Coquitlam Express defenseman Jordan Schulting has committed to UMass Lowell.
The Penticton native is in his second season with the Express. He was acquired early last season in a trade from the Chilliwack Chiefs where he dressed for his first three BCHL games.
This season in 40 games he has 6 goals and 13 assists for 19 points. Schulting's 6 goals are tops among all Express blue liners. His 19 points only trail Troy Robillard among defensemen in that category. He's also added 6 power play assists which trails only Sam Kozlowski who has 7.
In 70 career games in an Express uniform Schulting has 8 goals and 23 assists for 31 points.
Schulting his the fouth player for the Express roster to commit to a NCAA program this season. Sam Kozlowski secured his commitment to RIT last season.
Jack MacNab cuts to the net - Photo courtesy of Damon James
For a team that is trying to lockdown first place in the Mainland division and fine tune their game for the playoffs, the Spruce Kings would be proud of their effort in a 3-0 win over the Express. Click here for boxscore
The Express did outshoot the Spruce Kings 29-18, but for the most part they were able to keep the quality scoring chances for the Express to a minimum.
Devon Mussio dressed for his 100th game in an Express uniform Photo courtesy of Damon James
Jack MacNab thought he opened the scoring for the Express, he got a pass in the Spruce Kings goal crease, and somehow the puck never entered the net in the best chance for either team of the first period.
Ryan Stack made his Express debut Saturday night against his old team. He did a good job to fight the puck into the Spruce Kings zone, then once he got deep was able to set up Eric Linell in the slot who was stopped by Bradley Cooper. Then Devon Mussio couldn't finish on the rebound. For Mussio, he played in his 100th career game in an Express uniform Saturday.
14 seconds into the second period the ice was broken. Ben Brar converted a pass out of the corner from Ethan De Jong tipping it past Brock Hamm for a 1-0 Spruce Kings lead. At the other end the Express fired 12 shots the way of Bradley Cooper who was perfect through 40.
Throughout the game the Spruce Kings did have some good shifts possessing the puck in the Express zone that slowly ticked down the clock. They were also content to ice the puck in the third period to eat away at the clock.
The Express got their best chance of the third period off one of those icing calls when Jake Toor was set up alone in the slot, but his shot went off the glove of Cooper who made his best save of the night with about 5 minutes to play.
Eric Linell - Photo courtesy of Damon James
Prince George's patience and structured play late in the 3rd period finally paid off with some insurance with just over two minutes to play on a goal by Ben Poission who beat Hamm on a two on one.
Then Ethan De Jong capped off the scoring with a empty net goal at 19:33.
Saturday's game was a pretty tidy matchup with the Express going 0 for 2 on the power play. Prince George couldn't convert on their only man advantage of the night.
The Express now sit 5 points up on Cowichan Valley in the overall league standings and the race for a playoff spot. Prince George broke away from a three way log jam atop of the Mainland division with the win combined with Surrey's OT loss and Langley's regulation loss Saturday night.
The Express return to action Thursday afternoon when they will play a high noon affair with Surrey.
Will Lawerence scores on a wraparound - Photo courtesy of Damon James
In what may be a first round playoff preview, the Express defeated Vernon 2-1 Sunday afternoon in Coquitlam. Yes the Express may play Vernon in the first round of the playoffs.
Colby Pederson - Photo courtesy of Damon James
It could happen if the Express stay ahead of the Cowichan Valley Capitals in the overall league standings and Vernon finishes atop of the interior division standings. That would happen as result of the Express crossing over into the interior.
Sunday's game was as tight as a playoff game. Right off the bat Vernon came out with plenty of speed attacking the Express.
Jesse Lansdell rewarded his team by tipping a Michael Ufberg point shot to open the scoring just 1:06 into the game. It was the second straight outing the Express had allowed the game's first goal less than 1:10 into the game.
Despite the slow start, the Express were able to slow down the Vipers and settle into the game.
Midway through the first period Will Lawerence grabbed a loose puck behind the Vernon net after a John Sheardown snapshot and scored on a wrap around to even the game at one on just the third goal of the season for Lawerence. It was his first goal since November 10th in Surrey.
The power play struck again to propel the Express into a 2-1 lead after 1 period. Troy Robillard rushed the puck into the Vipers zone and found a lane to the net and took full advantage of it and beat Anthony Yamnitsky in a backhand for his 5th of the season.
From there the game really locked down into a close checking contest.
Josh Bruce - Photo courtesy of Damon James
Yamnistky made middle period saves off a Colby Pederson shot on a 2 on 1 and Eric Linell cutting in from the left wing to keep the Vipers deficit at just one.
In the third period Vernon really started to press looking for the equalizer. When they did they had to contend with a dialed in Brock Hamm.
The Express goaltender made saves off Jesse Lansdell in the slot and Brett Stapley on Vernon's best chances in the third period to cap off the win. Hamm finished with 30 saves to improve his record to 8-1-2 in his last 11 games.
It was the third straight win for the Express on home ice. They finished a 4 game week with a record of 3-1.
No rest for the Express who are right back in action Tuesday night in West Kelowna.
Surrey struck three times within the first 12 minutes of the game and never looked back en route to a 4-1 win over the Express Saturday night in Surrey.
The Eagles fast start began in the opening minute of the game with Jackson Ross taking a pass from Johnny Wesley and snapping a shot in off the post past Clay Stevenson.
By the two minute mark of the first period it was 2-0 Surrey when Ty Westgard tipped a Owen Norton shot over the shoulder of Stevenson. By this point Westgard already had a goal and an assist in what would turn out to be a good night for the Eagles playmaker.
The Express had two powerplays shortly after Surrey jumped out to a 2-0 lead to claw their way back into the game, but weren't able to make the most of those opportunities.
Then on Surrey's first power play of the night a breakdown in the Express zone allowed BCHL goal scoring leader John Wesley to find himself free in front of Stevenson and Wesley made no mistake sliding home his 32nd of the season for a 3-0 Eagles lead.
At the other end the Express didn't generate many chances on Eagles goaltender Daniel Davidson. Some of the best chances he faced from the Express came in the middle frame on a deflection by Josh Bruce that went wide. Then seconds later Linell couldn't finish. A third good chance for the Express saw Jack MacNab power out of the corner, but couldn't beat Davidson who took away the bottom part of the net.
Ty Westgard picked up his fourth point of the night poking home a loose puck at the side of the Express net midway through the 2nd period. Westgard finished with two goals and two assists. His wingman Johnny Wesley had one goal and two assists.
Daniel Davidson finished 31 saves on 32 Express shots. The only puck to beat him was a deflection by Eric Linell midway through the third period set up by Troy Robillard on a power play.
The Eagles edged the Express 34-32 in shots on goal. The Express were 1 for 5 on the power play while Surrey finished 1 for 7.
The Vernon Vipers will visit the Express Sunday afternoon at 2pm for the second meeting of the season between the teams.
The Express won for a third time in their last four games, and are 3-1-1 in their last 5 following a 6-3 win over Nanaimo.
Former Express Cal Babych opened the scoring for Nanaimo with his 9th of the season at 4:26.
Then former Clipper Jack MacNab left his mark on his former team. He tied the game midway through the first period for his 3rd goal with the Express in his 7th game with the team. MacNab had two goals in 37 games this season with Nanaimo.
Late in the first period the Notre Dame committed forward set up Colby Pederson for 2-1 Express lead after 1 period.
Neither team found the back of the net in the second period. Express goaltender Brock Hamm was a big reason why as he turned away all 14 Nanaimo shots in the middle period. He finished with 33 saves to even his record at 7-7-2. He's 7-1-2 in his last 10 games dating back to the coaching change.
For a second straight game the Express poured it on in the second period. Eric Linell who recently committed to UConnn converted a Colby Pederson saucer pass for a 3-1 Express lead at 3:38.
Parker Colley briefly pulled Nanaimo back within one.
Jake Toor returned to the lineup for his first game since November 4th and fourth game overall this season. He buried a loose puck in the Clippers crease for a 4-2 Express lead.
That was followed 34 seconds later by Josh Wildauer burying the rebound of a Sam Kozlowski shot. Christian Sanda scored the 4th Express goal in just under 7 minutes for a shorthanded tally to open up a 6-2 Express lead.
The Express have outscored their opposition 8-2 in the third period of their last two games. And 14-4 in their last two games.
Brad Belisle rounded out the scoring for Nanaimo at 14:53 on a Clipper two man advantage.
Josh Wildauer, Jack MacNab and Colby Pederson all finished with 1 goal and 1 assist. 12 players total hit the scoresheet.
Up next for the Express is a Saturday visit to Surrey for the third meeting in 8 nights between the teams.
Coquitlam Express forward Eric Linell has committed to the University of Connecticut.
The Great Neck New York native is in his first season with the Express. He currently leads the team with 22 goals and 38 points in 42 games. Linell took a little while to find his game at the BCHL level with just 1 assist in his first 7 games. But since then he has 22 goals and 37 points in his last 35 games.
Linell's 22 goals this season currently rank him 5th in the BCHL. He's in a cluster of players with 4 game winning goals that is the 3rd highest total in the BCHL. Two of his game winning goals have come in overtime.
During the week of November 27th to December 3rd he scored 5 consecutive goals for the Express in three games and was named the BCHL's player of the week.
Jordan Schulting scored twice - Photo courtesy of Damon James
In their highest offensive output since their season opener last season, the Express handed the Surrey Eagles a convincing 8-1 setback. The last time the Express scored 8 goals in a game was 100 games ago a 8-7 win at the South Surrey Arena to raise the curtain for the 2016-17 season.
The veterans certainly chipped in to the win. But the guys who get less of the headlines stole the show for their offensive contributions.
Nick Amsler had 2G, 1A Photo courtesy of Damon James
AP Nick Amsler playing in his 3rd game with the Express scored his first two BCHL goals and added an assist, Devon Mussio scored his first BCHL goal and added a helper, Lucas Wong had three assists and Haydn Delorme had a pair of helpers.
Right from the start the Express played fast and with purpose. It didn't take long for them to get the rewards.
Josh Wildauer fired a hard rink wide pass to Colby Pederson who danced past an Eagles defenseman and scored a snap shot past Mario Cavaliere at 1:18. The Eagles goaltender came into the game as the reigning BCHL player of the week after posting back to back shutouts over Langley and Cowichan Valley and was already being given the nickname "Super Mario".
Then some of the kids started to leave their mark on the game. Lucas Wong raced after a puck deep in the Surrey zone and from behind their net put a perfect pass into the slot on the tape of Nick Amsler who looked like a pure goal scorer dropping to his knee and snapping home a one timer for his first BCHL goal at the 3:00 mark.
It was 3-0 Express at the 11 minute mark. Jordan Schulting showed good patience at the blueline and took an extra moment to wait for traffic and walk the line before snapping home a wrist shot for his 5th of the season.
The penalty killing has been one area that has really tightened up in the last few weeks. Tonight they had another perfect night killing off all 5 Eagles powerplays in the first 32 minutes of the game. The Express have now killed 30 straight shorthanded situations.
BCHL goal scoring leader John Wesley and his 31 goals was back in the Eagles lineup after not playing when these teams met Saturday. It was a frustrating night for the league's top sniper who got some chances throughout the game and was unable to finish.
After a Wesley chance at one end, the Express quickly turned the play the other way and Troy Robillard joined the rush and buried his 4th of the season for a 4-0 Express lead. Robillard also had an assist.
Surrey's lone goal of the night came 1:10 after Robillard's goal as Ty Westgard snapped home his 10th of the season past Brock Hamm. That would be the only goal to get past the Express netminder who was solid with 27 saves.
The Express poured it on in the third period. Eric Linell converted a set up from Devon Mussio for a 5-1 lead at 2:30.
Then mid third Nick Amsler found a loose puck in front of the Surrey net to bury his second goal of the night to make it 6-1.
Head Coach Jason Fortier recognizing how well some of his younger players were going, rewarded them with some third period power play time. They didn't let the coach down. Right off a won face-off in the Surrey zone Amsler set up Wong in the slot whose shot was tipped home in front of the net by Devon Mussio for his first BCHL goal. It was a long wait for the Express defenceman who was dressed for his 96th career BCHL game Wednesday night.
Then just over a minute later Jordan Schulting put the finishing touches on the game scoring his second of the net burying a loose puck that Will Lawerence in the slot. That goal chased Mario Cavaliere after 8 goals in 28 shots.
The Express return to action Friday night when they will host the Nanaimo Clippers. They will see Surrey again Saturday night in Surrey.
Chilliwack had their foot on the gas right from the start and handed the Express a 5-1 setback Sunday afternoon. Click here for boxscore
It was the 2nd meeting of the weekend between the two teams. They battled to a 2-2 tie Friday night in Chilliwack.
Sunday's game game was a much different story than Friday which saw the Express pepper the Chiefs with numerous top notch scoring chances. In this one the Express chances were few and far between.
The win saw Chilliwack finish the season series 7-0-1 against the Express. Their undefeated streak against the Express now stands at 28 games at 27-0-1 (regular season and playoffs)
In recent meetings between the teams the Chiefs put the Express in a first period hole. Sunday was no different.
Ryan Bowen set up Corey Andonovski who creeped behind Clay Stevenson for a tap in at 3:28. 8 minutes later Andonovski raced down the right wing and put a pass on the tape of Bryan Allbee and just like that it was 2-0 Chiefs.
Mathieu Caron had to be spectacular just to get the Chiefs a point on Friday. Today he made some more spectacular saves. Just no where near as many. His best of the first period stopped Jack Lippis on the rush, then Eric Linell on the rebound.
The Chiefs outshot the Express 14-4 in the first period.
Kaden Pickering extended the Chiefs lead to 3-0 snapping a shot past the glove of Stevenson. That would the lone goal of the second period that saw the Chiefs outshoot the Express 10-3. Caron made another great save to deny Eric Linell on a 2 on 1 rush.
Pickering scored his second of the night 4 minutes into the third period racing into the Express zone on the right wing and snapping a shot past Stevenson.
Josh Wildauer broke Mathieu Caron's shutout bid with a power play goal at 11:34.
The game was iced in the dying moments on a empty net goal for Skyler Brind'Amour.
Chilliwack finished the game outshooting the Express 29-16.
The Express return to action Wednesday night when they host the Surrey Eagles.
Jack MacNab scored his 1st two Express goals. Photo courtesy of Damon James.
In a game that saw both teams move their feet in a uptempo contest, the Express were able to get the edge on the Surrey Eagles in a 4-1 win Saturday night. Click here for boxscore
Brock Hamm made 17 saves - Photo courtesy of Damon James
The Express got multiple point performances from Jack MacNab, Colby Pederson, Troy Robillard and Jordan Schulting to pace the attack.
In the opening shift of the game there was some concern after a hit involving Josh Wildauer and Surrey defenseman Jackson Ross left the Eagles defenseman lying on the ice with a significant cut on his head. Fortunately for the Eagles blue liner he missed a few shifts after going to the room for repairs.
All night long both teams were moving their feet making for entertaining hockey to watch.
Jack MacNab opened the scoring on his first Express goal taking a pass from Josh Bruce and snapping it past Daniel Davidson at 16:05. For the Notre Dame committed forward it was his 3rd of the season.
Surrey had a two man advantage for over 50 seconds in the first period to pull even, but the Express didn't give Surrey much of a sniff. They posted their second straight perfect 4 for 4 night on the penalty kill.
Jonathan Sheardown - Photo courtesy of Damon James
The second period saw the teams continue to play a track meet of the game, but after the first turn the Express started to distance themselves from their opponents. That speed led to good shifts in the Surrey zone.
Just shy of the 7 minute mark the Express doubled their lead on a Eric Linell deflection of a Troy Robillard for Linell's 21st of the season. The assists for Robillard was just the start of a strong game for him on the blueline.
At the other end, Brock Hamm was his usual solid self in the Express crease. He was getting some good support with the team playing at a high tempo in front of him.
Surrey's fourth power play of the night in the 3rd period didn't result in a goal. But they had good possession of the puck in the Express zone. They were able to carry that momentum when the play returned to 5 on 5. Moments later Jackson Ross surprised Brock Hamm with a quick wrist shot from the right point.
Then Hamm had to really be on his toes, a dump in the Express zone hit an official and caught Hamm out of the net and he raced back to his net and reached back with his stick and narrowly got a piece of the puck to keep it out of the net.
As the third period wound down the Express put the Eagles to bed. Colby Pederson raced into the Surrey zone then fed the puck back to Troy Robillard whose shot got to the net where Pederson followed it to bury the rebound for a 3-1 Express lead. Robillard picked up his 3rd assist of the night on the play. Since November 29th Robillard has not gone more than two games without a point. He has 2 goals and 10 assists for 12 points in his last 14 games.
The final shots finished 28-18 in favour of the Express. The 18 shots allowed is a season low. When the game was on the line in the 3rd period the Eagles were only held to three shots.
The Express will finish up a busy three game weekend with a Sunday afternoon meeting with the Chilliwack Chiefs at 2pm in Coquitlam.
Chilliwack goaltender Mathieu Caron is the sole reason why the Express didn't snap their 26 game losing streak to the Chiefs. He made a number of top notch saves that prevented the Express from coming away with the win. Click here for boxscore
Express Head Coach Jason Fortier made things a little more interesting in his pre-game comments saying tonight was the night the Chiefs long run of success against the Express was coming to an end Friday night.
Right from the get go the Express were generating chances. First it was Sam Kozlowski setting up Josh Wildauer on the slot was who denied on a clean look on the Chiefs net.
Then it was Eric Linell on a jam play in the Chiefs crease who was stopped by Caron who got his left pad down to rob the Express top scorer.
At the other end Chilliwack was able to take advantage of Express mistakes in their own end.
PJ Marroco pounced on a loose puck in the Express zone and beat Brock Hamm with a wrist shot low to the far post.
Hamm returned to the Express crease for his first game since the Christmas break.
At the 15:00 mark of the first period another Express turnover deep in their zone resulted in a 2 on 1 down low and Corey Andonovski slid a pass across to the newly re-acquired Ryan Bowen who tapped the feed into the gaping cage for a 2-0 Chilliwack lead.
Chilliwack carried their two goal lead into the second period which didn't dissuade the Express. They started to turn the game in the middle frame. And the chances were coming fast and furious.
Christian Sanda had a great game in all areas for the Express. He was using his speed effectively to create chances, he was also doing little things right in the defensive zone.
Sanda got the Express on the board taking a pass from Lucas Wong and outwaiting a sprawled out Caron then ripping his 6th of the season over the Chiefs goaltender.
That goal was followed by chances from John Sheardown stopped by the pad of Caron off the rush, Colby Pederson was stopped on a tip play, Haydn Delorme was robbed all alone in front of the Chilliwack net by Caron's left pad, Sam Kozlowski hit the post, and Josh Bruce ripped a shot just past the top corner on a odd man rush.
All those chances coming in the second period alone. But the Express still came out of the frame trailing 2-1.
The Express opened the third period on the power play. Then a minute into the advantage Sam Kozlowski got his stick up on Tommy Lee. Originally Kozlowski was assessed a minor for high sticking. Then after some further pleading from Lee the call was then changed to a double minor. Credit to the Express who killed off the power play and finished the night a perfect 4 for 4 on the penalty kill.
One of the areas that Head Coach Jason Fortier has really emphasized since taking over behind the bench is skill development. He's put in a lot of effort in practice in the little details. Notably tips.
That work paid off for the Express on the tying goal. John Sheardown fired a shot from the blueline that was tipped home by Haydn Delorme through the pads of Caron to even the game at 2 at 5:41. And that is where things stood after 60 minutes.
As the third period wound down, Christian Sanda had two notable shot blocks with his stick in the defensive zone. The second one broke his twig while deflecting the puck out of play.
For the Express it was the first time they've been able to take a point off of Chilliwack since February 26, 2015 a 4-3 overtime loss in Coquitlam. Since that game Chilliwack had won 14 straight games over the Express in regulation.
It was also the first time March 1, 2014 that the Express had picked up a point of any kind in Chilliwack in regulation. They had won 14 regular season home games to the Express without conceding a point to the visitors.
The Express began the overtime with a 4 on 3 advantage for 1:52 with Matt Slick assessed a high sticking penalty late in regulation.
On that power play the best chance came to Christian Sanda who heeled a one timer from the circle. Jordan Schulting also had a great chance from the slot but was turned back.
Then in 3 on 3 overtime things got really hectic. Josh Bruce had a 2 on 0 breakaway with Troy Robillard. Bruce slowed up on the play allowing Robillard to catch up, but he was robbed by the left pad by Caron on the pass from Bruce.
Then Bruce had another breakaway this time he was stopped by the pad of Caron.
At the other end Corey Andonovski rang a shot off the goal post in the final seconds of 3 on 3 OT as he tried outwait a sprawled out Brock Hamm. The Express goaltender finished with 30 saves on 32 Chiefs shots. His rival at the other end finished with 29 saves. Many of them of the difficult variety when you consider the quality of chances the Express were able to create.
Up next for the Express they host the Surrey Eagles Saturday night.
The January 10th trading deadline has come and gone. The Express made two moves leading up to the deadline.
They have traded 20 year old defenseman Oliver Lester to the Prince George Spruce Kings in exchange for 2000 born forward Ryan Stack and future considerations.
The West Vancouver native is at listed at 5'8, 165lbs. He's in his first full season of junior hockey. In 25 games this season in Prince George he has 2 goals and 3 assists for 5 points. He also dressed for 9 games last season with Prince George and was productive with 3 assists. Prior to the Spruce Kings, Stack is a product of the Burnaby Winter Club. Last season he had 20 goals and 36 points in 26 games.
Lester was acquired by the Express back in November from the Atlanta Capitals of the NA3HL. He only dressed for 7 games with the club and didn't tally a point. He suffered an ankle injury in his second shift in his first game with the team in Surrey on November 10th. That injury forced him to miss more than a month. Prince George will be the 8th junior team in the career of Oliver Lester.
In another move, the Express moved the rights to 20 year old listed defenseman Ty Schultz to the Surrey Eagles in exchange for future considerations.
Bryce Luker - Photo courtesy of Montreal Canadiens twitter
I recently spoke with Express alumni Bryce Luker who backstopped the Express to their 2006 RBC cup championship. This past Saturday he practiced with the Montreal Canadiens on an emergency basis after Carey Price went down with the flu. The opportunity came following a lengthy shift as a Ottawa firefighter.
We discussed that experience, his journey following his time with the Express. and the 2006 season that culminated in a RBC cup. The interview is lengthy, but well worth the time.
Josh Wildauer and Sam Kozlowski
Photo courtesy of Damon James
The Express completed a season sweep of the Merritt Centennials with a 3-2 home ice win Wednesday night. Click here for boxscore
They got contributions from three unlikely goal scorers to pace the offensive attack. At the other end, Clay Stevenson was solid, most notably when the game was on the line in the third period.
Jack Lippis made his Express debut - Photo courtesy of Damon James
Wednesday's meeting also marked the Express debuts for forwards Jack Lippis and Jack MacNab. They were acquired by the Express earlier in the day in separate trades with the Wenatchee Wild and Nanaimo Clippers deals that saw future considerations go the other way.
MacNab had a two chances for the Express off the rush in the first period.
With the acquisitions of MacNab and Lippis that now gives the Express three players whose first name all starts with the name Jack. It was the longest serving Jack on the Express roster who opened the scoring. Josh Wildauer on the power play slid the puck to Jack Graham who slid the puck through the pads of Austin Roden.
Henry Cleghorn evened the game at one for Merritt finding a loose puck in front of the net and sliding it under Clay Stevenson.
The Express were called for three separate minors in the opening 11 minutes of the second period. The penalty killing which had a good night shut down the Centennials on each opportunity. In fact the Express held Merritt without a shot for the first 14 minutes of the second period. Their best chance never counted as a shot on goal as Matthew Kopperud beat Stevenson with a quick wrist shot, but rang it off the post.
One of the newcomers Jack Lippis had a hand in helping get the Express their second lead of the night. He skated the puck into the Merritt zone dishing it to Josh Bruce who set up Eric Linell who put a shot off the post. Troy Robillard playing in his 100th career BCHL game joined the rush and scored on the rebound for a 2-1 Express lead.
That goal was followed just 1:10 later by a goal from Lucas Wong who scored on a set up by Christian Sanda in the slot. The goals for both Wong and Robillard were their second of the season.
The task for the Express entering the third period was to protect their two goal lead. They faced a Merritt squad that was determined to claw their way back into it.
Lucas Wong scored the GWG - Photo courtesy of Damon James
Halfway through the period they took advantage of a turnover deep in the Express zone and Nick Wicks set up Bradley Cocca who scored to cut the Express lead to 3-2.
It was around this time that Express Head Coach Jason Fortier sensed his team needed to relax and re-focus on the task at hand. He called his timeout to reset their responsibilities defensively.
Kopperud put a second shot off the goal post in the 3rd period. Tyrell Buckley also snapped a shot off the post in the final frame.
The final test for the Express came in the final minutes of the game when Josh Wildauer was called for holding with 2:08 to play.
It was at this time Stevenson's play really shined. He made his best save of the game getting his left pad across to deny Zach Zorn with just over a minute to play. Stevenson finished with 20 saves. And in the two games vs. Merritt in the last week he turned aside 53 of 57 shots in a pair of Express wins.
The Express finished the night perfect on the night killing off all 6 Merritt powerplays.
Up next the Express will host the Trail Smoke Eaters on Friday night.
Jason Fortier wasn't done today adding to his forward group. He also acquired forward Jack MacNab (99) from the Nanaimo Clippers in exchange for future considerations.
MacNab brings plenty of size to the Express forward group at 6'5. Only defenseman Landon Fuller is taller on the Express who is listed at 6'5.5. He comes to the Express with a commitment in hand to the University of Notre Dame for the fall of 2018.
Prior to coming to Nanaimo, MacNab spent four seasons at the Culver Military academy. The same program that former Express Jack Surowiec played at. In his final two season at Culver Academy he had 55 goals and 112 points in 83 games. He also played one game with the Chicago Steel of the USHL last season.
This season the Indianapolis Indiana native has 2 goals and 8 assists for 10 points in 37 games with Nanaimo.
Jack Lippis will wear #10 for Express - Photo courtesy of Damon James
The Coquitlam Express completed a trade with the Wenatchee Wild acquiring forward Jack Lippis (99) in exchange for future considerations.
Lippis fills the hole at centre created when captain Alex Ambrosio committed to Lake Superior State University over the Holiday break.
The Mission Viejo California native played 19 games this season in Wenatchee and had 2 goals and 5 assists for 7 points.
In 16-17, he had 5 goals and 5 assists for 10 points in 32 games with Gunnery Prep. He averaged over a point per game during the 15-16 season with the Anaheim Junior Ducks with 11 goals and 23 assists for 34 points in 32 games in the T1EHL U16 level.
Lippis will wear #10 in his debut tonight vs. Merritt.
