DOGS HAND EXPRESS SECOND STRAIGHT LOSS

The Alberni Valley Bulldogs extended their winning streak to four games and completed a sweep of a very tough Mainland division road trip with a 4-1 win over the Express Sunday. The loss for the Express was their second in a row after falling 2-1 Saturday in Chilliwack.

If Alberni Valley was fatigued following games Friday in Prince George then playing in Surrey Saturday it didn't show at the start as they got the early jump on the Express. The visitors opened the scoring late in the opening frame when the puck got poked past Corey Mackin working the point on the power play and Dylan Haugen scored on a shorthanded breakaway goal.

Chris Tai may have been on the losing end for the Express, but it wasn't from the lack of a very solid game. His quickness with his legs and agility on the 37 shots he faced resulted in another solid game in the crease to keep his team within striking distance all night. Similar to the effort he put forth the night before.

If there's one theme that stands out from the last two outings from the Express has been the lack of quality scoring chances and setting the tempo. Most notably where that stands out were the inability for the Express to hit double digits in shots in a period in their last two games with the exception of the third period Sunday.

Two minutes into the second the Bulldogs extended their lead when Josh Adkins was able to find a loose puck and jam it under Tai at 2:21.

Shortly thereafter the Express were able to break through for their lone goal as Corey Mackin was able to find some free ice and get behind the Bulldogs defense to score his 25th of the season. But it has been a bit of tough go for the Express top line recently as their time and space has been harder to find with tighter checking from their opposition.

Chris Schultz's power play goal at 15:56 restored Alberni Valley's two goal lead on a bomb of a one timer that Chris Tai had little chance of keeping out.

The Express best chance to get back in the game came late in the second period with a 5 on 3 advantage for 1:15 but nothing came out of it as the Express went 0 for 6 while up a man.

Billy Christopoulos wasn't overly busy Sunday finishing with 24 saves. Possibly his best save came off Brett Supinski midway through the second as Christopoulos got his left pad down on a scramble in front.

Justin Merreck put the game on ice for good with an empty netter in the final seconds. Then before the teams could line up for the face-off Brendan Gulka has his emotions get the best of him as he had words for the Bulldogs bench and the Express forward needed to be restrained by an official as he was led off the ice.

Next weekend the Express hit the road for a pair of games in Prince George.

EXPRESS VICTORIOUS IN 1ST OF HOME AND HOME WITH CHIEFS

Express take a page out of the Toronto Maple Leafs book and salute the fans... Oh wait a moment the Leafs don't do that.

Coquitlam picked up their first win in four tries vs. the Chilliwack Chiefs with a 3-1 decision on home ice Friday.

It was the blue line on back that led the charge for the Express Friday with a pair of goals from defencemen and a solid effort from goaltender Chris Tai.

Rookie blueliner Cole Bevan got things started for the Express when he found himself with the puck on his stick in the slot on a pass from Colton Kerfoot and Bevan scored his first BCHL goal to finish off an odd man rush after Tipper Higgins for Chilliwack couldn't convert a 2 on 1 at the other end.

Chris Tai turned aside 33 of 34 Chiefs shots for his 6th win with the Express. His best save may have come in the opening seconds of the second period when he came to his left to deny Higgins who was set up by Craig Puffer.

Daniel Fritz added to the Express attack from the blue line scoring a power play goal with a slap shot of a rolling puck that beat Aiden Pelino at 3:18. Four of Fritz's six goals this season have come on the power play.

Midway through the second period penalties to Cole Bevan and Anthony Gardner 12 seconds apart gave Chilliwack a key must score 5 on 3 advantage. And they did exactly that as Ryan Bowen showed good patience after receiving a pass then making sure to bury it over a sprawled out Chris Tai for Bowen's fourth goal of the season. That would be the only puck to beat Tai in the second period who turned aside the other 11 shots sent his way in the second period.

Cody Boyd's value to the Express as i've said numerous times isn't always measured in points on the scoresheet despite what his recent offensive production will tell you. It's his physical play, and that was very much on display Friday night. He played like a truck with a driver consumed by road rage. And he was taking his anger out on Chilliwack players. A number of guys were on the receiving end of big, body jolting, board rattling hits that left players worse for wear following the hit.

The third period most notably is where the Express penalty killing helped the team earn the two points. They were able to kill off three Chilliwack power plays in the final 12 minutes of the game to keep the Express ahead by a goal until Corey Mackin put the game away with his third shorthanded goal of the season into an empty net with just over two minutes to play. The Express killed off 5 of 6 Chilliwack power plays Friday.

But the story of the game wasn't done there until Chris Tai made a number of other great saves to put the final touches on the Express victory.

The two teams will go at it again Saturday night in Chilliwack.

EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

November 7 vs. Surrey.



November 9 vs. Chilliwack.



Highlights courtesy of Jorge Parra and Underdog Productions.

EXPRESS STREAK SNAPPED AT 5

Chilliwack survived a scare of blowing a 4-0 lead but in the end prevailed 5-4 in double overtime over the Express snapping their winning streak at 5.

It was an interesting game to say the least with the comeback and the shorthanded goals.

More on those in a moment.

It started with a bang as Jordan Kawaguchi with little resistance was able to dance past the Express defense and score just 44 seconds in to get the visitors off on the right foot.

The remainder of the period was fairly even with Chilliwack holding a 11-9 edge in shots.

Then things got interesting for sure.

Chilliwack was on the receiving end of penalty calls, but they were able to do something I've never seen anywhere.

They scored three straight shorthanded goals on three straight shorthanded situations. Jake Hand on a wrist shot from the left wing followed by Ryan Bowen on a breakaway and Jordan Kawaguchi's second of the game on a two on none scored shorthanded markers in a span of 5:38 to open up a 4-0 Chiefs lead.

One shorthanded goal in a game is tough enough to stomach let alone three in row.

If you're looking for signs how this Express team has grown in recent weeks it's how they responded to it.

Cody Boyd and Jackson Cressey scored to cut the lead in half.

Late in the second period a shot by Brendan Lamont may have either hit the post, or the red metal in the back of the net and the puck came out. The red light came on, but after minimal argument from the Express they play wasn't discussed further and the Express went to the room down two.

Coquitlam did outshoot Chilliwack 16-10 in the second period. Then they raised their game even further in the third looking for the equalizer.

BCHL player of the week Corey Mackin added to his BCHL lead with his 23rd goal and 40th point for a power play marker midway through the frame to cut the lead to one.

Due to injuries up front the Express dressed 7 defenceman giving Nic Coltura a chance to draw back in the lineup. And he certainly earned all the ice time he got. He had a very strong outing for the Express in both ends of the rink. He quickly fired up a pass to Joey Santucci who had a wide open lane to the net catching Chilliwack on a bad change and the captain scored on a backhand to tie the score at 4.

After an uneventful first overtime, the second stanza saw the game decided on a two on one for the Chiefs with Kurt Black finishing off the pass from Jake Larson for the game winner.

The power plays were pretty one sided in the Express favour with the Express finishing 2 for 9 while the Chiefs only had two powerplays and couldn't convert.

Coquitlam now hits the road for games this weekend in Trail and Salmon Arm.

EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

Highlights from the Express 5-4 win over Salmon Arm.



Highlights courtesy of Jorge Parra and Underdog Productions.

MACKIN PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Coquitlam Express forward Cory Mackin has been named the BCHL Player of the Week for the week ending Nov. 9, the league announced Monday. Mackin racked up six goals, including his third hat trick of the season, and four assists and led the Express to three wins. The Philadelphia native opened with two goals and a helper n a 5-4 win over Salmon Arm, upped the ante to a hat trick in a 6-3 victory over Surrey and concluded with goal and three helpers in a 10-5 triumph against Surrey. The 5-foot-9, 165-pound Ferris State University recruit was named 2nd Star in each contest and took over the BCHL scoring lead with his offensive flurry. Honorable mentions this week: Coquitlam Express F Brendan Lamont: 5G, 2A, 1st Star, hat trick Cowichan Valley Capitals D Rylan Bechtel: 1G, 2A, 3rd Star Vernon Vipers F Anthony Latina: 3G, 1A, 1st Star, GWG Langley Rivermen G Bo Didur: 2W, 1st Star, 2nd Star West Kelowna Warriors F Brayden Gelsinger: 3G, 3A, 1st Star, GWG  

EXPRESS ALUMS ON HTH

Express alumni Kyle Turris and Patrick Wiercioch from the days when the franchise was in Burnaby were featured Sunday on hometown hockey.

Click on the link to see the feature.

LAMONT'S HAT-TRICK PACE'S 5TH STRAIGHT WIN FOR EXPRESS

Brendan Lamont's (left) hat-trick led the charge in 10-5 win over Surrey. Photo courtesy of Damon James.

Brendan Lamont had a hat-trick to lead the goal scoring parade as the Express scored a season high 10 goals in a 10-5 win over the Surrey Eagles. Click here for box score

The win was the 5th straight for the Express who also completed a sweep of the Surrey Eagles in a home and home set in the process.

Coquitlam made sure to leave Surrey in their dust early in the first period scoring 5 times. Daniel Lange scored his first of two on the night to get things rolling by the Express. Surrey quickly tied it but then the Express began to pull away.

Corey Mackin tallied his BCHL leading 22nd goal of the season shorthanded for his second shorthanded goal of the week. That was followed up 4 minutes later by a goal from Joey Santucci as he banged home the rebound off the end boards from a shot by Jackson Cressey.

Joseph Drapluk scored his first of two on the night for Surrey at 17:57 burying a feed from behind the net.

But before the period was done the Express really dealt the Eagles a blow on Lamont's first of the night that was followed 12 seconds later on Austin Anselmo's first BCHL goal. Those last two goals brought an end to the night for Eagles goaltender Daniel Davidson who allowed 5 goals in 13 Express shots.

John Wesley cut the Express lead back down to 2 at 5-3 just over three minutes into the second period. But at this point going forward all Eagle goals were just putting a slight dent in a game that belonged to the Express.

Brett Supinski's 16th of the season quickly re-stored the Express three goal lead at 6-3. That was followed by Lamont's nicest goal of the night as he deflected a rocket of a point shot by Daniel Fritz on the power play.

Lamont then completed his hat-trick less than five minutes into the third period. The final period finished with goals by Joseph Drapluk getting his second of the night for Surrey. Then Daniel Lange getting his second of the night followed by Cody Boyd scoring the third power play goal for the Express on the night to hit double digits.

Coquitlam finished the game with 50 shots for the second straight visit to the South Surrey Arena.

Ten players found the scoresheet for the Express with 7 players registering at least three points. Corey Mackin, Joey Santucci and Brett Supinski all had 1 goal and 3 assists for 4 point nights.

Chris Tai turned aside 21 of 25 shots to improve his record to 5-1.

Wednesday the Express host the Chilliwack Chiefs then will head to Trail and Salmon Arm next weekend.

EXPRESS WIN 4TH STRAIGHT

First and foremost on behalf of everyone in the Express organization we all hope Ty Westgard is ok and wish his family the best after a scary incident to Ty's leg in the opening five minutes of the second period. I would prefer not to speculate on what the exact nature of his injury is. And thank you to the personnel in the building who attended to him before paramedics arrived to take him to the hospital.

Now on to the game which clearly is secondary.

Photo courtesy of Damon James.

The Express extended their winning streak to 4 straight games with a 6-3 win over the Surrey Eagles. Click here for boxscore 

Corey Mackin added to his BCHL lead in the goal scoring race with his third hat-trick of the season to pace the attack. Mackin now has 21 goals on the season. His three points also puts him in a tie with West Kelowna's Liam Blackburn for the lead in the BCHL scoring race with 35 points.

It was a back and forth game in the first two periods. Darius Davidson for Surrey and Corey Mackin traded goals in the first period.

Then in the second period it was John Wesley giving Surrey their second lead of the game at 2-1 shortly after the resumption of play following Ty Westgard's injury. Mackin then added his second of the game beating Daniel Davidson with a wrist shot from the left wing.

Brendan Lamont gave the Express their first lead of the night 19 seconds into the third period as he was hooked on a partial break then was able to poke the puck home for his 5th of the season.

Friday's game was the Express debut for Brendan Gulka who was acquired earlier in the day from the Cowichan Valley Capitals. He left his mark on the contest shortly after Lamont's goal by scoring his first Express marker banging home the rebound of a Joey Santucci shot from the boards.

AP Jordan Funk made things interesting scoring with 3:07 remaining.

But the Express were able to put the game to bed on empty net goals by Corey Mackin to complete the hat-trick and Cody Boyd to round out the scoring.

The two teams will meet again Saturday night at the South Surrey Arena.

EXPRESS ACQUIRE GULKA

Forward Brendan Gulka acquired by the Express Friday from Cowichan Valley. 

The Coquitlam Express have acquired 20 year old forward Brendan Gulka (94) from the Cowichan Valley Capitals in exchange for future considerations.

The 6'1, 210lb Langley native gives the Express a little more of a sand paper element to the forward group with some scoring touch. He has 46 games of BCHL experience mostly with the Langley Rivermen scoring 6 goals and 12 points and 55 PIM's. This season he has 4 goals and 6 points in 11 games. Langley did trade Brendan to Cowichan Valley earlier this season but he never reported.

Gulka is one of those players that you want to have on your team and is not fun to play against as an opponent. He should be more than a little familiar with his new teammates in his battles with the Express in recent meetings in the last 12 months.

Head Coach and GM Barry Wolff expects Brendan to make his Express debut Friday when the Express open a home and home with Surrey in Coquitlam.

CHRIS SPEC 'TAI' CULAR IN EXPRESS WIN

The Coquitlam Express extended their winning streak to three games thanks to a fantastic performance by Chris Tai and a pair of goals from both Corey Mackin and Joey Santucci in a 5-4 win over Salmon Arm. Click here for box score

Tai made 41 saves in the Express crease including 21 in the second period alone to post his third win with the Express. Things didn't start well for Tai and his teammates however.

Salmon Arm jumped on the Express in the opening 10 minutes and were rewarded for it. Karl El-Mir and Josh Blanchard scored 1:02 apart to open up a 2-0 Silverbacks lead midway through the first period. At one point the shots were 9-1 in favor of Salmon Arm.

Brendan Lamont got one back for the Express late in the opening frame after he buried the rebound of a Corey Mackin shot at 16:10 of the first period.

Joey Santucci evened things up for the Express with a power play goal for his fourth of the season with a slap shot that got past the glove of Zach Dyment.

Then the BCHL's goal scoring leader went to work. Corey Mackin scored his first of two on the night on a shorthanded breakaway to give the Express their first lead. It was also the first shorthanded goal for the Express this season.

Mackin then added a goal that will be shown on highlights everywhere. He took the puck in the neutral zone and with time to process what he was going to do, he went to his patented spin-a-rama move from the right wing cutting to the net and roofing a water bottle popping backhand past Dyment for a 4-2 Express lead.



Mackin now leads the BCHL with 18 goals. He also had an assist for a three point night.

Late in the second period came a key sequence in determining the outcome tonight.

The Express ran into penalty trouble with Cody Boyd heading off for unsportsmanlike conduct, Brendan Lamont being sent off for a minor for high sticking which was quickly followed by a double minor high sticking penalty to captain Joey Santucci.

The result was an extended 5 on 3 advantage and a double minor Salmon Arm powerplay that carried over into the third period.

But this is when Chris Tai cemented his first star honors in this game. He was spectacular in the second period. Most notably on the Silverback power play which helped preserve the two goal lead through 40 minutes.

Then in the third the Express were able to kill off the remaining 2:44 of the Santucci penalty to open the frame and hold on to their two goal lead.

This game was destined to have drama going right to the end. Logan Mick cut the Express lead to 4-3 midway through the third period.

Joey Santucci then added his second of the game less than two minutes later when his shot handcuffed Angus Redmond who swatted the rebound of the shot out of the air with his stick and just across the goal line before the net was knocked off. Referee Brett Iverson deserves credit for being in good position to make the call.

Salmon Arm again made it a one goal game as Ross Hedit scored deflecting Phill Middleton's point shot making the finish a nerve racking one.

Santucci is credited with the game winning goal tonight. But he also had to sit and watch his teammates cap off a great night on the penalty kill when he was called for goaltender interference with just under three minutes remaining.

The Express held off Salmon Arm's final push to preserve the victory tonight. The Silverbacks did go 1 for 8 on the power play. But the Express penalty killers deserves plenty of kudos for their efforts to kill off the final 7 Silverback man advantages Wednesday night.

Coquitlam will take their three game win streak and look to build on it with a home and home with Surrey starting Friday night in Coquitlam.

BOYD TO CANISIUS

Photo courtesy of Garrett James Photography.

Coquitlam Express forward Cody Boyd has committed to Canisius University for the 2015-16 season. 

The Johnstown Pennsylvania native is in his second season with the Express. 

During his first season with the Express Boyd committed to Army for this season but had a change of heart and returned to the Express for his 20 year old season. 

In his first season with the Express he 4 goals and 18 points in 54 games. Then in the playoffs he raised his game another level using his tools at 6'3 195lbs to be a physical force during the Express run to their 2nd BCHL championship while chipping in with 3 goals and 9 points in 16 BCHL playoff games. He also added 1 goal in 5 games at the Crescent Point Energy Western Canada Cup in Dauphin Manitoba.

Boyd would like to thank Coach Barry Wolff, the whole Express organization and his family for all their help in giving him a chance to play Division One College Hockey in the NCAA.

Coach Wolff on Boyd’s commitment: "We are extremely proud of Cody on his commitment and his achievement, his passion and determination for the game are second to none.
He will be a great addition for the Golden Griffins and wish both success!!" 

Canisius Golden Griffins play in Atlantic Hockey Conference and is located in Buffalo New York 

This season he has 1 goal 4 assists in 18 games. Boyd's value can't truly be measured in goals and points. It's the physical element he brings to the rink each night. It's that element of the game he feels is the true measuring stick of how he helps his teammates each night. 

Congratulations Cody. 

BEST OF OCTOBER FOR EXPRESS

Here's the best of from the Express home games in October courtesy of Jorge Parra and Underdog Productions.

EXPRESS SWEEP HOME AND HOME WITH RIVERMEN

The Coquitlam Express have their first winning streak of the season after taking both games of a home and home with the Langley Rivermen. The Express followed up their 7-5 win Friday with a great road performance winning 4-2 at the Langley Events Centre Saturday. Click here for boxscore

The visitors had to weather a bit of an early storm as Langley opened up a 5-0 advantage in shots but couldn't beat Chris Tai who earned his second Express win.

Saturday the Express did something they haven't done a lot of this season and that is score first. Jivan Sidhu on the power play scored his second of the season as he pinched in from the point and snapped home Cody Boyd's backdoor pass for a 1-0 Express lead.

That was followed up 2:30 later on Corey Mackin's now BCHL leading 16th goal of the season for a 2-0 Express lead. Those goals gave the Express plenty of jump that carried them through the majority of the game.

Bo Didur took the loss for Langley, but he was a big reason why this game wasn't more lopsided in the Express favor all night long. His best save came off Corey Mackin as he was set up by Brendan Lamont but Didur came to his left for a fantastic save.

In the second the Express added to their lead early as Brett Supinski showed some pretty slick mitts to dangle to the Langley net and slide home his 15th goal of the season at 1:43. Didur's fine work showed up again in the second period with a number of big stops of Jackson Cressey on two occasions in the second period and a Corey Mackin shorthanded breakaway.

Gage Torrell got Langley on the board with some slick hands of his own as he knocked down Jacob Kearley's point shot and was able to slide the puck into an open net past Chris Tai.

Matthew Graham suddenly cut the Express lead down to one midway through the third period as his wrist shot from the right wing handcuffed Chris Tai and the shot went off Tai's glove and in for a 3-2 game. But that would be the lone blemish for Tai Saturday. He didn't have to be a story in this game as his team played so well in front of him. Tai only needed to turn aside 22 of 24 shots for his second Express win. In a season with so many games where goaltending has been an issue. It's certainly nice for the Express where their play in front of their goaltender puts the work between the pipes on the back burner.

Jackson Cressey may have played his best game in the BCHL Saturday. He had two grade A scoring chances in the game but couldn't convert. He also had a hand in a few others. He was finally rewarded for his play in the final minute of the game as Joey Santucci set him up for an empty net goal to ice the win for the Express.

The Express will look to extend their winning streak to 3 games when they host their expansion cousins the Salmon Arm Siverbacks Wednesday night.

RIVERMEN @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

Here's the highlights of the Express 7-5 win over Langley Friday night.

Highlights courtesy of Jorge Parra and Underdog Productions.