Coquitlam Expressions

GRIZZLIES @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

2012-01-28T14:55:00.000-08:00

Here's the highlights of the Express' 9-2 win over Victoria Friday.

Highlights courtesy of Cary Derksen.

EXPRESS CRUISE TO WIN OVER GRIZZ

2012-01-27T22:11:00.001-08:00

The Coquitlam Express cruised to a 9-2 win over a depleted Victoria Grizzlies team that dressed only 14 skaters.

The opening moments of the game showed the Express were ready to play and showed they were determined to give a strong effort for the full 60 minutes.

The line of Alex Petan, Taylor Bourne and Malcom McKinney got the proceedings going on the first shift of the game with McKinney scoring just 17 seconds into the contest. That goal was just the first of what would be a big night for this line.

McKinney scored again less than 5 minutes into the game taking a drop pass from Petan and snapping home a wrist shot past Nicholas Taylor. For McKinney, the two goals helped bump a slump that saw him register just 2 goals and 1 assist in his previous 8 games.

Chase Kaiser got Victoria on the board scoring on their first shot of the game roofing a great shot over Khaleed Devji on the powerplay.

McKinney and Petan were back at it again on the powerplay picking up their 3rd points of the period setting up a goal by Zach Hodder.

Coltyn Hansen pulled the Grizzlies back within one firing a wrist shot past Devji.

Just 1:22 later the Express were back up by two as Mitch Nardi re-directed a centering pass from Jace Hennig home. The goal for Nardi was part of a strong night for him as well. He played with a presence. He had a strong nose for the net all game long driving hard to the Victoria cage numerous times Friday night.

The dominant opening period saw the Express out shoot the Grizz 16-4.

It was more of the same for the Express in the second period.

Head Coach Jon Calvano took Alex Kerfoot off the line with Brady Shaw and John Siemer in the second period and put Kerfoot with Jace Hennig and AP call up Adam Rockwood. The three skilled youngsters looked magical at times together and their hockey sense working as a unit was a treat to watch on the attack in the Grizzlies zone.

Mitchell Fyffe picked up just his second goal of the season after some good team work by John Siemer and Brady Shaw to set up the goal.

Then it was Alex Petan's turn to find the back of the net for the 6th Express goal of the game set up by Bourne and McKinney.

The middle frame ended with a spirited dust up between Brady Shaw and former Express Jaden Schmeisser who were exchanging jabs a few times throughout the course of the game.

For a second straight period the Express out shot Victoria 16-4.

Victoria relieved Junior B call up Nicholas Taylor after the 2nd period after allowing 6 goals on 32 shots. Taylor Pears who spent some time in the BCHL in the past mopped up in the third.

Alex Kerfoot wired a wrist shot home from the right wing on the powerplay for the 7th goal for the Express.

Petan, Bourne and McKinney capped off their big night with the captain scoring his second of the night to put the Express up by 6. Bourne, and McKinney set it up. Malcom McKinney and Petan each finished with 5 points 2 goals and 3 assists. Taylor Bourne had 3 helpers. Add it all up, the three of them combined for 15 points with 4 goals and 9 assists.

The Grizzly killer Josh Finkelstein rounded out the scoring blasting home his second of the season and second goal in as many games in the span of a week vs. Victoria.

Collectively it was a strong team performance for the home team. The only downside came in the third period when assistant coach Mark Goble took a puck off the head and had to head to the room for repairs. But he did finish the game.

The Express finished with 45 shots while allowing a season low 18 shots allowed. The 9 goals scored was also a season high.

It's back to the Island for the Express with key conference games Saturday in Cowichan Valley and Sunday in Nanaimo.

HENNING COMMITS TO MERRIMACK

2012-01-26T15:16:00.001-08:00

The Coquitlam Express are extremely pleased to announce that Jace Hennig has committed to Merrimack College, Division I NCAA, for fall of 2014.

Hennig, a native of Port Moody, BC, played 4 games with the Express as an affiliate before being signed by the club at the trade deadline on January 10th. Since then the 16 year old forward picked up his first BCHL points, a goal and assist, during a 5-2 win in Victoria on January 20.

"This is great news" said Head Coach Jon Calvano, "and a good commitment for local young kids to see how our program benefits the younger players". The BCHL prides itself on being a feeder league to NCAA and CIS schools and giving the opportunity for young hockey players to further develop their skills while receiving post-secondary education.

Hennig joins Alex Petan (Michigan Tech, 2012) and Rajan Sidhu (RIT, 2012) as the third Express player to commit this season.

MORE BCHL TOP PLAYERS VOTING

2012-01-24T11:44:00.000-08:00

In October and November, fans voted by the thousands to name the top-50 players in the British Columbia Hockey League’s 50-year history.

Now, the league is asking for more votes to name the top “Player of the Decade” from each of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.

From today until the end of the regular season, fans can vote at www.bchl.ca by clicking on the “VOTE HERE” graphic. Fans must check one name per decade to submit their ballot.

“We had a great response to our first round of voting leading into our Celebration Weekend back in November,” said BCHL communications director Brent Mutis. “Now, we’re looking to narrow it down a little further; hopefully we get another great show of participation from fans as we honour past players.”

The BCHL regular season ends on Sunday, March 11. The list of five names will be unveiled on the first night of the playoffs which is Friday, March 16.

RIVERMEN SQUEAK BY EXPRESS

2012-01-21T23:28:00.000-08:00

In the first 4 games of a sequence of 11 of 13 games away from home the Express are an even 2-2. Their record was evened up Saturday with a 5-4 loss to the Coastal Conference basement occupyers the Langley Rivermen.

Langley got off to a good start in the opening minutes by jumping out to a early 6-0 advantage in shots.

Jackson Playfair opened the scoring beating Cole Huggins with a wrist shot past his glove. It was the first BCHL goal for Playfair in his 37th game.

The Express had a great chance to pull even but Malcom Mckinney couldn't beat Jim Kruger who made a great save going to his left on a 2 on 1 break.

There was some controversy in the opening frame. Alex Petan had a good chance coming down the right wing. His shot was partially stopped and juggled by Kruger, but as he was going back the puck fell under the goaltender and may have crossed the goal line. The Express celebrated as they scored, the goal judge in the building ruled it to be a good goal, but referee Grant Tyson who was well behind the play waved it off without consulting the goal judge.

The Express did get on the board before the period was done as in the dying seconds Justin Georgeson finished off a 3 way passing play with Taylor Bourne and Cody Michelle.

Langley did outshoot the Express 15-11 in the 1st period.

The Express were better in the second period. Brady Shaw gave the Express their first lead 5 minutes into the period snapping a shot past the glove of Kruger following a scramble in the slot.

Alex Petan nearly put the Express up a pair as he came down the wing but snapped a shot off the post.

That turned out to be a lucky break for Langley as just over a minute later Sebastien Pare snapped a shot through a partially screened Cole Huggins to tie the game at 2.

Mitch Nardi got a gift to put the Express back in the lead as his wrist shot from just inside the blue line eluded the glove of Kruger.

The lead could have been more if the Express buried all their chances. Alex Kerfoot had a pair of similar looking chances. Both times he got in too tight on Kruger who laid down the left pad as Kerfoot was trying to tuck it in. On both occasions Kerfoot ran out of real estate.

The game was tied at 3 entering the third following Peter McMullen's goal wth just over a minute remaining in the middle frame. The Rivermen got 3 shot attempts and the 3rd finally got through to the net.

Sebastien Pare put the Riverman back in the lead as he came down the right wing and snapped a wrist shot past Huggins low to the stick side. That was followed by some insurance shortly thereafter as Chris Tracy deftly re-directed a puck through the legs of Huggins.

The Express had their chances to get back into the game including three powerplays in the third. But the execution just wasn't there on this night. The Express man advantage finished the night 0 for 4.

Brady Shaw did pull the Express within one with just over a minute to go but it was too little too late.

Langley held on to snap their 6 game losing streak and pick up just their 2nd win in their last 13. For the Express it was just their 2nd loss in their last 11.

The Express come back home for one game next Friday vs. Victoria.

SIGNIFICANT CHANGES FOR 12-13 OUTLINE BCHL SEMI ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

2012-01-19T19:29:00.000-08:00

The BCHL recently held it's semi annual general meeting, and there is some big news that came out of the meetings that will dramatically change the look of the BCHL for the 2012-13 season.

Read the full press release below from the BCHL for the full details.

The British Columbia Hockey League passed a number of significant motions Thursday at the league’s semi-annual governors meeting in Richmond. The changes will take effect in the 2012-13 season.

To allow more fans to attend games, governors voted to lower the number of regular season games from 60 to 56. This will decrease the number of mid-week games when fans are less able to attend. Now, a greater percentage of home dates can be held on the prime nights of Friday and Saturday.

Also, a showcase event will be held Sept. 7 to 9 at a site yet to be determined. The showcase is similar to events held in the Alberta and Saskatchewan Junior Hockey leagues where college and professional scouts are invited. Showcase results will count in the regular season standings. Each BCHL team will play two games at the event meaning all teams, except the host of the showcase, will then have 27 home dates in the 2012-13 season. Any revenues from the showcase will be split up amongst the league’s 16 clubs. Teams are being asked to submit by Feb. 1 their bids to host the event.

Another motion that passed was the decision to move the start of the regular season to Sept. 14, 2012. This will mark the date that the standard BCHL regular-season format shall commence though by that point, two regular season games will have been played at the showcase event by each team.

The season will end March 10, 2013 which means the coming season is two weeks longer than normal. This also will allow more games to be scheduled on prime nights rather than mid week.

With respect to the alignment of the conferences, there will be now be 10 teams in the Coastal Conference and it will be split into two groups called the Island Division and Mainland Division. The Island Division will include Victoria, Cowichan Valley, Nanaimo, Alberni Valley and Powell River. The Mainland Division will include Coquitlam, Surrey, Langley, Chilliwack and Prince George.

Prince George will be given the option to return to the Interior Conference after the conclusion of the 2013 playoffs. With Prince George and Chilliwack set to join the Coastal Conference, the new Interior Conference will include the remaining teams: Merritt, Trail, Penticton, Vernon, Salmon Arm and Westside.

“These decisions were not made in haste and came only after lengthy debate by our governors,” said BCHL commissioner John Grisdale. “The BCHL considers itself an innovator and model for Junior A hockey in Canada and these decisions, not all of them unanimous, have been made with the intention of ensuring the long-term viability of our league.”

Each club has been asked to submit new playoff format ideas to the BCHL office by Feb. 1, 2012. After that, a decision will be made and announced.

PREDS CLAIM YIP

2012-01-19T12:02:00.002-08:00

Brandon Yip's new home in the NHL is with the Nashville Predators who claimed him on waivers from the Colorado Avalanche.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (January 19, 2012) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the club claimed forward Brandon Yip on waivers from the Colorado Avalanche and activated forward Jerred Smithson from injured reserve.

Yip, 26 (4/25/85), has 41 points (23g-18a) in 113 career NHL contests, all with Colorado, since the 2009-10 campaign. The Vancouver, B.C., native has been limited to 10 games in 2011-12 – going pointless – due to arm (missed 18 games from Oct. 8-Nov. 15) and groin (missed four games from Dec. 13-19) injuries. The 6-1, 195-pound right wing amassed 108 points (45g-63a) in 139 games with Boston University from 2005-09, helping the Terriers win the 2009 NCAA National Championship on a team that also included current Predator Colin Wilson.

Colorado’s seventh selection, 239th overall (eighth round), in the 2004 Entry Draft, Yip is on a one-way contract worth $750,000.

EXPRESS RECORDS UPDATE

2012-01-18T14:45:00.000-08:00

Personally, part of the vision I had for this blog was for it to be a place to be a one stop shop for Express records, stats and some other historical information for the franchise. I personally believe it is important to have some form of a record of every single game the Express have ever played in regular season and playoffs.

Ever since I've been the broadcaster for the Express dating back to their 4th season in the league in 04-05 I've been keeping track of the Express head to head record vs. every team in the BCHL among other information.

Over the course of the last few weeks, I've spent a number of hours looking up the results of every single regular season and playoff game the Express have played in their first 3 seasons in the BCHL starting with the 01-02 season right on through to the 03-04 campaign.

Our public address announcer Brendan Batchelor told me about this website www.wayback.archive.org and I've been able to look up the Coquitlam Express website from years gone by and look up old Express scores. I also was able to use other sources the Coquitlam Now newspaper archives, the BCHL website among others to do my best to gather information on old Express games played.

Now that I've been able to tabulate this information, plus the records I've maintained over the years as the broadcaster of the Express, I would like to work on create an even more detailed Express record book. I will now be able to figure out what the Express all time record is vs. every team in the BCHL. Plus I can also work on having information on this blog of other Express records, most shots on goal in a game, most goals in a game etc. I think you get the idea where I'm going.

I won't be posting it anytime soon. I would like to wait until the current season to come to an end then take all the information I have gathered and hopefully have something posted some time after the season comes to an end.

YIP PLACED ON WAIVERS

2012-01-18T11:42:00.000-08:00

Former Coquitlam Express sniper Brandon Yip was placed on waivers today by the Colorado Avalanche.

The Avalanche needed to open up a roster spot when defenceman Shane O'Brien was re-activated from the injured reserve list.

Teams have 24 hours to claim him and his $725 000 cap hit or he will be sent to the Lake Erie Monsters of the AHL. Yip is a unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

The third year pro has had a disappointing season thus far going pointless in just 10 games this season. Yip has spent most of the season as a healthy scratch.

He started his NHL career with a bang scoring 11 goals and 19 points in 32 games in 2009-10. Last season he just had 12 goals and 22 points in 71 games.

The Avalanche drafted Yip directly from the Express in the 8th round 239th overall in 2004.

NANAIMO TO HOST INAUGURAL WEST. CDN. CHAMPIONSHIP

2012-01-16T13:10:00.000-08:00

As we've learned earlier this season, the 2011-12 season will be the last year for the both the Doyle Cup (BCHL Champion vs. AJHL Champion) and the Anavet Cup (SJHL Champion vs. MJHL Champion) to determine who will be the Pacific and Western Region representatives at the RBC Cup.

That has been replaced with a new Western Canadian Junior A championship tournament, and it today it was announced that the Nanaimo Clippers will host the inaugural event in 2013.

Here's the full press release today from the BCHL and the Canadian Junior A Hockey League.

The Canadian Junior Hockey League is pleased to announce a new regional playoff format for its four western provinces beginning in 2013. The British Columbia Hockey League, Alberta Junior Hockey League, Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and Manitoba Junior Hockey League will move to a five-team tournament and crown the first-ever Western Canadian Champion.

The Western Canadian Championship will include a host team and the champion from each of the four western leagues. The 13-game tournament will include a round-robin schedule followed by two semifinal games and a championship game. The Western Canadian Champion and the runner-up will both represent Western Canada at the RBC Cup National Junior A Championship.

"Congratulations to the four western leagues on this significant step in the growth of Junior A hockey in Western Canada and across the country,” said CJHL Chairman Kirk Lamb. “The new championship format will create a tremendous opportunity to showcase our players, teams and communities and is yet another example of the strengthening relationship among Junior A leagues in Canada. I commend the four western leagues on partnering together in the development of this initiative.”

CJHL Chairman Kirk Lamb and the four western provinces are honoured to announce the hosting rights for the inaugural Western Canadian Championship in 2013 have been awarded to the BCHL community of Nanaimo, BC. The 2013 Western Canadian Championship will be held from April 26 to May 5.

“I want to congratulate Nanaimo on being selected to host the first Western Canadian Championship in 2013,” said BCHL commissioner John Grisdale. “I am extremely confident the host committee, the Clipper ownership group, their fans, the City of Nanaimo and the volunteers will work cohesively towards ensuring the championship is not only successful in Nanaimo, but the legacy left will provide a blueprint for the other Junior A leagues to follow.”

Nanaimo Clippers owner Ken Wagner is proud to bring the inaugural Western Canadian Championship to Nanaimo during a milestone season for the franchise.

“Hosting the Western Canadian Championship in conjunction with our 40th anniversary is a great way for the team and community to celebrate. I believe the Nanaimo Clippers are a flagship franchise in the CJHL and it is a true honour to be selected as the host city for the first-time event. Nanaimo offers the ultimate in hospitality, beautiful scenery and a strong volunteer base, which will result in a successful experience for everyone involved.”

The Western Canadian Championship will be hosted by the BCHL in 2013, followed by the MJHL (2014), AJHL (2015), and SJHL (2016). A Site Selection Committee will be responsible for selecting a host team annually, upon the recommendation of the host league.

About the Canadian Junior Hockey League:There are currently 10 leagues and over 130 teams competing in the Canadian Junior Hockey League. The goal of the CJHL is to enhance and expand development and exposure for its players in order to increase the number of opportunities to further their academic and hockey careers. The annual champion of the Canadian Junior Hockey League wins the RBC Cup.

About the RBC Cup:Since 1971, teams from across Canada have fought for the National Junior A Championship. The RBC Cup National Junior A Championship is currently an annual tournament between the Champions of the four regions within the CJHL and the Host Club in a quest to become the National Champion.

DARCY ROTA INTERVIEW

2012-01-11T16:20:00.000-08:00

After practice today, I had a chance to sit down and talk with Express President and GM Darcy Rota about how the team approached the BCHL trade deadline that has come and gone.

We also covered his reaction to the deals made around the BCHL, the upcoming schedule for the Express which sees them playing 11 of their next 13 on the road, an update on Alex Petan for the road trip, and we covered the signing of Jace Hennig.

Click to listen to Darcy Rota
Hennig will fill the 16 year old spot for the Express which has been vacant for most of the season. Hennig makes the jump to Junior A after having a great season to date with the Vancouver North East Chiefs of the BC Major Midget League where he was 2nd in BC MML scoring with 24 goals and 52 points in 24 games this season. Hennig has played 5 games this season with the Express as an Affiliate player.

NHL MID-TERM DRAFT RANKINGS

2012-01-11T12:17:00.001-08:00

NHL Central scouting released it's mid-term ranking of prosects for the upcoming NHL draft.

Express rookie Alex Kerfoot is ranked 81st among North American skaters. The list of 210 players listed consists of 7 BCHL players. Jujhar Khaira of Prince George is ranked 1 spot ahead of Kerfoot at 80th, Salmon Arm's Morgan Zulinick is ranked 104th, Merritt's Reece Wilcox is ranked 114th, Surrey's Devon Toews 181st, former Express and Prince George sniper Paul De Jersey 203rd and just one spot ahead of Penticton Vees forward Wade Murphy.

The NHL draft goes June 22-23rd in Pittsburgh.

EXPRESS STAND PAT AT DEADLINE

2012-01-11T12:05:00.001-08:00

The BCHL's trading deadline came and went yesterday and the Coquitlam Express decided to stand pat and go with the roster that has seen them rattle off 7 straight wins and currently occupy a playoff spot.

That's not to say they weren't active prior to the deadline with the deals that sent Taylor Love to Salmon Arm and bringing in Nicholas Wong.

So the club will stick with it's current arrangement of 11 forwards, 7 defence and the two goaltenders.

There was a fair amount of activity around the BCHL at this years deadline. Here's a look at some of the deals that involved other Coastal Conference teams in the playoff race. The biggest mover has to be the Victoria Grizzlies who came out of the weekend sitting 10 points back of the Express for a playoff spot.

The Grizz shipped out Wade Murphy to Penticton, Jarryd Ten Vaanholt to Prince George. They also dealt Goaltender Jamie Tucker, forwards Mike Collins and Mike Moran to various other locations around Canada.

Powell River traded goaltender Jamie Phillips to the Toronto Jr. Canadians, plus they sent Brenden Forbes and Taylor Carmola to the Nanaimo Clippers for Teal Burns.

The Surrey Eagles didn't make any moves at this years deadline.

Click on the link below to see a full list of trades made at the deadline this season.

http://www.bchl.ca/leagues/transactions.cfm?clientid=1413&leagueid=2393

CAPS @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

2012-01-08T21:25:00.000-08:00

Here's the highlights of the 5-4 Express OT win over the Cowichan Valley Capitals Sunday.

Highlights courtesy of Cary Derksen.

LUCKY #7 FOR EXPRESS

2012-01-08T18:42:00.000-08:00

The Coquitlam Express have extended their winning streak to 7 straight games with a 4-1 win over the Powell River Kings Saturday. That was followed up with a dramatic 5-4 overtime win over the Coastal Conference leading Cowichan Valley Capitals on Sunday.

On Saturday, Mitch Nardi helped fill the void left with the absence of Alex Petan by scoring twice to help lead the offensive attack for the Express. Cody Michelle and Alex Kerfoot added singles for the Express.

Khaleed Devji posted his second straight win in just over a week vs. the Kings as he turned aside 30 of the 31 shots sent his way in a strong performance on his 20th birthday.

Matt Scarth partially spoiled Devji's birthday as he broke his shutout bid with just 2:17 in the third period.

The win kept the Express undefeated vs. the Kings this season with 4 wins and a tie.

Sunday's game vs. the Caps was another strong test for the Express as they went head to head with the top team in the Coastal Conference in Cowichan Valley.

Since the last meeting between the two teams in December, Cowichan Valley added some additional offensive depth by picking up Richard Vanderhoek and Brett Knowles in seperate deals.

Cowichan quickly opened the scoring as former Express Jake Charles beat Cole Huggins up high with a wrist shot from the slot just over 3 minutes into the game.

John Siemer pulled the Express even with one of the prettiest goals we've seen this season as he picked up the pick in his own zone and carried it with speed dangling around a Caps defender then firing a backhand over the glove of Brady Rouleau.

Click to listen to Siemer's 1-1 goal
Malcom Mckinney was awarded his third penalty shot this season in the opening minute of the second period as he was hauled down cutting to the goal. Mckinney was 2 for 2 on penalty shots earlier this season scoring vs. Derek Dun vs. the Caps back in November 2, and he scored in overtime on a penalty shot vs. Andrew Hunt of the Surrey Eagles to give the Express a 5-4 OT win back on November 5th.

This time around Mckinney wasn't so lucky as he made a move to the backhand but his shot went off the post. The Express are now 2 for 7 on penalty shots this season.

30 seconds later the Caps took their second lead of the game as their top line of Brett Knowles, Matt Brown and Devin Gannon hooked up with Gannon converting a Brett Knowles feed past Huggins to put the Caps up 2-1.

Brown then put the Caps up a pair on the powerplay as he was able to bang home the rebound of a hard point shot by Brayden Sherbinin that Huggins couldn't quite corral.

Cowichan Valley took their 3-1 lead to the third period. Malcom Mckinney cut the lead down to one in the opening minutes of the third as he snapped a shot from the slot through Rouleau.

Brayden Sherbinin appeared to give the Caps some insurance as he blasted a puck from the line past the glove of Huggins to put Cowichan Valley up 4-2 with just under 10 minutes remaining in the third period.

Cole Huggins needed to be very strong for the Express in between the pipes all game long in this one. He finished with 45 saves after having 49 shots sent his way Sunday afternoon.

Huggins saved his best with just over 4 minutes to go as he stopped Logan Proulx on a breakaway as he tried to deke to Huggins' right but he kicked out his pad to keep the Express within striking distance.

That save proved to be valuable as just moments later Taylor Bourne banged home a loose puck following a won faceoff in the Caps zone to pull the Express within one with 3:10 to go. The goal for Bourne was his first point in 6 games. And it was his first goal in 7 games and just his second in his last 12 games.

The Express got their chance to tie it with just over a minute to go as Brayden Sherbinin was assessed a hooking penalty on Alex Kerfoot.

On that powerplay the Express made it count as John Siemer took a feed from the corner and snapped home his second of the game with just 45 seconds remaining in the game.

Click to listen to Siemer's game tying goal
A valiant comeback by the Express as they scored twice in the 3:10 of the game to earn a valuable point and send the game to overtime.

Nothing was decided in the first overtime.

Devin Gannon thought he had won it for the Caps in the opening minute of the second overtime but he rang a shot off the post from the slot.

Brady Shaw made sure to win it for the Express just over a minute later as he took a feed from the corner and went to the backhand and found just enough room to slide the puck home on the backhand to give the Express their 7th straight win.

Click to listen to Shaw's OT winner
Certainly one of the biggest wins for the Express this season. Plus it was one of the more dramatic comebacks I've seen from the Express in recent years.

The win moves the Express 6 points clear of 5th place Nanaimo in the race for the playoffs with both teams having 23 games remaining in the season. Plus the Express are now 10 points clear of 6th place Victoria after they lost 10-2 in Westside, in addition the Express have 2 games in hand on the Grizzlies.

More importantly however, the win pulls the Express into a tie with the Surrey Eagles for 3rd place in the conference. But the Eagles do have 2 games in hand on the Express. The Express are also just 2 points back of 2nd place Powell River with the Express having 2 games in hand on the Kings.

The win capped off a 8 game home stand for the Express in which they went 7-1. But now the schedule gets very road heavy where they will play 9 of their next 10 games and 11 of their next 13 games away from home.

KINGS @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

2012-01-08T18:41:00.001-08:00

Here's the highlights of the Express 4-1 win over Powell River Saturday.

Highlights courtesy of Cary Derksen.

BULLDOGS @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

2012-01-06T10:19:00.000-08:00

Here's the highlights of the Exrpress 3-1 win over Alberni Valley.

Highlights courtesy of Cary Derksen.

EXPRESS WIN TIGHT BATTLE WITH DOGS

2012-01-04T22:35:00.000-08:00

It was a tight battle for the full 60 minutes, and the Express found a way to prevail by a score of 3-1 over Alberni Valley extending their winning streak to 5 games thanks in part to Cole Huggins.

The Express netminder finished with 37 saves, with 17 of those coming in the third period alone.

The game started with a bang as in the opening minute Turner Popoff leveled Express captain Alex Petan. He was clearly shaken up on the hit. He did finish the period, but Petan didn't play in the second and third periods. Mitch Nardi quickly came to the defence of his captain and dropping the mitts with Poppoff.

Max Fenkell set the tone for a strong game in the Bulldog crease with a number of nice saves off the Express in the opening period.

Coquitlam finally broke through late in the period as Cody Michelle snapped a shot from the slot and got just enough on it to power it through Fenkell to open the scoring.

The game remained 1-0 until the 7 minute mark of the second period when Alex Kerfoot set up John Siemer who blasted home his 18th of the season along the ice through the legs of Fenkell to put the Express up 2-0.

The lead was quickly cut back down to one just 28 seconds later as the Bulldogs won a faceoff in the Express zone and Evan Tironese re-directed a Nick Tupper point shot through the legs of Cole Huggins.

The Express needed their netminder in the third period. Alberni Valley pressed for the entire period looking for the equalizer, but Huggins stood tall for the entire frame to keep the Express in the lead.

Alberni Valley's best chance to tie the game came with just under 3 minutes to go as Justin Georgeson and Jason Bird were each called for seperate minors giving the Bulldogs a 6 on 3 advantage for a full two minutes after pulling Max Fenkell.

The Bulldogs pressed with a number of quality chances on the great chance to tie it, but Huggins came up with a game saving performance for the Express to cap off a 17 save third period.

Justin Georgeson iced the game in the dying seconds picking up his second point of the game by scoring into an empty net.

Alberni finished the game outshooting the Express 38-29. Both teams went 0 for 6 on the powerplay.

The Express are back in action Saturday when they play host to the Powell River Kings.

SHUFFLING THE DEFENCE

2012-01-03T20:47:00.001-08:00

The Express blueline has gone through a couple of changes since returning from their Christmas break.

First of all, Taylor Love was traded to the Salmon Arm Silverbacks in exchange for future considerations.

That was followed by the Express picking up the rights to 20 year old blueliner Nicholas Wong from the Grande Prairie Storm of the AJHL in exchange for the Junior A rights to Tyler Hart and future considerations.

Wong gives the Express another defenceman with BCHL experience having played 17 games and registering 3 goals and 9 points with the Trail Smoke Eaters this season. He has played in 174 career BCHL games with Trail and the Cowichan Valley Capitals scoring 10 goals and 62 points.

The Express defence now consists of 3 20 year olds with Wong, Rajan Sidhu and Clinton Atkinson.

OH CANADA AT WORLD JUNIORS

2012-01-03T09:26:00.000-08:00

Here's a video I filmed of Oh Canada being played at Rexall Place in Edmonton after Canada's 3-2 win over the U.S. at the World Junior Championships.

Enjoy...

KINGS @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

2011-12-31T10:00:00.000-08:00

Here's the highlights from the Express' 2-1 win over the Kings on Thursday.

Highlights courtesy of Cary Derksen.

CLIPPERS @ EXPRESS HI-LITES

2011-12-29T13:17:00.001-08:00

I may be away at the World Junior Championships, but i'm still keeping an eye on what the Express are up to.

Here's the highlights from their 5-2 win over Nanaimo Tuesday.

Highlights courtesy of Cary Derksen.

BULLDOGS @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

2011-12-17T12:15:00.000-08:00

Here's the highlights from the 8-2 win for the Express over the Alberni Valley Bulldogs on Friday.

Highlights courtesy of Cary Derksen.

CAPITAL GAINS FOR TURRIS

2011-12-17T11:19:00.000-08:00

The Kyle Turris trade watch has come to its climax with the former Express star being traded today to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for David Rundbland and a second round pick.

Earlier this week Turris has been a healthy scratch for the last two games for the Phoenix Coyotes. The last 24 hours had plenty of speculation that Turris was on the verge of being traded.

The New Westminister native held out earlier this year while awaiting to get a new contract with the Coyotes. Turris re-signed with the Coyotes on a two year deal just days before the December 1st deadline which would have deemed him ineligible to play in the NHL this season if he didn't have a new contract.

In 6 games with the Coyotes this season, Turris didn't register a point and was a -2. He played 137 career games with the Coyotes scoring 19 goals and 46 points.

In 110 career games with the Express from 2005-07, Turris scored 103 goals and 193 points. He helped the Express win the 2006 Royal Bank Cup, the next year he set Canadian Junior A Hockey history by being the highest player drafted out of Canadian Junior A hockey getting selected 3rd overall by the Coyotes.

This trade will also re-unite Turris with former Express teammate Patrick Wiercioch who is a prosect with the Sens AHL affiliate in Binghamton.

Good luck Kyle with your new club.

EXPRESS OVER POWER BULLDOGS

2011-12-16T22:35:00.000-08:00

They scored early, and often in the second period as the Coquitlam Express romped the Alberni Valley Bulldogs 8-2 to head into the Christmas break on a two game winning streak.

Malcom Mckinney and Brady Shaw each scored a hat-trick to pace the Express offensive attack.

The special teams was on a roll as well with the Express scoring 5 times on the powerplay and once shorthanded.

The scoring started early for the Express with their first powerplay goal of the night as Brady Shaw re-directed a Clinton Atkinson wrist shot at 1:09.

That was followed by Mckinney's first of the game as he decided to keep the puck on a 2 on 1 and wire a wrist shot over the glove of Matt Larose.

Brady Shaw moments later had a bid for his second of the game when he was awarded a penalty shot. He couldn't covert however as Larose kicked out his right pad to make the save.

The goals kept coming in the second. Malcom Mckinney scored his second of the game shorthanded as he took a tip pass from Alex Petan then cut in and deked past Larose.

Then came a wave of penalties to the Bulldogs giving the home side powerplay after powerplay. More specifically 5 on 3 after 5 on 3.

Brady Shaw converted a pass in the crease to put the Express up 4-0 for Shaw's second of the game. That goal spelled the end of the night for Larose after allowing 4 goals on 14 shots.

Another 5 on 3 goal for Malcom Mckinney as he wristed the puck to the net from the left wing to finish off his first BCHL hat-trick.

Dante Godhino scored the fourth powerplay goal of the period from the slot as he fired a shot through the legs of Max Fenkell to put the Express up 6-0.

Walker Hyland got the Bulldogs on the board on a powerplay putting the puck into a gaping net following a good feed from Dylan Nowakowski.

Little more than two minutes later John Siemer scored to put the Express back up by 6.

Hyland scored his second of the night in the dying seconds of the middle frame as he wired a wrist shot off the cross bar and in following a great feed by Nowakowski from his knees.

Brady Shaw finished off his first BCHL hat-trick as the Express scored their 5th powerplay goal of the game after some great passing by Clinton Atkinson and Alex Kerfoot to set it up.

Shaw and Mckinney are the first Express players to each pick up a hat-trick in a game since Kyle Turris scored 4 goals and Tyler McNeely had a hat-trick of his own back on January 13 2007 vs. Surrey.

The 5 powerplay goals for the Express is the most they've picked up in a game since scoring what is likely a franchise record 8 powerplay goals September 16 2007 while visiting the Langley Hornets.

The win puts the Express one point back up on the Nanaimo Clippers for the 4th and final playoff spot in the Coastal Conference.

Tonight's game was the final one for the Express before Christmas. They will head home and get some much needed friends, family and food time. They will return to action December 28th at home vs. the Nanaimo Clippers.

CLIPPERS @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

2011-12-15T14:27:00.000-08:00

Here's the highlights from the 6-4 win for the Express over Nanaimo Wednesday.

Highlights courtesy of Cary Derksen.

EXPRESS SLIDE INTO PLAYOFF SPOT

2011-12-14T23:11:00.000-08:00

The Coquitlam Express opened the second half of the season by over taking the Nanaimo Clippers in the standings with a 6-4 win and taking posession of a Coastal Conference playoff spot.

Wednesday's game was the first of 6 head to head meetings between the Express and Clippers in the second half of the season. The Express took the first meeting 5-3 at the Frank Crane Arena in Nanaimo back in November.

Taylor Bourne opened the scoring with his 8th of the season from Malcom Mckinney.

Alex Kerfoot helped set up Dante Godhino who scored his 3rd goal with the Express with a slick feed from behind the net. The assist was just the first indication that it was going to be a really good night for the first year Express forward.

Nanaimo responded 5 minutes later as Graeme McCormick blasted a slap shot past the glove of Cole Huggins on a 5 on 3 powerplay.

Just over a minute later the Express re-stored their two goal lead and it was Kerfoot scoring for his second point of the game.

The Express did take a two goal lead to the second period. It may have been a different story were it not for Cole Huggins who turned aside 18 of 19 Clipper shots in the first period.

Coquitlam opened the second period on the powerplay and made it count. John Siemer showed his great hands as he danced to the net and deked past Billy Faust and slid the puck home.

The goal spelled the end of the night for Faust who was pulled in favour of Christopher Eiserman after Faust allowed 4 goals and 14 shots.

Eiserman got a tough bounce off the hop as Zach Hodder scored from behind the net as he banked it in off the back of the goaltender and it literally had just enough steam to slide across the goal line.

Graeme McCormick scored his second of the night as he blasted another shot past Huggins to cut the Express lead to three entering the third.

Nanaimo kept pressing to open the final frame and Josh Bryan scored in the opening minute and that goal was followed 6 minutes later by a goal by Luke Gordon on a 2 on 1 to cut what was a 4 goal Express lead down to 1.

The Express got another break to give them some insurance as John Siemer banked a puck from the corner off Eiserman and in the net.

It was tough to see the goals go in for Eiserman who made a number of quality saves that allowed the Clippers to get back into the game.

Alex Kerfoot picked up his second assist and third point of the game on the Siemer goal. That capped off what may have been the best game i've seen Kerfoot play either in the BCHL or at the World Junior A Challenge. He did it all for the Express on this night. Every time he was on the ice, the puck was on his stick and the Clippers couldn't get it from him. Kerfoot's puck skills created chances what seemed like every shift on the ice. He drew a powerplay in the second period and had a key defensive play in the third period.

The Express rookie displayed puck possession and patience that resembeled the confidence of how Henrik Sedin distributes the puck. His vision and ability to create chances was something else. I can't say enough about what I saw from him on this night.

The win moved the Express into 4th place in the Coastal Conference. Nanaimo fell from 4th to 6th with the loss in addition to Cowichan Valley falling 5-0 to Victoria.

The Express will play their final game before the Christmas break Friday vs. the Alberni Valley Bulldogs.

BCHL BROADCASTER POLL

2011-12-13T16:30:00.000-08:00

As we hit the midway mark of the 50th BCHL season, Salmon Arm Silverbacks broadcaster Scott Campbell conducted a poll of the broadcasters of the BCHL for mid-season award winners. He also created a few other categories that were voted upon.

Take a look at the final numbers that include a few members of the Express.

Mid Season Accolades

Voted on by the BCHL’s Media Elite, compiled and presented by Scott Campbell (silverbacksmack.blogspot.com)

Annual Awards:

Best Goaltender
Interior: Michael Garteig (Penticton, 100%)
Coastal: Billy Faust (Nanaimo, 33%) Derek Dun (Cowichan, 33%) Jamie Phillips (Powell River, 33%)

Best Goaltending Duo
Interior: Lino Chimienti/Tyler Steel (Merritt, 35%)
Coastal: Sean Macguire/Jamie Phillips (Powell River, 60%)

Coach of the Year
Interior: Luke Pierce (Merritt, 85%)
Coastal: Jim Ingram/Dale Purinton (Cowichan, 90%)

Most Sportsmanlike
Interior: Regan Sequila (Merritt, 46%)
Coastal: Andrew Gladiuk (Nanaimo, 28%) Wesley Myron (Victoria, 28%)
Rookie of the Year

Interior: Mario Lucia (Penticton, 86%)
Coastal: Alex Kerfoot (Coquitlam, 100%)

Best Defenseman

Interior: Mike Reilly (Penticton, 84%)
Coastal: Craig Dalrymple (Powell River, 87%)

MVP
Interior: Paul De Jersey (Prince George, 41%)
Coastal: Wade Murphy (Victoria, 50%)

Awards that could exist

Most Improved Player
Interior: Paul De Jersey (Prince George, 80%)
Coastal: Alex Petan (Coquitlam, 62%)

Best 16 Year Old
Interior: Luke Bertolucci (Trail, 33%)
Coastal: Bo Pellah (Langley, 88%)

Franchise Player
Interior: Mike Reilly (Penticton, 45%)
Coastal: Craig Dalrymple (Powell River, 37%)

Pest Award
Interior: Adam Wheeldon (Trail) Tyson Witala (Prince George) Geoff Chrisfield (Vernon) Jakub Reichert (Merritt) Sean Maktaak (Merritt) Max French (Westside) Silvan Harper (Merritt) Riley Hunt (Vernon) Ben Woodley (Prince George) Travis St.Denis (Penticton)

Coastal: Morley Brothers (Surrey, 50%)

Best Import 
Interior: Mario Lucia (Penticon, 40%)
Coastal: Mike Moran (Victoria, 57%)

Best 20 year old
Interior: Connor Reilly (Penticton, 66%)
Coastal: Craig Dalrymple (Powell River, 42%)

Best Defensive Forward
Interior: Darren Nowick (Vernon, 20%) Kody Dhaliwal (Salmon Arm, 20%)
Coastal: Brendan Forbes (Powell River, 33%)

Player Most Deserving Of Scholarship
Interior: Regan Soquila (Merritt, 45%)
Coastal: Khaleed Devji (Coquitlam, 28%)

Honourable Mentions
Interior:
Connor Reilly only won one category but was voted for in every one in which his capable of being nominated. The only other defenders aside from Mike Reilly to get votes for Best-D were Michael King and Izaak Berglund. Mario Lucia was a close second for MVP. Dylan Chanter, Cody Depourq and Garrett Forster all fell one vote behind Luke Bertolucci for Best Youngster. Devin Muller came 2nd in the Scholarship category.
Coastal:
Brady Rouleau and Derek Dun both got votes for Best ‘Tendy. Steve Koshey was runner up for Best D. Wade Murphy was a close 2nd for most improved. Matt Brown was shut-out from winning but got a vote in most significant categories.

CAPS @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

2011-12-11T22:06:00.001-08:00

Here's the highlights of the Caps 5-4 win over the Express Sunday.

Highlights courtesy of Cary Derksen.

1ST PLACE CAPS RALLY IN 3RD

2011-12-11T17:36:00.000-08:00

The Coastal Conference leading Cowichan Valley Capitals showed the Express why they currently occupy their position in the standings by rallying to knock off the Express 5-4 Sunday afternoon.

It was the third game in as many nights for both clubs. The two teams showed good energy to start the game.

It was also Teddy Bear toss night for the Express and they gave the fans what they came for early on with a goal to throw their teddy bears. Alex Petan roofed a rebound of a Clinton Atkinson point shot for his 20th goal of the season.

Just over two minutes later the Caps pulled even. Coming off a 6 point performance the night before, Devin Gannon kept up his hot play scoring a powerplay goal of his own to tie the game at one.

Brady Shaw re-stored the Express lead in the second period showing his good hand eye coordination re-directing a Clinton Atkinson point shot.

Again the lead didn't last long, and Cowichan's top line of Devin Gannon, Jake Charles and Matt Brown teamed up to pull the Caps even. A quick pass from the boards to a wide open Jake Charles who tipped it to Brown who had a tap in to put past Khaleed Devji.

Coquitlam scored their third powerplay goal in as many opportunities to take the lead for a third time. Zach Hodder rushed the puck up ice then fired a great cross ice backhand pass to John Siemer who snapped it home for his 3rd goal in as many games.

The Express took their lead to the room after two periods. It appeared to be in good shape with the Express limiting the Caps to just 10 shots through two periods.

Cowichan Valley took their game up a notch in the third. Steven Iacobellis tied it up at 3 as he banged home the rebound off the end boards from a shot by Matthew Grant.

Another goal from a rebound off the end boards put Cowichan Valley in the lead for the first time as Matthew Grant banged home the rebound of a Matt Brown point shot.

Brown then added his second of the game to give the Caps some insurance as turned and wired a rocket of a shot over the glove of Khaleed Devji.

The Caps surpassed their shot total from the first two periods by sending 13 shots Devji's way in the third.

John Siemer scored his second of the game with 11 seconds left to cut the lead back down to one, but that would be as close as the Express would come.

The Caps top line of Devin Gannon, Jake Charles, and Matt Brown finished the game combining for 3 goals and 5 assists for 8 points. That is on the heels of that trio combining for 13 points the night before vs. Langley. They have now picked up 11 goals and 17 assists for 28 points in the last 3 meetings with the Express. All Capital victories.

EAGLES @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

2011-12-10T13:21:00.000-08:00

Here's the highlights from the 4-1 win for the Express vs. Surrey on Friday.

Highlights courtesy of Cary Derksen.

EXPRESS TAKE SERIES EDGE

2011-12-09T22:43:00.000-08:00

In the third game of four in a row head to head meetings with the Surrey Eagles, the Express got the upper hand winning their second game on home ice Friday night 4-1.

The home team got off to a good start by rolling all 4 lines, and forcing the Eagles into numerous turnovers in their own zone and generating some decent scoring chances.

The only reason the Express weren't able to open the scoring was the play of Surrey goaltender Andrew Hunt who was very sharp.

Against the flow of play the Eagles opened the scoring on the powerplay as the Morley brothers help set up Alex Hagen snapping home a feed from the slot.

The Express finally got one past Hunt late in the first period as John Siemer from deep in the Surrey zone fired a centering pass and it bounced off a defenceman and went in.

It didn't take long for the Express to take their first lead in the second period. Alex Petan forced Surrey into a turnover and showed great patience as he outwaited Hunt then slid the puck to Malcom Mckinney who buried it with ease just 42 seconds into the second.

Another turnover in the Eagles zone led to the third Express goal as Clinton Atkinson kept the puck in the Surrey zone, came down the right wing, his shot was stopped but Dante Godhino buried the rebound.

Godhino then put the game away in the third period on the powerplay as he re-directed a Zach Hodder point shot to give the Express a 4-1 lead.

The Express were in control pretty much all game long. They finished the game by outshooting the Eagles 38-25. Cole Huggins was steady in the crease finishing with 24 saves picking up his 7th win of the season.

This 4 game series between the Express and Eagles concludes Saturday night in Surrey. It will also wrap up the season series with the Eagles.

WIERCIOCH TAKES PUCK IN THE THROAT

2011-12-09T22:34:00.000-08:00

Ottawa Senators prospect Patrick Wiercioch took a puck to the throat in tonight's game between the Senators' AHL affiliate Binghamton Senators and the Norfolk Admirals.

Wiercioch was taken to the hospital but is in stable condition and his teammates in Binghamton were told that he should be okay.

The 21-year-old defenceman will require further evaluation to see if swelling in the area occurs, and more on the extent of the injury will be known Saturday.

Wiercioch was playing the point on a Senators power play when a clearing shot struck him in the throat.

In 26 games with Binghamton this season, Wiercioch has two goals and 12 points.

He played 42 games with the Express during the 06-07 season.

KERFOOT & STRAIGHT LISTED AS DRAFT PROSPECTS

2011-12-09T13:38:00.000-08:00

NHL Central Scouting released its list today for players to watch for the upcoming NHL draft in Pittsburgh.

Express rookie forward Alex Kerfoot and alumni Destry Straight were among the 8 BCHL players present and past listed as "B" ranked prospects or possible middle round selections for the draft.

This is the second consecutive year that Destry Straight was listed. Last season he was ranked as a "A" prospect or a high ranking prospect. But when the draft came around he wasn't selected. This season Straight has 1 goal and 1 assist in 17 games in his first season at Boston College.

For Kerfoot, he really made a name for himself with lots of scouts in attendance while at the World Junior A Challenge in Langley. He was named to the tournament all star game with a strong finish while helping Canada West win the gold medal. This season Kerfoot has 7 goals and 27 points in 25 games with the Express.

EAGLES @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

2011-12-04T21:06:00.000-08:00

Here's the highlights from the 5-2 Express win over the Surrey Eagles Saturday.

Highlights courtesy of Cary Derksen.

EAGLES KNOCK OFF EXPRESS, MAYBE.

2011-12-04T20:50:00.001-08:00

It was a valiant third period come back for the Express that may or may not have come one goal short.

In the second game of 4 straight games between the Express and the Eagles, Surrey evened up the series by taking game 2 5-4 at the South Surrey Arena.

Surrey blitzed the Express in the opening minutes of the first period. They quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a pair of goals by Robert Lindores and taking a early 12-2 advantage in shots.

It could have been worse for the Express were it not for the great play of Khaleed Devji.

The Express settled things down by getting a pair of powerplays and scoring once off the stick of Brady Shaw.

Tyler and Brandon Morley showed in the first period they were going to be a factor on this night. And they each scored in the second period to give Surrey a 4-1 lead. Things may have been different for the Express, were it not for shots off the post by Brady Shaw and Taylor Bourne in the second period.

Sean McGovern added a powerplay goal in the third period beating Cole Huggins who replaced Devji following the 4th Eagle goal in the second period.

This is when things get interesting. Alex Petan and Mitch Nardi scored to pull the Express within two.

Then off a won faceoff in the Surrey zone comes some controversy. Taylor Bourne re-directed a Joona Kuunas point shot past Andrew Hunt with just over 4 minutes to go to pull the Express within one.

The goal was initially called good, but after some discussion, referee Jeff Ingram waved it off ruling the puck was contacted with a high stick. Personally I disagree with the call. It looked good from where I was standing in the booth.

The questionable call came back to hurt the Express when Zach Hodder scored in the final minute and a valiant comeback by the Express came one goal short.

The encouraging sign coming out of this game was how hard the Express battled to get back into the game. It could have been easy for them to fold the tent trailing 5-1 in the third on the road playing their third game in as many days.

Can't cry over spilled milk any more. These two teams will meet for another pair of games next weekend starting Friday in Coquitlam.

EXPRESS TAKE GAME 1

2011-12-03T22:30:00.000-08:00

The Express drew first blood in this mid season 4 game series with the Surrey Eagles 5-2.

A balanced attack led the way for the Express with 5 different goal scorers, and a total of 9 players hit the scoresheet. John Siemer led the way with a goal and 2 assists.

Just like Friday night in Langley, the Express gave up the games first goal on Brandon Tanev's 4th of the year following a won faceoff in the Express zone.

And like Friday, the Express had a quick reply and took the lead. John Siemer showed his slick hands as he dangled to the net and slid it home to tie the game. That was followed 1:32 later by a rocket of a slap shot by Alex Petan blowing it past Andrew Hunt. The goals for Siemer and Petan was their 3rd in the last two games.

The Express had a great opportunity the extend their lead after Linden Saip dropped the mitts with Mitch Nardi. The Express got a 5 minute major power play out of it. That was followed by a roughing penalty by Beau Orser giving the Express a 5 on 3 for a full two minutes. The Express couldn't capitalize as the BCHL's top ranked penalty killing shut down the second best power play.

Surrey pulled even midway through the second as Colton Mackie banged home a rebound that was swatted into the slot by Khaleed Devji following a shot by Alex Hagen. That was the only puck to get past Devji who was tested 19 times in the second period.

Andrew Hunt made the save of the game in the dying seconds off the middle frame as he reached back with the paddle of his stick and took a sure power play goal away from Alex Kerfoot.

John Siemer helped break the dead lock as the made a great feed from behind the net spotting Cody Michelle and he snapped it in.

Siemer then helped give the Express some insurance as he picked up his 3rd point of the game setting up Brady Shaw who finished off the odd man rush.

Justin Georgeson finished off the scoring by tallying for a second straight game into an empty net.

Khaleed Devji was solid turning aside 35 shots for his 8th win of the season.

Another key for the Express was holding Tyler Morley off the scoresheet. He had 24 points in his last 13 games vs the Express including playoffs dating back to the start of last season. Morley had already picked up 10 points in the first 3 games vs the Express.

Overall both teams provided some pretty entertaining game for the fans to watch. It was a up and down game with good pace provided by the two teams.

They will do it all over again Sunday in Surrey.

EXPRESS RUN THE RIVER DRY

2011-12-02T23:19:00.000-08:00

Photo courtesy of Vancity Sports Blog:

Multiple players had multi point nights as the Express dropped the Langley Rivermen 6-3.

Alex Petan had 2 goals and an assist, John Siemer also scored a pair while Alex Kerfoot had a pair of helpers to carry the offensive attack.

Langley's red hot powerplay got them off to a quick start as Mike Tebbutt had multiple whacks at the puck and eventually poked it past Cole Huggins less than 3 minutes into the game.

Captain Alex Petan quickly responded for the Express as he showed great hand eye coordination to re-direct Alex Kerfoot's wrist shot past James Barr.

The Express got their first lead minutes later off a won faceoff by Kerfoot and John Siemer wired a shot over the glove of Barr.

Petan got his second of the night to put the Express up two on a nice backhand set up by Brady Shaw and Petan put the one timer home in the gaping net.

Tebutt pulled Langley back within one with his second power play goal of the period as his wrist shot from the slot was tipped going high in the air and fluttered over beyond the reach of Cole Huggins and in. At that point Langley's powerplay had struck 12 times in their last 27 opportunities.

Langley completed the comeback early in the second after some good work behind the Express net by Austin Plevy who set up Patrick Martens who roofed a backhand over Huggins.

Then came the turning point in favour off the Express. Justin Georgeson benefited from a broken play and the puck bounced to him and he wired a wrist shot through Barr to put the Express in the lead for good as it turned out. That goal was followed by a great shift from Petan, Bourne and Mckinney which led to an Express powerplay. That powerplay didn't result in a goal, but the Express pretty much did everything but score.

Cole Huggins then made a key save off Mario Puskarich in the final seconds of the period and the Express skated off to the room with a one goal lead.

The Express continued their strong 5 on 5 play in the third. More good work deep in the Langley zone by Bourne, Mckinney and Petan led to the 5th Express goal as Bourne scored on the rebound of a Joona Kuunas point shot.

The Express shut down Langley the rest of the night and when John Siemer scored his second of the game, that put the finishing touches on the win for the Express.

They will now get ready to play their next 4 games vs. the Surrey Eagles starting Saturday night.

POWERFUL BOUNCE BACK

2011-11-26T23:37:00.000-08:00

The Express scored three power play goals and took advantage of a frustrated Langley Rivermen squad to take the second of a weekend home and home 6-3 at the Langley Events Centre.

24 hours earlier the Express fell behind early and got caught up in Langley's 1-3-1 trap.

Giving up the first goal last night allowed Langley to quickly settle into their defensive set up. The Express fortunes were better on this night as Cody Michelle followed up his two goal performance Friday by opening the scoring Saturday.

The lead only lasted 16 seconds as former Express Evan Campbell tied it up poking a puck that snuck through Khaleed Devji's pads.

The game last night tested the resolve of the Express when Langley wanted to stir things up. On this night the Express made Langley pay for any shenanigans by striking on the powerplay.

Brady Shaw put the Express back in the lead as he scored on the powerplay with Jim Kruger sprawling in his crease.

Malcom Mckinney blasted the second powerplay goal of the period for the Express from the left boards to open up a 3-1 lead. The goal was helped by a deft screen by Cody Michelle.

The lead prevented Langley from going into complete lock down mode like they did Friday.

Zac Holstrom showed great determination to set up the 4th Express goal in the second period. He came out of the penalty box and muscled off a Langley defender then fired a great backhand pass to Alex Petan who put it in the gaping net.

Chris Tracy got one back for Langley scoring in the final minute.

Stephen Ryan played as an AP Saturday. He was the was the recipient of a great break out pass by Michelle and Ryan roofed it short side from the left wing.

As it became more and more apparent that the Express would come out of this one victorious, Langley started to lose their composure and tried to take some liberties on the Express.

It just resulted in more powerplays and Brady Shaw scored his second of the game and the third powerplay goal for the Express to put them up 6-2.

Much like Friday, Langley was willing to stir things up after the whistle. This time around the Express did a better job of keeping their emotions in check.

There were a number of times when Express players were slashed away from the play or were shoved to the ice in front of their net.

Aiden Cavallini scored his first BCHL goal to round out the scoring.

Khaleed Devji made 28 saves to pick up the win. The Express have now won 6 straight games on the road.

The win combined with Nanaimo losing in Alberni Valley pulled the Express within two points of 4th place. Plus the Express surpassed Victoria who fell 1-0 to Cowichan Valley.

These two teams will meet for a third straight time again Friday in Langley.

RIVERMEN @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

2011-11-26T13:47:00.001-08:00

Here's the highlights from Friday's 5-2 win for the Rivermen over the Express.

Highlights courtesy of Cary Derksen.

RIVERMEN STIFLE EXPRESS ATTACK

2011-11-25T22:34:00.000-08:00

It wasnt very pretty, but it sure was effective as the Langley Rivermen trapped their way to a 5-2 win over the Express Friday night.

The Rivermen set the tone for the night early by going to a 1-2-2 or 1-3-1 neutral zone set up with at times minimal fore checking pressure.

Their cause was helped when newcomer Aiden Cavallini set up the games first goal just 1:12 in by Austin Plevy on an odd man rush.

With the lead early on the road, it was game on for Langley to try and play the 'perfect road game'. They forced the Express to try and weave their way through the neutral zone and force them into turnovers.

It was effective early and pretty much all night for the visitors.

Langley added to their lead on the powerplay when Mike Tebbutt scored his first of the game at the lip of the crease to give Langley a 2-0 lead.

The goal chased starter Cole Huggins who was pulled in favour of Khaleed Devji. Langley's fast start also saw them jump out to a early 10-1 advantage in shots.

Devji's task was to shut the door the rest of the way to keep the Express within striking distance while trying to figure out Langley's trap. He made a few saves in the second half of the first period and in the second to keep the deficit at just two.

The Express did take some penalties that at times reflected their frustration with how challenging it was to generate offence.

Mike Tebbutt added his second of the game in the final minute of the second period on the powerplay when he had the puck bounce to him at the side of the net following a blast by Richard Coyne from the point off the end glass.

Tebbutt completed his hat-trick in the third when he was able whack a puck under Khaleed Devji.

5 on 5 the Express weren't able to generate much. They got their two goals on the night in the third period off the stick of Cody Michelle who scored his first two goals of the season. Those tallies had to be somewhat rewarding considering what he's been through this season after having his jaw broken in the pre-season.

Mario Puskarich sealed the game for Langley into an empty net.

The two teams will do it all over again Saturday night in the re-match at the Langley Events Centre.

TURRIS CRACKS BCHL'S TOP 50

2011-11-25T11:22:00.000-08:00

As part of the BCHL's 5oth anniversary celebration this weekend, the league announced it's top 50 players of all time Friday following an online vote by fans.

Fans were able to vote for the top ten players in each of the past 5 decades. Express alum and current Phoenix Coyote Kyle Turris was among the top players to make the list.

It's hard to ignore his contributions in the BCHL when Turris played his two seasons with the Express from 2005-07.

In his rookie season as a 16 year old, he was the Coastal Conference rookie of the year by scoring 36 goals and 36 assists for 72 points. In the playoffs he helped lead the Express to their first Fred Page Cup BCHL championship. Turris' dominance really started to take over once the Express advanced to the Doyle Cup vs. the Fort McMurray Oil Barons where the Express won the series in 6 games advancing to their first RBC.

On the national stage, Turris was magical. He scored the dramatic tying goal in the semi final vs. Fort William with just 11 seconds remaining in the third period. Then in the final, Turris was unstoppable. He scored a hat-trick and added an assist as the Express played their best game in the RBC defeating the Yorkton Terriers 8-2.

Turris finished the RBC with 7 goals and 13 points in 6 games and was named tournament MVP.

The next season all eyes were on the New Westminister native. In his draft year he didn't dissapoint with all the hype surrounding him. He ripped up the league scoring 66 goals and 121 points in 53 games. Perhaps it was a little prophetic that Kyle Turris scored his 50th goal that season in 39 games. If that accomplishment sounds familiar, it was also done by some guy named Wayne Gretzky with the Oilers many moons ago.

Following the season, Turris was named the top player in Canadian Junior A hockey and was the number 1 ranked prospect heading into the 2007 NHL draft. At the draft, it was Wayne Gretzky who made the call as the Phoenix Coyotes drafted Turris 3rd overall. It was a historic moment for the BCHL as it was the highest a player was ever selected directly out of the BCHL.

In his two seasons with the Express, Kyle Turris scored 102 goals and 193 points in 110 games.

To see the full list of the top 50 players click on the link below.

http://www.bchl.ca/leagues/newsletter.cfm?clientID=1413&leagueID=2393&page=57337

CATCHING UP WITH "JONESY"

2011-11-23T21:53:00.001-08:00

Here's a good feature from the Colorado Avalanche website on getting to know former Express Captain David Jones.

Monday, 11.21.2011 / 5:27 PM / News By Ron Knabenbauer Even though David Jones is the lowest player drafted in Avalanche franchise history to make it to the NHL (ninth round, 288th overall), it has not stopped him from playing an important role in the Colorado offense the past five seasons.

The British Columbia native has 54 goals and 92 points in his time with Colorado, including seven goals and five assists (12 points) in 21 games this season.

Jones talked with us after Monday’s practice at Pepsi Center about married life, his college playing days and what he likes to do off the ice.

How is it practicing at Pepsi Center on a non-game day?“I like it. It is a lot closer to where I live so it is nice just to have a 10 minute commute instead of a 15-20 minute commute. Hopefully it helps us turn things around.”

You just got married this past summer, how has married life been?“It is great. We’ve been together for a long time so I can’t say it is a whole lot different. It was great this summer to get all of the friends and family together all in one spot. It was a great day and a great weekend for everyone.”

How had playing three years of college hockey at Dartmouth College helped you in the NHL?“It was huge for me because I developed pretty late. I didn’t grow when I was 15, 16 like a lot of these guys who played major juniors so it gave me an extra three years to develop. When I was 22, I made the jump to here and I think it was those three years that really helped me develop as a player and as a person.”

Ryan O’Byrne played at Cornell University, do you remember playing him in college?“Yeah we have played against each other for a long time. He grew up in Vancouver Island so we played against each other in minor hockey league tournaments. There is actually a funny story, it was in Atom or Peewee and there was a shootout in one of these tournaments and they picked one guy from each team and the winner got a pizza lunch for the whole team. There was like 50 teams so 50 guys shooting and it was just me and him left in the final two. He scored and I didn’t so I’m never hearing that one down. We’ve played against each other our whole lives, juniors and then college so it is cool that we both ended up here and it’s been great getting to know him more and seeing him around the rink all the time.”

You got your first two fighting major penalties of your NHL career this season, what were those experiences like?“It was definitely something different. Going to college you don’t have the opportunity because you are wearing a facemask. I fought a little bit in juniors, but it was definitely not something that I built my game around. Sometimes it just happens. The first one (Nov. 10 vs. Steve Staios, New York Islanders), their guy threw one of our guys into the back of the net and it is something that you have to show up and stick up for teammates no matter if you are a fighter or not. In the second one (Nov. 17 vs. Justin Falk, Minnesota), I think I hit a guy pretty good and he kind of took exception to it. You just have to stand in there and show up. That is the whole point about it.”

David is among a handful of Avalanche players participating in "Movember" to help raise awareness for men's health, specifically prostate cancer.

What kind of response have you received from your Movember moustache?“I don’t think my wife is too happy about it, but it is for a good cause so it is the least I could do – just not shave the top lip there.”

What do you like to do outside the rink to help you relax?“The basic stuff, go see movies and just get my mind off of hockey the best I can. I know a lot of guys watch a lot of hockey and watch a lot of sports when they are away from the rink. I’m not one of those guys. I like to separate the two and when I have the day off I like to relax. I have a couple of dogs that I’ll take for a walk or go out to lunch with my wife. I like to get my mind off of hockey when I have a chance.”

Do you have any hobbies?“I bought a guitar last year and I have been kind of working at that. I don’t have the skill like (Matt) Duchene or any of those guys, but I’m working on it. I watch a lot of T.V. shows and read quite a bit.”

TURRIS SIGNS NEW CONTRACT

2011-11-22T12:04:00.000-08:00

The Kyle Turris contract stalemate has come to an end. He has come to terms on a new two year contract with the Phoenix Coyotes worth 2.8 million.

He will earn 1.2 million in the first year and 1.6 in the second. Turris didn't report to training camp and held out while awaiting to get a new deal done. He would have been ineligible to play in the NHL this season if he didn't get a new contract signed by December 1st as per the NHL's Collective Bargaining Agreement rules.

Back in October, the Turris camp had requested a trade out of Phoenix.

Before re-joining the Coyotes, Turris will report to their AHL affiliate in Portland to practice and get into game shape pending he passes a physical which shouldn't be a problem.

Last season in 65 games with the Coyotes, Turris scored 11 goals and 25 points, and had an even plus minus rating. In the playoffs he had 1 goal and 3 points in 4 games.

In 131 career NHL games, Turris has 19 goals and 46 points.

The New Westminister native played two seasons with the Express from 2005-07. He ripped up the league in those two years to the tune of 102 goals and 193 points in 110 games. He helped the Express win the 2006 Royal Bank Cup, and was the highest player drafted directly out of the BCHL in 2007 going third overall.

HUGGINS PLAYER OF THE WEEK

2011-11-21T17:20:00.000-08:00

Coquitlam Express netminder Cole Huggins has been named the British Columbia Hockey League's Player of the Week for the week ending Nov. 20, the league announced Monday.

Huggins led the Express to a trio of wins on the road and stopped 137 of 141 shots in the process. He began with a win in relief over the Powell River Kings where he was 1st Star and followed that up with a 36-save shutout performance against the Alberni Valley Bulldogs taking 3rd Star. He then stopped 39 of 42 shots against the Nanaimo Clippers to close out the week.

The Englewood, Colorado native is now 5-0 on the season and carries a 1.86 goals-against average to go along with a .952 save percentage.

Honourable mentions this week go to Penticton Vees forward Steven Fogarty (four games, five goals, seven assists, 1st Star, 2nd Star), Nanaimo Clippers goalie Billy Faust (two games, two wins, 0.50 GAA, .985 sv%, 1st Star), Langley Rivermen forward Darnell Dyck (two games, two goals, four assists, 1st Star), Surrey Eagles goalie Andrew Hunt (two games, two wins, 1.50 GAA, .959 sv%) and Prince George Spruce Kings goalie Kirk Thompson (three games, three wins, 1.28 GAA, .959 sv%, two 1st Stars).

OBSERVATIONS FROM AFAR

2011-11-20T19:56:00.001-08:00

A perfect weekend for the Express as they went 3 for 3 taking all 6 points with wins on the road in Powell River, Alberni Valley and Nanaimo.

Just taking a quick glance at how things are going for the Express here's a few things that stand out.

I can't recall the last time the Express took all 3 games in a 3 game in 3 night weekend. And to do it on the road is that much more impressive. Closest thing I can recall to taking all 6 points was a weekend during the 05-06 season when the Express took 5 out of 6 points on the road with two wins and a tie in Quesnel, Prince George and Williams Lake.

The Express are now 7-5-0-1 on the road. The 7 road wins matches the number they were able to accumulate on the road all of last season.

Entering the season it is well known that the Express were going to do everything in their power to crack one of the top 4 spots in the Coastal Conference, in order to achieve that certainly one area that needed to improve was more success on the road, and that has happened.

The Express have much more options to choose from at various positions.

Perhaps most notably is in between the pipes. Cole Huggins took all three wins for the Express this weekend. That included his second shutout of the season Saturday in Alberni Valley. He is now 5-0 with the Express. This isn't to take anything away from returning veteran Khaleed Devji, but what it does give the Express is two options they can lean on in the crease.

Offensively the Express have more weapons at their disposal. Earlier this year most of the offence went through Alex Petan, Alex Kerfoot and John Siemer. Now there is much more support as a group offensively for the Express. They've picked up a number of players to give the team more offensive depth in its line up.

If I was to ask you who the second leading scorer for the Express this season is? If you were to answer 19 year old third year forward Malcom Mckinney you would be correct. He has quietly put up 20 points in 22 games this season. He is just 2 points shy of matching his point total in 52 games last season.

Taylor Bourne has produced what the Express were hoping they were getting when he was acquired from the Olds Grizzlys of the AJHL in exchange for Mitchell Deacon. He has 6 goals and 10 points in his first 7 Express games.

Looking at the Express roster shows many weapons for Coach Calvano to choose from when he can pick from the likes of Petan, Kerfoot, Siemer, Bourne, Mckinney, Shaw, Nardi and Clinton Atkinson on the backend.

Special teams has been consistently one of the better aspects of the Express game all season. They've placed themselves in the top 3 in the BCHL in both the powerplay and penalty kill.

This recent run of success has put them in postion to knock on the door of a playoff spot. They have won 6 of their last 8 games having picked up points in 7 of those contests. That run has pulled the Express within just 1 point of Victoria and Powell River who are tied for 4th place.

And just for the sake of discussion the Express are just 4 points behind Surrey for 1st place. Keep in mind that the Express and Eagles will meet for 4 consecutive meetings in early December.

CANADA WEST BACK ON TOP OF WORLD JR A MOUNTAIN

2011-11-13T21:11:00.000-08:00

It wasn't an easy road for Canada West, but they found a way to get better as the World Junior A Challenge went along and came out of it as champions.

They went winless in their two round robin games and needed to take the long route to the gold medal game.

They needed a 4-1 quarterfinal win over the Czechs, followed by needing a overtime goal from Express forward Alex Kerfoot vs. Sweden to advance to the gold medal game.

After playing 4 games in 4 nights, Team West got some much needed rest and it helped in their gold medal contest winning 4-2 over Canada East.

It was the best performance all tournament long for the Western side.

The line of Alex Kerfoot, Evan Richardson of the Powell River Kings and Brandon Morley of the Surrey Eagles were at their best in the championship game.

Kerfoot set up Richardson for the games first goal early in the second period. Then Kerfoot scored a highlight reel goal to put Canada West up 2.

Click below to hear Alex Kerfoot's post game comments

The lead was cut to one entering the third on a goal by Michael Neville, it didn't rattle Canada West, they came out strong in the third period and got a powerplay goal by Carson Cooper. That was followed by another highlight reel goal by Vernon's Aaron Hadley.

Many players for Canada West improved as the week went along. The same could be said for Powell River Kings goaltender Sean Maguire. His play was recognized by being named the tournaments top goaltender.

Click below to hear Kent Lewis' post game comments

The win for Canada West was their third World Junior A Challenge gold, and their first since winning the first two World Junior A Challenge gold medals and 2006 and 2007.

For Canada East they're bridesmaids again for a second straight year and fourth time overall. They're still in search of their first World Junior A Challenge gold medal.

Alex Kerfoot isn't the only member of the Express organization coming away with a gold medal. Athletic Therapist Erin Berkowski served in the same role for Team Canada West.

GOOD DAY FOR THE EXPRESS

2011-11-11T23:17:00.000-08:00

Photo Courtesy of Damon James.

Friday night the Express went into Alberni Valley and came away with a 6-2 win over the Alberni Valley Bulldogs. The win was the third in the last four games for the Express.

Newly named home assistant captain Malcom Mckinney had a 1 goal and 2 assists, Taylor Bourne scored his first 2 Express goals while Rajan Sidhu and John Siemer each had 1 goal and 1 assist.

The Express return home to face Cowichan Valley on Saturday.

Meanwhile at the World Junior A Challenge, Express rookie was the hero as he scored at 2:09 of overtime to give Canada West a 2-1 win over Sweden and send Canada West to the gold medal game.

Click below to hear Colin Tiggelaar call the winner on Fast Hockey.

by embed media player

Click below to hear from Alex Kerfoot

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It will be an all Canadian final as Canada East got some pay back on the USA who defeated Canada East in the Gold Medal game last year by knocking off the three time defending champions 4-2 in 2011.

Click below to hear from Kent Lewis

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It wasn't an easy road for Canada West to get to the gold medal game. Canada West went winless in two games in round robin. That included a 2-0 loss to Sweden on Wednesday.

Canada West gets a much needed day off after playing their 4th game in 4 nights Friday.

HODDER COMES TO EXPRESS

2011-11-10T23:13:00.000-08:00

The Express have added some experience on the backend signing Zach Hodder.

The 18 year old native comes to the Express where he played 11 games this season with the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL where he had 1 goal and 3 points.

He played 25 games in each of the last 2 seasons with the Vancouver Giants.

In 61 career WHL games, Hodder has 5 goals and 21 points.

BAD TIMING AND BAD BOUNCE COSTS EXPRESS

2011-11-06T19:09:00.000-08:00

Brad Gehl scored twice in the final minute of both the first and second periods, his second of the game turned out to be the winner as the Grizzlies knocked off the Express 3-2 Sunday afternoon.

It was pink in the rink night for the Express who wore special jerseys to help support breast cancer research.

Mitch Nardi opened the scoring for the Express blasting home a one timer on a 5 on powerplay.

Gehl scored his first goal in the final minute of the first period on the powerplay when he banged home a rebound past Khaleed Devji who was swimming in his crease.

Jarryd Ten Vaanholt gave Victoria their first lead when he sniped a great shot over the shoulder of Devji in the second period.

Gehl's second goal came from the right boards in the final minute of the second period. He fired the puck at the net and it tipped off Malcom Mckinney and past Devji to give the Grizzlies a 3-1 lead going to the third.

Alex Petan pulled the Express back within one in the third period, but that's as close as the Express would come.

Grizzlies goaltender Jamie Tucker had a strong game turing aside 35 of 37 Express shots.

The Express finish their 4 game in 5 day week with a 2-2 record.

VIDEO OF MCKINNEY'S WINNER

2011-11-06T00:34:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure who, but someone was smart enough to get their cell phone camera rolling and capture Mckinney's penalty shot winner Saturday night.

HIGH DRAMA IN SOUTH SURREY

2011-11-06T00:23:00.000-07:00

It was a game that kept you on the edge of your seat, especially in the final minutes of the third and into overtime as the Express dropped the Surrey Eagles 4-3 in double overtime.

Early on the story was the strong play of Eagles goaltender Andrew Hunt. He set the tone for the game in the opening minute with a great right pad save off Mitch Nardi.

Hunt made few good saves in the first period as the Express tested him 15 times and Hunt stopped them all in the first period and the game was scoreless after the first.

The Express kept sending rubber Hunt's way in the second. He finally cracked as Petan and Georgeson broke in on a 2 on 1 shorthanded and Georgeson scored just his second of the season banging home the rebound of Petan's shot by driving hard to the net.

The lead lasted for 43 seconds as Sean McGovern wired a wrist shot past Khaleed Devji to tie the game at one. Just as the Eagles fans stopped celebrating the goal, the Express struck again as Alex Petan converted new comer Taylor Bourne's feed and re-stored the Express lead just 18 seconds after McGovern's goal. All three goals came in a span of one minute and one second.

Surrey began their push looking for the equalizer in the third period. Alex Petan got called for a questionable penalty in the neutral zone. The Eagles capitalized on the powerplay as Captain Tyler Morley wired a wrist shot over the glove of Khaleed Devji to tie the game at 2. Surrey's best period was by far the third. Devji however was putting up a pretty strong wall.

Late in the third the Express went ahead again as Brady Shaw banged home a rebound of a Clinton Atkinson with 2:50 to go.

This lead didn't last either as in the final minute Devon Toews fired a slap shot past a screened Devji to send the home crowd into a frenzy.

Let's go straight to the final minute of the second overtime where Malcom Mckinney was tripped up deep in his own zone and he was awarded the automatic penalty shot.

Mckinney looked as cool as a cucumber as he shaded to left and went in a slid the puck through the legs of Andrew Hunt to give the Express their second straight win. The goal sent the Express players and their parents in attendance into a frenzy.

Andrew Hunt was the story in the first two periods of the game. His counterpart Khaleed Devji at the other end was the story in the third period and overtime facing 28 shots turning aside 26 in the final 29 minutes.

Back in the first period Evan Campbell was assessed a 5 minute major and given a game misconduct for a blow to the head penalty for a hit on Deminco Hannoun.

The Express finish their 4 game in 5 day week Sunday afternoon when they host Victoria.

HUGGINS BLANKS FORMER MATES

2011-11-04T23:16:00.000-07:00

Cole Huggins made 38 saves in his second Express start for his first shutout with his new team as the Express won 2-0 over the Langley Rivermen.

The Express came out strong in the first period but couldn't beat Rivermen goaltender Jim Kruger. And when they did beat him, he had the red metal behind him backing him up.

The teams were scoreless after the first period.

Kruger continued his strong play into the second period. Finally the Express broke through midway through the frame when John Siemer from behind the net set up Connor Redmond who scored on a backhand for his first Express goal.

The Express got a break for their second goal three minutes later when Brady Shaw from behind the net centered the puck and it hit a defenceman and trickled through the legs of Kruger. The goal for Shaw was his 7th goal of the season with all 7 of those goals coming on home ice.

Langley opened the third period on the powerplay with Clinton Atkinson seated in the penalty box. That powerplay helped set the tone for the period as the Rivermen pressed to get on the board. That powerplay was followed by a few more but Langley couldn't get a puck past Huggins. The Rivermen sent 19 shots the way of Huggins who posted the first shutout of his BCHL career. Langley finished the game outshooting the Express 38-37. Huggins played last season with Langley when the team was nicknamed the Chiefs.

Jim Kruger was very good at the other end for Langley. He did all he could to keep his offensively challenged team in the game. The Rivermen who are the lowest scoring team in the BCHL have now scored just 30 goals in 16 games this season. They have just 3 goals in their last 5 outings. And they have scored 1 goal or less in 10 of 16 games.

The game wasn't the chiippiest of games in between the whistles, but had a fair number of emotional sckirmishes after the whistle.

Rajan Sidhu made his Express debut on defence after being acquired from Drumheller. Taylor Bourne didn't play but is expected to dress Saturday in Surrey.

WHEELING AND DEALING CONTINUES

2011-11-04T14:54:00.000-07:00

I hope you've been able to keep up, but the Express have made another trade. They sent forward Coda Engbar and future considerations to the Drumheller Dragons of the AJHL in exchange for 20 year old defenceman Rajan Sidhu.

Sidhu who has a scholarship to RIT, is a name that is familiar to folks in the BCHL having spent the majority of his 97 career games with the Trail Smoke Eaters and Cowichan Valley Capitals. In those 97 career games, the 6'3 Surrey native has 5 goals and 46 points. Sidhu started the season in Trail where he had 1 goal and 4 points in 10 games before having his rights traded to Drumheller for James D'Andrea.

Dating back to the start of last week the Express have been very busy moving bodies in and out.

Here's a list of what's gone on.

Out:

Matt Hutchinson
Ben Murphy
Coda Engbar
Mitchell Deacon

In:

Connor Redmond
Bruin McDonald
Taylor Bourne
Rajan Sidhu

EXPRESS MAKE BIG TRADE

2011-11-03T10:39:00.000-07:00

The Coquitlam Express have added some experienced scoring depth in a trade involving the Olds Grizzlys of the AJHL.

The Express have sent 18 year old forward Mitchell Deacon to the Grizz in exchange for 20 year old forward Taylor Bourne.

In this trade the Express have picked up the Grizzlys top scorer both this season and last season. This season Bourne has 11 goals and 23 points in 22 games. Last season he had 28 goals and 60 points in 57 games.

Deacon struggled with injuries in his time with the Express. But he was productive in his time in the lineup scoring 7 goals in 27 games in his rookie season last year. This season he had shoulder surgery before the season and just made his return to the line up last Friday vs. Surrey. He didn't pick up a point in 2 games this season.

Good luck to Mitchell in Olds and welcome to Taylor.

MEDIA DAY @ WJAC

2011-11-02T10:52:00.000-07:00

Following the final intra-squad game for Team Canada West, the players and coaches were made available to the inquiring minds just before the final roster of 22 players was announced.

It was a good chance to get a sense on how the selection camp went. And to get an initial idea of how Head Coach Kent Lewis' team will be built.

Click here to listen to Head Coach Kent Lewis.

Click here to listen to Asst. Coach Dean Brockman.

Click here to listen to Alex Kerfoot.

KERFOOT STORY IN VANCOUVER SUN

2011-11-02T10:39:00.000-07:00

There's a great story on Express rookie Alex Kerfoot in todays Vancouver Sun by Gary Kingston.

Check it out below...

Kerfoot looks to take Express route to pros

Seventeen-year-old son of Whitecaps soccer club owner highly touted and likely headed for NHL draft, scout predicts

BY GARY KINGSTON, VANCOUVER SUN NOVEMBER 2, 2011

Up in the top row of seats at the Langley Events Centre on Tuesday, a veteran scout was asked about the NHL draft prospects of 17-year-old Alex Kerfoot.

"Oh yeah, he'll get drafted," said the scout of the forward who was skating in the final selection camp scrimmage for the Canada West team that will play in next week's World Junior A Challenge at the LEC. "He's been getting a lot of attention."

"And if he doesn't make a team," the scout added with a wry smile, "his dad will just buy him one."

Just a joke, dad.

'Dad' is Greg Kerfoot, the reclusive millionaire owner of the Vancouver Whitecaps of Major League Soccer.

While the talented young Alex likely won't need any help from his father's fat pocket, he wouldn't mind some of Pop's height. Hockey Canada's initial list of selection camp invitees from the Junior A leagues in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba had Kerfoot, a West Vancouver native who plays for the Coquitlam Express in the B.C. Hockey League, listed at 5-foot-7 and 130 pounds. A pipsqueak.

On Tuesday, a newer roster had Kerfoot at a more appropriate five foot nine and a half and 153 pounds.

"Yeah, that's pretty much right," he said, grinning through a set of braces.

"My dad's 6-3, so he's big. Hopefully, I've still got some room to grow."

Kerfoot stamped himself as a legitimate prospect last season when he won the B.C. Major Midget League scoring title with 36 goals and 72 assists in just 38 games. "He's a very highly skilled player," said Coquitlam general manager Darcy Rota.

"He's a strong playmaker, that's his forte. He also can score goals, but he's got great vision on the ice. He tore apart the midget league."

In 12 games with the Express this season, Kerfoot has five goals and 10 assists.

"It was a little bit of an adjustment," he said of the jump to Junior A. "Coming in from midget, everyone is bigger and stronger. But as it's gone on, it's becoming easier to play and the game has kind of slowed down."

Canada West and Canada East will be joined in the six team World Challenge by squads from the U.S., Sweden, Russia and the Czech Republic. The Canadian teams are restricted to just five 1992-born players, leaving ample room on the rosters for the draft-eligible 1994-born players that the NHL scouts will be keeping a keen eye on next week.

"[Alex] is a very smart player," said Canada West head coach Kent Lewis of the BCHL Powell River Kings. "He's got a skill set that's well above average. He's a learner, a quiet kid ... but definitely, his talent level is very high."

He showed that Tuesday, sneakily stick-checking the puck away from a defenceman to score a third-period power play goal. He then got the overtime winner for his Red squad, making a power move to the net on a two-on-one break.

Kerfoot, who has never played on a Hockey Canada team, says it will be a "really cool experience" to face the European squads with their different styles of play. A late-round bantam draft pick of the WHL Seattle Thunderbirds, Kerfoot has decided to pass on the major junior system and will play NCAA hockey in the U.S.

"Just because I've always been a smaller guy, it'll give me some time to develop. And I'm not in any rush to go anywhere. And going to college, I'll have something to fall back on if hockey doesn't work out."

Kerfoot made recruiting visits a week ago to Boston College and Harvard and has another one planned for later this month at Yale.

"Amazing facilities and all the guys and the coaches were really great. I saw Boston College play Northeastern and it was crazy, definitely different than Junior A. The Northeastern student section in the upper deck was crazy, going non-stop the whole time. It was loud."

With Harvard and Yale on his three-school short list, Kerfoot, currently in Grade 12 at Collingwood in West Vancouver, is clearly no dummy.

"I have pretty good grades," he says with a smile. "I wouldn't get into Harvard by myself though, but good enough [grades] that they can take me."

As befits the son of a modern high-tech financier, Kerfoot says he'll "probably" study business.

A standout tennis and soccer player, Kerfoot actually played two seasons as a midfielder with the Vancouver Whitecaps under-13 team that won a couple of tournaments on a tour of Europe. He had to give up soccer a couple of years ago, however, when the commitment level needed to play major midget hockey increased.

"I love soccer, but hockey has always been my passion."

And how did dad react when he picked hockey?

"Until he started [with his purchase of the Whitecaps], he wasn't that into soccer. He never played soccer. He grew up with hockey."

IN THE CREASE: The BCHL placed 14 players on the 22-man Canada West squad

KERFOOT TO PLAY IN WORLD JUNIOR A CHALLENGE

2011-11-01T17:54:00.000-07:00

Coquitlam Express Forward Alex Kerfoot has made the final cut of 22 bodies that will represent Team Canada West at the up coming World Junior A Challenge.

Unfortunately his linemate and Express Captain Alex Petan didn't make the team.

The BCHL is very well represented with 14 players on the team, it is then followed by 7 from the AJHL and then just one player from the SJHL Riley Kieser from the Humboldt Broncos. There were no players selected from the MJHL and no one from the SIJHL was in camp.

Canada West next has an exhibition game Thursday night vs. Team Canada East at the Langley Events Centre.

They will begin their quest for gold Tuesday November 8th vs. Sweden.

For the full roster click on the link below.

http://www.hockeycanada.ca/index.php/ci_id/75137/la_id/1/season_id/177147/profile_id/174226/team_id/80789/ss_id/170420/

WJAC TICKETS GOING FAST

2011-10-31T12:16:00.000-07:00

The World Junior A Challenge which starts next week in Langley is a hot ticket.

Make sure you're there to see some great hockey.

Single-game tickets are now on sale for the 2011 World Junior A Challenge – see all 13 WJAC games, plus both CJHL Prospects Games. Just click the link below or call Ticketmaster at 1-855-985-5000 and be there in person as six teams go for gold. Fifteen games featuring hockey’s future stars in your own backyard – don’t miss it!

For tickets click here

http://www.ticketmaster.ca/WJAC Tickets

Tickets can also be purchased at the Langley Events Centre.

GRIZZLIES @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

2011-10-30T12:28:00.000-07:00

Here's the highlights of Victoria's 5-2 win over the Express Saturday night.

Highlights courtesy of Cary Derksen.

GRIZZ GUNS WAKE UP IN 3RD EN ROUTE TO WIN OVER EXPRESS

2011-10-29T23:03:00.000-07:00

The Victoria Grizzlies bounced back from a set back the night before and knocked off the Express 5-2 Saturday night.

An even scoreless first period saw Victoria edge the Express 15-14.

The first goal of the night came in the opening minutes of the second period when Coltyn Hansen fired a slap shot that powered past the glove of Khaleed Devji and in.

Jason Bird scored his first Express goal to tie the game at one when Mitch Nardi won a draw back to Bird who fired a slap shot that beat Jamie Tucker.

The Express got a 5 minute major powerplay when Charles Lillies hit Evan Campbell hard in the neutral zone and Lillies was assessed a 5 minute major and a game misconduct for boarding. More importantly for the Express, Campbell was ok from the hit.

Brady Shaw gave the Express their first lead on that powerplay when he cut in from the left wing and slid the puck past Tucker. The goal was the second in as many games for the power forward. It was also his 4th powerplay goal this season.

Alex Holland scored the goal of the night to even the score as he come out from behind the Express net and fired a perfect shot top corner over the right shoulder of Devji.

Entering this game the Express knew they had to try and shut down Victoria's top guns which included BCHL top scorer Wade Murphy, Jarryd Ten Vaanholt and Mike Moran. Well they did exactly that through the first two periods. But they woke up in the third as Mike Moran gave Victoria a 3-2 lead early in the period. Then two and a half minutes later Ten Vaanholt gave Victoria some insurance with a powerplay goal.

With those two goals, Victoria's top line on this night went from 0 points in the first two periods. Then they all of a sudden had combined for four points.

Kevin Woodyatt rounded out the scoring beating Devji with a wrist shot from the point.

Victoria had a strong final 40 minutes on this night outshooting the Express 33-15. And they finished with 48 shots compared to 29 for the Express.

The Express penalty killers had another solid night killing off 5 of 6 shorthanded situations.

Coquitlam is next in action Wednesday night in Cowichan Valley.

EAGLES @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

2011-10-29T11:49:00.000-07:00

Here's the highlights of Surrey's 4-3 OT win over the Express Friday night.

Highlights courtesy of Cary Derksen.

CALVANO TALKS TRADES

2011-10-28T23:19:00.001-07:00

The Express were busy this week with trades involving Dana Tennenbaum, Matt Hutchinson and Ben Murphy being traded away, and bringing in Connor Redmond and Bruin McDonald.

Prior to Friday's game with Surrey, Head Coach Jon Calvano provided some great insight about how the Express roster has evolved dating back to training camp and how helped get the Express to the position where they made the moves they did this week.

Click here to listen to Head Coach Jon Calvano.

MORLEY'S HAT-TRICK CARRIES EAGLES TO OT WIN

2011-10-28T22:53:00.000-07:00

Surrey Eagles captain Tyler Morley's hat-trick shouldered the offensive load for the Eagles as they edged the Express 4-3 in overtime Friday.

It was the first home game for the Express in two weeks after playing their last three games on the road.

Surrey like the Express returned to the mainland this week after a trip to the interior.

Surrey got off to a quick start by jumping out to a 10-1 advantage in shots in the opening 10 minutes. The visitors were rewarded by opening the scoring when Devon Toews finished off a 4 on 2 rush by banging home a rebound off a one timer from the slot.

The lead didn't last as the Express pulled even on a rebound goal of their own from a defenceman as Clinton Atkinson scored on a tough angle on Andrew Hunt.

The Express got their only lead of the night three minutes later as Zack Holstrom poked a loose puck in the crease home. Holstrom who also assisted on the Atkinson goal continues his impressive play as he now has 4 goals and 2 assists during his 7 games with the Express as an AP.

The second half of the period was better for the Express and they were able to close the gap in the shots on goal by the time the period ended with Surrey holding just a 14-13 advantage after the opening 20 minutes.

Tyler Morley began to make his presence felt to open the second period. The Eagles captain had a good chance that was turned aside by Khaleed Devji in the opening seconds. Morley made his second good chance of the opening minute of the period count as he snapped a shot home while being hauled down.

The 2-2 tie lasted into the third period until Morley struck again by showing
some smooth hands and deking past Devji to finish off an odd man rush.

Brady Shaw pulled the Express even while on the powerplay by doing what he does best, and thats score from close range. He deftly re-directed a Clinton Atkinson point shot midway through the third. On the goal, Brady Shaw, Clinton Atkinson and Mitch Nardi chipped in with their second points of the game.

The game remained tied into overtime. In the final minute of the first overtime Bruin McDonald was called for tripping, and it only took the Eagles 8 seconds to make the Express pay, Surrey won the draw and Steve Koshey dished the puck to Tyler Morley at the right circle and he wired a perfect wrist shot over Khaleed Devji's glove for Morley's hat-trick goal. And most importantly give the Eagles the win.

The game saw newcomers Bruin McDonald and Connor Redmond make their Express debut. Plus, Mitchell Deacon played his first game of the season after suffering a shoulder injury in training camp. This was also the final game that Captain Alex Petan and Alex Kerfoot will play with the Express for a while as they now head to Team Canada West selection camp for the upcoming World Junior A challenge.

Victoria comes to Coquitlam for a visit on Saturday night.

MURPHY TO CANADIANS

2011-10-28T09:46:00.000-07:00

The Express have made another trade, sending 20 year old forward Ben Murphy to the Carleton Place Canadians of the CCHL for future considerations.

More to come later on. A little busy at work right now.

HUTCHINSON TRADED TO CHIEFS

2011-10-27T09:50:00.000-07:00

Follow @hockeyed81

The Coquitlam Express have made a trade sending 20 year old defenceman and alternate captain Matthew Hutchinson to the Chilliwack Chiefs in exchange for future considerations.

The steady stay at home defenceman was in his second season with the Express. This season he had 1 assist in 11 games. And he picked up 1 goal and 11 assists in 68 career games with the Express. But putting up numbers is not how you measure Hutch's game.

With the trading of Hutchinson and Dana Tennenbaum this week, to fill one of the spots on the backend the Express have signed Bruin McDonald who was with the Express during training camp this season.

To make room for Hutchinson, the Chiefs have released former Express defenceman Justin Elliott.

Good luck in the Wack Hutch.

TURRIS ASKS FOR TRADE

2011-10-27T09:47:00.000-07:00

The Kyle Turris stalemate with the Phoenix Coyotes continues to drag on. As per a story today from Pierre Lebrun of ESPN, he has confirmed that the 2007 3rd overall pick has asked for a trade.

By Pierre LeBrun
ESPN.com

The standoff between Kyle Turris and the Phoenix Coyotes was taken up a notch Thursday.

Kurt Overhardt, the agent for the unsigned center, confirmed that Turris has asked the Coyotes for a trade.

"This has never been about money, we've been upfront with the club from Day 1," Overhardt told ESPN.com Thursday. "We've respectfully requested that the player had the opportunity to move forward in his career by having a fresh start."

Coyotes general manager Don Maloney's stance has been that he wouldn't trade Turris. And that hasn't changed.

"The CBA gives us certain rights to Turris and we are exercising our rights," Maloney told ESPN.com in an email Thursday. "There will be a point in the future Turris will have the right to decide who he wants to play for and how much he will accept.

"He is not at this stage, given his age and experience. If he wants to play in the NHL this season, he will re-sign with us. We will not trade his rights under any circumstances and are prepared to live with the consequences if he decides to sit out this, and future, seasons."

The no-trade stance confounds Overhardt.

"I know that the Coyotes' organization can benefit significantly by moving this asset," Overhardt said. "As a Group 2 free agent and speaking to several teams -- which I won't name -- I know that there's a number of clubs that have put forth significant offers to the Coyotes' organization which include valuable assets which would benefit Phoenix."

If Turris isn't signed by Dec. 1, he cannot play this season, according to the rules in the collective bargaining agreement.

"I'm confident that we'll be able to work this important matter out with the Coyotes' organization so as to benefit both parties," Overhardt said.

Turris, 22, had 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists) in 65 games for the Coyotes last season. He has 46 points (19-27) in 131 career NHL games. He was the third overall pick in the 2007 draft.

Pierre LeBrun covers the NHL for ESPN.com.

PETAN & KERFOOT INVITED TO WJAC CAMP

2011-10-25T16:26:00.000-07:00

The World Junior A Challenge in Langley is drawing closer by the day.

Now it's getting down to the nitty gritty of working on picking a team that will represent Team Canada West November 7-13th in Langley.

Great news for Express Captain Alex Petan and his linemate Alex Kerfoot who have both been invited to the Team Canada West Selection camp.

It's been a great start to the season for Alex Petan who was named team captain, he has secured a scholarship to Michigan Tech University, and he leads the team in scoring with 18 points in the first 11 games of the season.

During training camp in September Kerfoot took part in the evaluation camp held in Canmore Alberta. So far this season Kerfoot has lived up to the expectations entering the season sitting second in team scoring with 14 points in his first 11 games. He is tied for first as the top scoring first year forwards in the Coastal conference. And he is first among all rookies in scoring born in 1994 or later in the BCHL.

In addition to Petan and Kerfoot being named to the selection camp, Express Athletic Therapist Erin Berkowski will be the team Therapist for Canada West.

In other Express news, defenceman Dana Tennenbaum has been traded to the Wellington Dukes of the OJHL. And the Express have brought in forward Connor Redmond. The 19 year old Richmond native has played parts of the last 4 seasons in the WHL with Red Deer and Vancouver playing 122 games scoring 7 goals and 19 points.

To see the full list of invitees click on the link below.

http://www.hockeycanada.ca/index.php/ci_id/177023/la_id/1/

VOTE FOR THE BCHL'S ALL TIME BEST

2011-10-18T22:17:00.000-07:00

In honour of the BCHL's 50th season, the league has launched fan voting to determine an all-time team which will be revealed at the Celebration Weekend, Nov. 25/26, at each team's arena.

Fans can vote for the top 3 Stars from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. There are 133 players listed in total from which a Top 50 will be named.

"Fans will be surprised at just how many names they'll recognize from throughout our history," said BCHL communications director Brent Mutis. "There are lots of players who went on to long NHL careers and others who had fantastic Junior A careers. A glance to our website of the Trophy Case section will reveal many of the names in the survey."

Whether it's former NHL superstar Brett Hull of the Penticton Knights, Eric Shishido - the only player to repeat as scoring champ - of the Kamloops Rockets, Norris Trophy Winner Duncan Keith of the Penticton Panthers, Stanley Cup winner Andy Moog of the Kamloops Braves, high-scoring defenceman Campbell Blair of the Vernon Lakers, NHL third-overall pick Kyle Turris or last season's Interior Conference MVP Joey Laleggia of the Penticton Vees, you'll find them all in the poll.

To cast votes, fans should visit www.bchl.ca and the 'BCHL History' page under the 'League' tab. Voters can choose three players per decade and categorize them as 1st Star, 2nd Star or 3rd Star.

The poll is also available by clicking on the link below.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PJJM2ZT

JONES OT HERO FOR AVS

2011-10-17T20:39:00.000-07:00

Express alum David Jones scored the OT winner for the Colorado Avalanche as they handed the Leafs their first loss of the season. (Sarcastic tear) The Avs meanwhile finished a 5 game road trip a perfect 5-0.

See the goal below.

KINGS @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

2011-10-15T12:02:00.001-07:00

Here's the highlights from Friday's 4-4 tie between the Express and Kings.

Highlights courtesy of Cary Derksen.

TIM KEHLER INTERVIEW

2011-10-15T00:19:00.000-07:00

During the second intermission of Friday's game vs. the Powell River Kings, I had to catch up with the 2010-11 BCHL Interior Conference Coach of the year Tim Kehler. He is currently not coaching a team in the league following his decision to leave the Salmon Arm Siverbacks in the off-season.

We covered a number of topics including the opportunity he had to coach the team of BCHLers that represented Canada in Russia at the Region Centre Cup back in April, and what he is up to at the moment.

Click to here to listen to Tim Kehler.

EXPRESS AND KINGS FIT TO BE TIED

2011-10-14T23:19:00.000-07:00

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.

ALEX PETAN INTERVIEW

2011-10-12T16:42:00.000-07:00

Today I had a chance to catch up with Express Captain Alex Petan to discuss his scholarship for next season to Michigan Tech, his start to the season and the back to back games vs. the Powell River Kings.

Click on the link below to take you to my story on Petan's scholarship and to hear the interview.

http://expressvoice.blogspot.com/2011/10/petan-commits-to-michigan-tech.html

BAKKEN SUSPENDED FOR 2 GAMES

2011-10-11T16:24:00.000-07:00

The BCHL has suspended Langley Rivermen Captain Ryan Bakken for two games.

During the third period Friday, Bakken cross checked Express rookie Alex Kerfoot in the head while he was on the ice following Kerfoot taking the puck to the net on a scoring chance.

Bakken was given a 5 minute major penalty and a game misconduct on the play.

To see the video of the play scroll to the 2:06 mark of the game highlights below.

KINGS @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

2011-10-11T10:03:00.000-07:00

Here's the highlights from the Express' 4-3 win Sunday afternoon vs. Powell River.

Highlights courtesy of Cary Derksen.

PETAN COMMITS TO MICHIGAN TECH

2011-10-10T16:44:00.000-07:00

Express Captain Alex Petan is the first player this season to get a post secondary commitment as he will be heading to Michigan Tech University for next season.

The third year forward has gotten off to a fantastic start to the season leading the team in scoring with 12 points in his first 7 games. This past weekend was a memorable one for Petan on the ice as he had his first BCHL hat-trick over the Langley Rivermen on Friday. Then on Sunday he scored a spectacular goal in the third period in the 4-3 win over the Powell River Kings.

Click here to listen to Alex Petan.

Last season the Express secured post secondary commitments for 9 players which was among some of the higher totals of all the teams in the BCHL. This season shouldn't be any different.

Congratulations Alex.

EXPRESS CROWN KINGS

2011-10-09T17:49:00.000-07:00

You can make it three straight wins and 4 in the last 5 games for the Express as they topped the Powell River Kings 4-3.

The Express for the second straight game limited the shots of the opposition early and came out of the first period with the lead on Brady Shaw's powerplay goal to finish off a nice passing play.

The Express limited the Kings to just three shots in the first period.

Mitch Nardi contiuned his strong play as he added to the Express lead early in the second period finishing off a 2 on 1 break with Brady Shaw. Nardi has 3 goals and 4 assists for 7 points in his last 3 games.

Following Nardi's goal Kings Head Coach Kent Lewis tried to wake his team up by calling his time out. He was hoping for a bounce back performance from his team after they suffered their first loss of the season the night before in Langley.

Teagan Waugh was awarded a penalty shot midway through the second period after he was hooked on a partial breakaway by Jason Bird. On the free pass, Khaleed Devji made a fine save as Waugh deked to Devji's right who kicked out his right pad to keep the Kings off the board.

The game plan was all going accoring to plan for the Express right up until the final seconds of the middle frame when they had a brain cramp while on the powerplay. The Express coughed up the puck deep in their own zone and Daniel Schuler made the Express pay by sneaking a shot just under Khaleed Devji for a shorthanded goal with just 8 seconds remaining in the period.

Schuler struck again early in the third period as he wired a wrist shot from the slot beating Devji to the stick side to pull Kings even.

Captain Alex Petan scored the goal of the night to give the Express the lead again as he danced down the right wing around a King defender then wired a perfect shot over the glove of Jason Phillips.

Brady Shaw capped off a three point game by adding his second of the game on the powerplay just 1:11 after Petan's goal to put the Express back up by 2.

The lead was down to one again on the second best goal of the game when Evan Richardson wired a rocket of a wrist shot past Khaleed Devji with just over 10 minuntes to go.

The Kings pressed for the equalizer but couldn't get it. They even had a powerplay with just over 2 minutes to go with Ben Murphy taking a offensive zone penalty. By killing off the Murphy penalty to seal the win, it capped off a perfect night for the Express penalty killers who shut down all 8 King man advantages.

Devji was busy in the third period facing 16 shots. He finished with 27 saves.

The win for the Express was their first over the Kings since January 23, 2009. A span of 14 games that saw the Express go 0-11-0-3 in that time.

The two teams will meet for the second time in a week in Coquitlam Friday night.

RIVERMEN @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

2011-10-08T17:21:00.000-07:00

Here's the highlights from the Express' 6-3 win over the Langley Rivermen Friday night.

Highlights courtesy of Cary Derksen.

PETAN'S 1ST BCHL HAT-TRICK CARRIES EXPRESS OVER LANGLEY

2011-10-07T22:17:00.000-07:00

Alex Petan's first BCHL hat-trick led the Express attack as they took care of the Langley Rivermen 6-3.

The win was their second straight and evened their record at 3-3.

Coquitlam set the tone for the game early with their speed and puck movement and never took their foot off the gas pedal.

Despite the good start it was Langley who opened the scoring on the powerplay as Mario Puskarich showed some skilled hands re-directing a point shot in tight over the shoulder of Khaleed Devji.

The goaltender at the other end Jim Kruger was writing a pretty good story of his own in the first period. He made spectacular saves off Mitch Nardi and Evan Campbell. The save off Nardi was a great glove grab where Nardi thought he had a tap in. The one off Campbell saw Kruger out wait the Express forward Evan Campbell and kick out the right pad on the deke attempt.

Finally the Express broke through as Alex Petan snapped home a feed from Alex Kerfoot tying the game at 1 with just 1:05 remaining in the period. The Express dominance saw them have a 15-6 shot advatage after the first period.

They kept up the pressure in the second period and Brady Shaw gave the Express their first lead on a goal mouth scramble.

Despite the heavy shot advantage for the Express, Langley pulled even when Thomas Nitsche's point shot beat a screened Devji on the powerplay.

Alex Petan scored his second of the night finishing off a great three way passing play on the power play to give the Express their second lead at 3-2.

Again the lead didn't last, just 1:19 after Petan's second, Darnell Dyck set up Tyler Hanzlik in the slot who snapped it past Khaleed Devji.

Coquitlam just brushed off another tying goal from Langley and kept on dominating.

Josh Finkelstien started a quick rush with a great stretch pass to Brady Shaw who dropped it for Petan who made no mistake snapping it home for his first BCHL hat-trick to give the Express a well deserved 4-3 lead going to the third period. The Express outshot Langley 18-5 in the second period. And were outshooting them 33-11 through two periods.

Click here to listen to Alex Petan's 3 goals tonight.

Langley captain Ryan Bakken didn't do his team any favours in the third when he cross checked rookie Alex Kerfoot hard to the ice. Bakken was given a 5 minute major and a game misconduct.

Coquitlam took full advantage of the opportunity to put the game away as Malcom Mckinney and Coda Engbar scored on the powerplay to give the Express insurance.

The Express finished the game doubling the Rivermen in shots by a 42-21 count. Both the shots for and against were a season best for the Express.

The powerplay had another good night as the Express went 3 for 6. Langley was 2 for 5.

On a side note the Express have released goaltender Billy McGladrey and have brought in Cole Huggins who played last season with the Langley Chiefs.

EXPRESS PICK 2 AT BCHL AP DRAFT

2011-10-03T16:53:00.001-07:00

The BCHL had it's first ever draft of 15 year old affiliate players today. The purpose being for all 16 clubs can select one player in each of the two rounds to be affiliate players for this season. The draft order was determined in reverse order based on last seasons regular season standings. The Express had the 5th and 21st picks.

With their first pick they selected Coquitlam native defenceman Viktor Dombrovskiy. This season he plays with the Vancouver Northeast Chiefs of the BC Major Midget League. Dombrovskiy stands 5'10 and weighs in at 170lbs.

In round two the Express selected forward Tyler Sandhu. He is skating this season with the Greater Vancouver Canadians of the BC Major Midget League. The Richmond native stands 5'9 and weighs 145lbs.

The players rights selected in this draft will not be retained by their drafted club at the end of the 2011-12 season.

The Powell River Kings exercised their right to pass and didn't select a player in both the first and second rounds. The Cowichan Valley Capitals passed on their second round pick 19th overall.

PENALTIES RAIN DOWN IN EXPRESS LOSS TO EAGLES

2011-10-01T22:59:00.001-07:00

It was a game that saw plenty of penalties handed to the Express, and the Eagles made them pay for their undisciplined play in a 5-1 Eagles win Saturday.

Frustration frustration frustration was a good way to describe the Express' effort at the South Surrey Arena.

The Eagles had a total of 11 powerplays and 10 of them came in the opening 40 minutes.

But to start however, it was the Express getting the head start with the powerplays.

They got a 5 on 3 for 43 seconds less than two minutes into the game when Brandon Tanev was penalized for goaltender interference. That was followed shortly there after by a elbowing penalty to Brandon Morley.

Coquitlam wasn't able to take advantage of the opportunity presented to them and get off on the right foot on the road.

The Eagles held off the Express then got their attack in gear.

Charles Orzetti scored his first BCHL goal when he re-directed Beau Orser's point shot past Khaleed Devji.

That goal woke the Eagles up and they began to apply a little more pressure on the Express. Khaleed Devji did his best to keep the Express in the game with a number tough saves.

As the period wound down, the Express discipline began to get the best of them. Clinton Atkinson was given a double whammy for cross checking and slashing. That was quickly followed by a hooking penalty to Mitchell Fyffe which gave Surrey an extended 5 on 3.

The penalties hurt the Express when Brandon Tanev converted a cross crease feed from Tyler Morley for a tap in.

As the goals started to go in for the Eagles, they began to take flight and found their skating legs.

Surrey added one more goal in the dying seconds of the period when Tyler Morley finished off a 2 on 1 with Sean McGovern with less than 2 seconds remaining in the period.

More Express frustration added more salt to the Express' wound on the third goal when Jason Bird was called for roughing moments after the puck went into the net.

All told the Express were called for 5 penalties in the opening 20 minutes.

The story didn't change when the second period got going.

Steve Koshey scored the Eagles second powerplay goal of the game to give the Eagles a 4-0 lead with Matt Hutchinson and Captain Alex Petan in the penalty box. That goal saw Khaleed Devji's night come to an end to be replaced by Billy McGladrey. Despite allowing the 4 goals, it's hard to place any blame on the shoulders of Devji. He did his best to try and keep his team in the game when his teammates in front of him had a tough time keeping their cool.

The run of 6 straight minors assessed to the Express ended when Charles Orzetti was called for slashing. That penalty lead to the only goal the Express would muster with Alex Kerfoot scoring his third goal in his last two games.

The Eagles rounded out the scoring with Tyler Morley banging home a loose puck for his second goal of the game which came on a powerplay and like his goal in the first period it came in the dying seconds of the middle frame. The goal capped off a 4 point night for the Eagles captain who had two goals and two assists. Younger brother Brandon had a pair of helpers.

All the penalties didn't allow the Express to get all their players an opportunity to see much ice in the opening 40 minutes. It fragmented the lines and forced the penalty killers to spend too much time fending off the Eagles attack.

The third period didn't produce any offence. But it did show what the Express might have been able to do in this game were it not for all the penalties. By then it was too little too late and the game was decided.

Surrey finished the game 3 for 11 on the powerplay. While the Express went 1 for 7.

Khaleed Devji and Billy McGladrey were peppered with a combined 42 shots. While Andrew Hunt turned aside 33 of 34 Express shots.

The loss drops the Express record to 1-3 on this young season. They will travel to Alberni Valley for their second meeting with the Bulldogs in just over a week. Alberni Valley won their home opener over Coquitlam 5-1 last Saturday.

SILVERBACKS @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

2011-10-01T19:47:00.000-07:00

Here's the highlights from the Express' first win of the season over Salmon Arm Friday.

Highlights courtesy of Cary Derksen.

EXPRESS TO DRAFT 5TH IN AP DRAFT

2011-09-30T19:02:00.001-07:00

Today the BCHL announced the draft order for it's first Affiliate Player Draft coming up in October.

The Express will pick 5th based on last years standings in reverse order.

See the full release below.

n Monday, Oct. 3, BCHL governor and league officials will convene in Richmond for the first governors meetings of the new season.

Amongst other things, an affiliate draft will be held which will give teams the chance to select 15-year-old players for the purpose of affiliating them for the season and introduce them to their team culture and to Junior A hockey. The players rights will not be retained at the end of the season.

"It will give each team a season to build a relationship with the young player," said BCHL executive director Dave Sales. "Perhaps more importantly for the league as a whole, even if a player doesn't stay with the team that drafted them, they may sign with another BCHL team because of their exposure to the league and we will have been successful as a group in keeping players versus them choosing other options."

The idea for the affiliate draft was approved by governors after the end of last season from a motion by the the steering committe of the board of directors. As ever, the BCHL is exploring new ideas as a way of staying relevant to developing hockey players and as a way of setting the pace for Junior A hockey in Canada.

Teams will have the option of selecting a player in each of the two rounds but are not required to do so because the draft is optional. Teams select based on reverse order of finish in the 2010-11 standings. The draft order is as follows:

1. Prince George
2. Chilliwack
3. Cowichan Valley
4. Merritt
5. Coquitlam
6. Alberni Valley
7. Nanaimo
8. Trail
9. Victoria
10. Langley
11. Westside
12. Surrey
13. Salmon Arm
14. Penticton
15. Vernon
16. Powell River

EXPRESS RAISE A READER

2011-09-29T11:08:00.001-07:00

Wednesday morning a number of the Express players took part in the raise a reader day.

They were at Lougheed Skytrain station handing out newspapers to people on their morning commute.

Check out the video...

VEES @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

2011-09-25T22:42:00.001-07:00

Here's the highlights of the Express' home opener Friday vs. the Penticton Vees.

Highlights courtesy of Cary Derksen.

VEES TAKE SEASON OPENER FROM EXPRESS

2011-09-23T22:35:00.000-07:00

The BCHL opened for business for its 50th season Friday night. In Coquitlam the Vees spoiled the home opener for the Express winning 5-2.

The Vees won it in a game in which they never trailed.

It was a back and forth affair especially in the opening 20 minutes that saw 4 goals traded between the teams.

Travis St. Denis formerly of Trail and acquired from Cowichan Valley in the off-season opened the scoring midway through the first period snapping a shot past Khaleed Devji.

The Express powerplay pulled them even shortly there after as Alex Kerfoot showed his great vison and hockey sense as he cruised down the left boards and waited then fired a perfect pass on the tape of John Siemer for his first BCHL goal. Mitch Nardi drew the second assist. For Siemer, Kerfoot and Nardi it was their first BCHL points.

The game didn't stay tied for long as Joey Benik's point shot hit Mike Moran at the side of the Express net and bounced in.

Coquitlam at times in the latter portion of the first period showed some good physicality with some big hits thrown by Evan Campbell and Ben Murphy.

Penticton's response to the Express physical presence got them into trouble late in the period. With a delayed penalty in effect, Beau Beaulieu was called for checking from behind and given a game misconduct. That resulted in 4 minutes of power play time for the Express.

The Express again struck with the man advantage. Again, the goal looked like a carbon copy of their first this time with Clinton Atkinson showing patience going down the left wall and firing a perfect pass on the tape of Captain Alex Petan who tapped it past Micheal Gartieg to even the game at 2 after one period.

The Vees started the second period by starting to take control of the game.

Troy Stetcher gave the Vees their third lead of the game when his point shot deflected off Steven Layani and got past Devji.

Alex Kerfoot thought he had a tap in for his first BCHL goal but Garrett Hedrickson for Penticton blocked the shot with his stick and bailed out his goaltender.

The Express came out strong to open the third period with a number of good shifts controlling the puck in the Vees zone. The vibe at that point in time in the game was that the Express would be rewarded for their hard work with the equalizing goal.

It wasn't meant to be however as Joey Benik scored on his own rebound to give the Vees a two goal lead against the flow of play. Then just 40 seconds later the Vees added some insurance as Steven Fogarty roofed the puck over the glove over Khaleed Devji. Those goals took the wind out of the sails of the Express and killed all the momentum they were gaining in the opening minutes of the period before the Vees broke it open.

Special teams was a strong aspect for the Express on this night. They went 2 for 3 on the powerplay. And were a perfect 6 for 6 killing penalties.

The Vees outshot the Express on this night 36-23.

Mike Moran led the Vees attack with 1 goal and 2 assists. While Joey Benik who is wearing the captain's C while Logan Johnston serves his 20 game suspension had 1 goal and 1 assist.

Coquitlam now heads to Alberni Valley for their second game of the season vs. the Bulldogs Saturday. They return home in a week for another game vs. an Interior conference foe their expansion cousins from 2001 the Salmon Arm Silverbacks.

JOHN SIEMER ON YOUTUBE

2011-09-22T20:31:00.000-07:00

Doing a little research online of Express Forward John Siemer and I came across a youtube video featuring John on a USHL Radio show talking about a 4 goal and 7 point performance he had last season with Waterloo.

Check it out...

TWO MORE INTERVIEWS

2011-09-22T17:27:00.000-07:00

Prior to the season opening tomorrow vs. the Vees, I had a chance to catch up with Head Coach Jon Calvano to discuss his thoughts on his decision to name Alex Petan captain along with Matt Hutchinson, John Siemer and Clinton Atkinson as alternates. I also got the coach's thoughts on the new season about to get under way.

Click on the link below to download the interview with Jon Calvano.

http://www.mediafire.com/?bzwlyfl65txb111

Plus I also spoke with new captain Alex Petan to get his thoughts on getting the "C" and the new season.

Click on the link below to download the interview.

http://www.mediafire.com/?1ha40endmc5t9bh

DEKANICH TO MISS START OF THE SEASON

2011-09-22T16:48:00.000-07:00

Former Express Mark Dekanich of the Columbus Blue Jackets will miss the start of the season due to a high ankle sprain. He suffered the injury in the Jackets pre-season game Tuesday vs. the Winnipeg Jets.

The injury is expected to sideline him for 4 weeks. Dekanich signed a 1 year 1 way deal with Columbus back on July 2nd. This season he is expected to backup Steve Mason in Columbus. He has appeared in just one NHL game in his career with the Nashville Predators. The Preds selected Dekanich 146th overall in the 2006 NHL Draft out of Colgate University.

He played two seasons with the Express from 2002-04.

JOHN GRISDALE INTERVIEW

2011-09-22T13:25:00.000-07:00

Today I caught up with BCHL Commissioner John Grisdale to discuss the 20 game suspension handed to Logan Johnston of the Vees. Under normal circumstances, the interview would be available as an embedded player and you could just click play and listen to the interview.
To hear this interview you will have to download it. To do so, you will have to go to the Logan Johnston suspension story below and click on the mediafire link in the middle of the story to download it and take a listen. Apologies for the inconvenience.

PETAN EXPRESS CAPTAIN FOR 11-12

2011-09-21T19:57:00.000-07:00

Third year forward Alex Petan has been named the Captain for the Express this season.

He will be supported in the role by two new faces in Clinton Atkinson and John Siemer along with returning veteran Matt Hutchinson as alternates.

Petan 19, has matured into the role with the experience he has gained in his first two seasons in the BCHL. He became a key contributor in the top 6 forwards last season. And it could be argued that he was the Express' best player in the playoffs vs. the Surrey Eagles.

Last season he had 13 goals and 33 points in 51 games. He had 2 goals and 3 points in the 4 playoff games vs. Surrey.

Hutchinson entering 20 year old season will be a key leader on the blueline with steady defensive play. Atkinson was among the top point producing defenceman in the BCHL last season. He is entering his 5th and final season of junior hockey this year.

John Siemer has skated along the top line with Alex Petan this season. He is expected to be one of the top point producers for the Express this season. He split last season in the USHL with Waterloo and the NAHL with Fresno.

Garrick Perry was the Express captain last season.

JOHNSTON SUSPENDED 20 GAMES

2011-09-21T17:07:00.000-07:00

Big suspension news coming out of the BCHL office Wednesday prior to the season opening Friday as Penticton Vees forward Logan Johnston has been suspended 20 games.

Johnston hit Express forward Cody Michelle breaking his jaw during the exhibition game between the Express and Vees Saturday in Penticton. Johnston was assessed a match penalty on the play.

Last season Johnston received a 4 game suspension for a cross check to Alex Grieve of the Westside Warriors.

Michelle has had surgery to repair the injury and is expected to be out of the Express lineup for a lengthy period of time.

The 20 game suspension for Johnston equates to one third of the Vees 60 game schedule.

Express President and GM Darcy Rota wasn't at all surprised by the league's decision when I caught up with him.
http://www.mediafire.com/?x1obf69225p2bjl

Cody Michelle was acquired from the Salmon Arm Silverbacks as part of the future considerations in a trade back in December 2010 that also saw the Express picking Clinton Atkinson. Brad Reid went the other way in the deal.

The Express and Vees will meet for the third and final time this season (2 exhibition, 1 regular season) in Coquitlam when the BCHL season opens up Friday night.

For a little more on this story and Alex Petan handed the captaincy, check out Assistant Coach Grant Kerr's Behind the Bench feature on the Express website here.

http://www.coquitlamexpress.ca/leagues/newsletter.cfm?clientID=4119&leagueID=12575&page=55275

In other Express injury news, 2nd year forward Mitchell Deacon will also be out for a lengthy period of time to start the season as he will have shoulder surgery in the next few days.

VEES WIN 15 GOAL AFFAIR OVER EXPRESS

2011-09-17T21:55:00.000-07:00

The Coquitlam Express finished the pre-season with a 4-4 record after dropping a 9-6 decision to the Penticton Vees. The squad from the South Okanagan took a pair of pre season games with the Express winning 5-3 in Coquitlam last Friday.

Alex Petan finished a strong pre season by leading the Express attack with a hat trick. Rookie Alex Kerfoot had 1 goal and an assist. For the Vees, Travis St. Denis and Mario Lucia each had 5 points.

Khaleed Devji was on the hook for all 9 goals on 32 shots.

One of the most consistent aspects of the Express game all pre season was their powerplay which scored twice Saturday.

The big story coming out of the game from an Express point of view was losing forward Cody Michelle to a broken jaw in an incident in the third period involving Logan Johnston. For Michelle, it wraps up a pair of spirited games this pre-season vs the Vees. He got into a scrap with Beau Beaulieu in the opening moments of the game in Coquitlam last Friday. Johnston was assesed a match penalty for his role in the incident with Michelle.

Just in case these out of conference clubs aren't sick of each other yet, they will do it for real when the season opens in Coquitlam Friday night. These two teams haven't had this much drama in head to head meetings since they played for the Fred Page cup in 2006 won by the Express by the way in 6 games.

Next stop the regular season. Thank goodness! This pre-season has dragged on long enough.

TURRIS CONTRACT UPDATE

2011-09-16T14:01:00.000-07:00

Former Express Kyle Turris is sitting and waiting while his agent and the Phoenix Coyotes try to hammer out a new contract for the restricted free agent who's looking for a new deal once his entry level contract expired. He is one of the few remaining RFA's still on the market as NHL training camps open this week.

Some surprising words came from Coyotes GM Don Maloney today speaking about the negotiations with the Turris camp.

KINGS USE THIRD PERIOD TO RALLY OVER EXPRESS

2011-09-11T18:25:00.000-07:00

It's become an annual tradition in recent years that the Express and the Powell River Kings get together for a pre-season game. They met Sunday afternoon in Gibsons. The Kings came away with a 3-2 come from behind win over the Express.

The Express took a 2-1 lead into the third period, but they got themselves into penalty trouble and the Kings eventually rallied for the win.

Justin Georgeson and John Siemer scored the goals for the Express while Billy McGladrey played between the pipes.

I caught up with Express Head Coach Jon Calvano over the phone following the game.

Click here to listen to Head Coach Jon Calvano.

VEES TAKE PRE-SEASON MATCHUP WITH EXPRESS

2011-09-09T22:30:00.000-07:00

Not too often do you circle the date on the calendar for a pre-season game. But Friday's affair was a little different.

It was a game the Express were looking to measure themselves up against a team that is consistently one of the BCHL's best in the Penticton Vees. The crew from Penticton came away with a 5-3 win over the Express at the Coquitlam Sports Centre.

The game was scoreless through 20 minutes. The Express opened the scoring at 7:45 of the second period when Mitch Fyffe roofed a loose puck set up by Jason Bird.

Penticton countered three minutes later on the powerplay with a great shot from the goal line by Mario Lucia when he roofed it short side on Khaleed Devji.

Travis St. Denis showed great hustle and determination to set up Logan Johnston to give the Vees a 2-1 lead before the period was done.

Dana Tenenbaum pulled the Express even when his point shot changed directions and found the back of the net at 2:07.

Mike Reily broke the deadlock midway through the third period giving the Vees a 3-2 lead.

Then with the Express on a powerplay, Logan Johnston broke in behind the Express defence, Clinton Atkinson layed a pretty good one handed whack on the Vees attacker and he was awarded a controversial penalty shot. Johnston sniped a perfect shot on the free play beating Khaleed Devji post and in from the stick side. As for the whack that led to the penalty shot, was it a penalty? Yes. Did it warrant a penalty shot? I'm not so sure. *(Note to self, It's pre-season.)

Ben Murphy pulled the Express back within one with just over three minutes remaining but that would be as close as they would come. Joey Benik put the game away for the Vees in the final minute with an empty netter.

The Vees outshot the Express 39-21. Khaleed Devji played the full game and turned aside 34 of the 38 shots he faced. The Express number 1 netminder again looked solid and confident despite the losing effort. He limited the number of second chance opportunites he gave the Vees.

The Express went 0 for 3 on the powerplay while the Vees went 1 for 5. One aspect of the Express penalty killing tonight that stood out was their willingness to sacrifice the body on a regular basis and block shots.

This game also had a pretty good physical element with both sides throwing a number of bone crunching checks.

Express alum Kyle Turris made another appearance at the game tonight and signed plenty of autographs for the fans.

KERFOOT TO TRY OUT FOR CANADA WEST

2011-09-09T15:37:00.000-07:00

Hockey Canada Friday announced the names of the 60 players invited to participate in the evaluation camp for Team Canada West who will play in the World Junior A Challenge in Langley November 7-13th. The camp will take place starting Sunday and run through September 15th in Canmore Alberta.

Express rookie forward Alex Kerfoot was among the invitees. The BCHL has the highest representation of players with 24 at the camp among the 5 Leagues in Western Canada the BCHL, AJHL, SJHL, MJHL and the SIJHL that will eventually fill out the Team Canada West Roster.

Kyle Turris and Tyler McNeely previously represented the Express at the inaugural World Junior A Challenge in 2006. Brodie Reid represented the Express in 2008. Express GM Darcy Rota was the General Manager for a pair of Team Canada West teams at the event.

Click on the link for the full list of invitees. http://www.hockeycanada.ca/index.php/ci_id/174338/la_id/1.htm

TRAINING CAMP UPDATE

2011-09-06T12:43:00.000-07:00

Most of the Express players were on the ice this morning following the Labour Day long weekend.

The only ones not in attendance were players who were attending school and goaltenders Khaleed Devji and Billy McGladrey.

Spirits at the rink today were understandably upbeat. The club has posted a 4-1 record in pre-season. Coaches and players like the progress of training camp and into the pre-season to date.

This mornings ice session was pretty relaxed. With most of the emphasis on the little skills that become so important once the games get rolling. Whether it be the forwards working on one timers from the slot or finishing tap ins at the lip of the crease. Or working on roofing the puck in tight from the lip of the crease.

The defenceman were working on getting their shots through to the net from the point. Taking some passes, walking the line then firing a shot to the net. Some players worked in some individual skills they feel need a tweak or two.

It was a good opportunity to catch up with a few bodies at the rink today. You can hear the latest from Head Coach Jon Calvano, Forward Alex Petan who drops a good little nugget at the end of the interview, and defenceman Clinton Atkinson.

Click here to listen to Head Coach Jon Calvano.

Click here to listen to Forward Alex Petan.

Click here to listen to Defenceman Clinton Atkinson.

EXPRESS PICK UP PRE-SEASON WIN #4

2011-09-02T22:06:00.000-07:00

Chalk up another win for the Express in the pre-season. They picked up their 4th win in 5 games taking a tight 2-1 decision from SFU.

The teams traded goals 1:12 apart midway through the first period with Jon Ceci opening the scoring for SFU. Alex Petan tied the game for the Express at 10:39 on the power play.

From that point on the game settled down to a tight battle for the two squads.

Khaleed Devji played his first full game of the pre-season. He looked to be in fine form turning aside 29 of the 30 shots he faced. Evan Kurylo and former Vernon Viper and RBC cup winning goalie Graeme Gordon shared the game equally for SFU.

The game remained tied at 1 in the third period until Alex Kerfoot found John Siemer going down the right wing and he slid a backhand between the legs of Gordon at 14:43. Alex Petan came within inches of giving the Express some insurance shortly thereafter but his shot at the side of the net hit the post following a slick feed across from Kerfoot.

SFU had thought they pulled even at the 19:00 mark on Tyler Piller's goal. But it was waved off with a Bevin Ollek goaltender interference penalty.

Former Express defenceman David Dotan played for SFU. Other former Express players Mike Krgovich and Todd Fletcher didn't dress for the Clan.

Next up for the Express is the first of two highly anticipated games this pre-season vs. the Penticton Vees next Friday in Coquitlam.