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Friday, October 13, 2017

WONG OT HERO FOR EXPRESS OVER RIVERMEN

The Express added to the overtime torment of the Langley Rivermen to give the Express a 2-1 win Friday night. Click here for boxscore

Lucas Wong's first BCHL goal gave the Express the win and dropped Langley to 0-6 in overtime this season.



Like a week ago between the two teams in Coquitlam it was a tight and tidy defensive game for the Express. This one only needed a few extra minutes for the Express to get the job done.

Dating back to Wednesday vs. Chilliwack the Express have been able to have veterans Will Lawrence, Mitch Newsome and Sam Kozlowski return to the lineup. That has allowed Head Coach Barry Wolff to spread some of his speedy forwards throughout the lineup.

Friday that balance paid off as the Express were able to roll through their lines consistently throughout the game and spend more time in the opposition zone.

The trio of Haydn Delorme, Colby Pederson and Eric Linell teamed up to open the scoring for the Express. Delorme chipped it in and Pederson got in on the forecheck to win the race for the puck and he set up Linell who snapped home the pass four minutes into the game. That would be the lone goal of the first period that saw Langley outshoot the Express 14-10.



Clay Stevenson got the call for the Express between the pipes. He had a steady game in the Express crease. He had to make some of his better saves of the night in the second period. He was very aggressive in his crease using his big frame to give the Langley shooters very little room to pick their spots.

Daneel Lategan late in the second snuck a shot from a sharp angle past Clay Stevenson to tie the game at one.

The Express penalty killing unit had a perfect five for five night. Most of those kills came at key times in the game as Alex Ambrosio was called for two penalties in quick succession late in the second period. The second of his penalties carried over into the third period.

Then in the final 7 minutes of the period the penalty killers shut down two more Rivermen powerplays.

At even strength in the third period the Express did a good job of rolling their lines and have some consistent puck control in the Rivermen zone. That work in the offensive zone made life easier for Clay Stevenson and the Express in their own end of the rink. Stevenson finished with 35 saves for his second victory of the season.

The game winning goal for the Express was a good reflection of the Express patience throughout the game. Sam Kozlowski button hooked inside the blueline to give himself some time, then he threw the puck at the net that was stopped by Lucas Wong reading the play went to the net and buried the rebound for the overtime winner on his first BCHL goal.

Coquitlam will play their next four outings on the road starting tomorrow night with the second meeting this week against Chilliwack. That will be followed by a weekend road trip next week in Victoria, Nanaimo and Powell River. 

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