam's best chance in ot came when Malcom Mckinney got a clear cut breakaway from centre ice but rang his shot off the post.
The penalty killers last hurrah came late in the first OT with Jason Bird being sent off for tripping. Again they did the job to keep the game tied. They were spectacular in the two games vs Powell River killing off 15 of 16 shorthanded situations and a number of them with the game on the line in each of the two games. They're a big reason why the Express were able to pick up three out of a possible four points vs the Kings who started the year 6-0.
The tie now extended the Express unbeaten streak to 4 games. (3-0-1-0) and have picked up points in 4 of their last 5 games. Powell River meanwhile is winless in their last 4 games. (0-3-1-0).
Next up the Express hit the road for three straight starting tomorrow in Cowichan Valley then head to the Interior for games in Prince George and Westside next Thursday and Friday.
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