EXPRESS ALUMS AT NCAA REGIONALS

The frozen four teams were determined this weekend with the regional play downs.

There were a number Express alumni playing this past weekend in win and you move on games in the NCAA tournament.

QUNNIPIAC ADVANCES TO FROZEN FOUR

The number 1 team in the country the Bobcats are the only team featuring Express alumni that have moved on to Tampa Bay.

The weekend started for Bo Pieper and company started Saturday with a  4-0 win over RIT in the East Regional semi final. Click here for video highlights.  Click here for boxscore

Former Penticton Vee Travis St. Denis and former Chilliwack Chief Scott Davidson was among the goal scorers. Former Surrey Eagle Devon Toews had three assists. Michael Gartieg the former Penticton Vee made 27 saves for the shutout.

In the East Regional final Qunnipiac punched their second trip to the Frozen Four in four years with a 4-1 win over UMass Lowell. Click here for NCAA story Click here for video highlights

Scott Davidson scored for a second straight game. Bo Pieper had 1 shot and was a +1. Devon Toews was a +4. Michael Gartieg needed to only make 14 saves.

Qunnipiac will face Boston College Thursday April 7th at 2pm. Catch the game on TSN2.

Other Express alums on Qunnipiac are Bo's brother Canon who's only played two games this season and none since October. Daniel Fritz hasn't played all season.

FERRIS STATE GOES DOWN IN WEST REGIONAL

It's been a successful first college season for Corey Mackin who was the WCHA rookie of the year. He along with teammate and Burnaby Express alum Simon Denis won the WCHA championship. For Denis he was a sentimental story playing in his 5th season of college hockey after missing a significant amount of time during his college career with a neck injury.

Ferris State opened their NCAA tournament taking on St. Cloud State. It was a back and forth game that saw Ferris State advance 5-4 in overtime. Click here for boxscore Click here for video highlights

Ferris State had leads of 2-1 after 1 period and 4-2 after two periods. St. Cloud State forced overtime with two goals in the third period. Former Penticton Vee Joey Benik tied the game at four.

It only took 18 seconds of overtime hockey for Ferris State to advance on a goal by Jared Vanwormer.

Ferris State faced Denver in the West Regional final. This was another back and forth game that saw Denver ultimately advance by a 6-3 score. Click here for boxscore Click here for video highlights

Corey Mackin was among the Ferris State goal scorers in the first period. He finished the game with one goal and one assist.

.@CMackin_21 ties the game at 2 late in the 1st. Catch the game on TSN2. pic.twitter.com/Dfrq3vQpxZ

— Coquitlam Express (@BCHLExpress) March 27, 2016

Thank you to everyone at @FerrisHockey for the best 5 years of my life. Beyond proud to be a Bulldog.

— Simon Denis (@skdenis26) March 28, 2016

Denver will face North Dakota in the second Frozen Four game Thursday April 7th at 5:30 PM.

The championship game will be played Saturday April 9th. Click here for NCAA tournament bracket.

In other NCAA tournament games featuring teams with Express alumni on the roster, Ryan Rosenthal's Northeastern Huskies fell 6-2 to North Dakota Friday in a Midwest Regional semi final. Rosenthal didn't play.

Alexander Kerfoot and Harvard University fell 4-1 to Boston College in a Northeast Regional semi final Friday. Next season Alexander and Colton Kerfoot will be teammates at Harvard. The older Kerfoot will dress in his senior season.

Boston University was eliminated by Denver 7-2 in a West Regional semi final Saturday. Eric Udahl didn't dress for a single game with BU after leaving the Express mid-season for BU during the Christmas break.

EXPRESS ALUMS WIN NCAA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS

It's NCAA playoff time and a number of Express alumni have gone head to head in their respective league playoffs.

And a number of them won their respective league championships.

HOCKEY EAST CHAMPIONS NORTHEASTERN:

Ryan Rosenthal's Northeastern Huskies are the Hockey East champions. In the hockey east semi finals they defeated Thatcher Demko and Boston College. Then defeated UMass-Lowell in the final.

Click here for the Northeastern game story. 

ECAC CHAMPIONS QUINNIPIAC:

Bo and Canon Pieper at Qunnipiac are ECAC champions. They defeated Express alums Alexander Kerfoot and Phil Zielonka and Harvard University for the title. Bo Pieper scored for Qunnipiac as they opened up a 3-0 lead Saturday. Click here for Qunnipiac game story Qunnipiac has had a fantastic season and will be the number one seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament.

WCHA CHAMPIONS FERRIS STATE:

The winning beat goes on for Corey Mackin, he along with another Express alum Simon Denis are the WCHA champions. Along the way they defeated Alex Petan's Michigan Tech Huskies in the semi finals. Then they defeated Cole Huggins and Minnesota State 2-1 to win the WCHA title.

Mackin this year was named the WCHA rookie of the year. As part of Minnesota State's runs to the WCHA final they defeated Gordie Defiel and Lake Superior State in the quarter final last weekend in a best of three. Lake Superior's lone win was a 2-0 shutout win where Defiel made 57 saves.

Click here for Ferris State game recap

Today was selection Sunday for the NCAA tournament which leads to the Frozen Four. Click here for the NCAA tournament matches

Quinnipiac will face RIT in one East Regional first round game. Ferris State will face St. Cloud State in the West Regional first round game. 

Northeastern will face North Dakota in one of the Midwest Regional first round games.

Harvard will play Boston College in one of the Northeast Regional first round games.

The Frozen Four will be held April 7-9 in Tampa Bay. 

EXPRESS OPEN WCC VICTORIOUS

Express and Saints line up following 3-1 Express win to open WCC.

The BCHL champion Coquitlam Express continued their winning ways as they opened up the Crescent Point Energy Western Canada Cup with a 3-1 win over the AJHL champion Spruce Grove Saints. Coquitlam has now won 7 straight games dating back to the third round of the BCHL playoffs.

Ryan Rosenthal soared a pair of goals and Canon Pieper added the insurance marker for the Express.

Gordie Defiel turned aside 31 of 32 Saints shots sent his way for the victory.

The Express captain got things rolling just under 7 minutes into the game as he fired a shot from the right circle that caught the inside of the post and just got past Saints goaltender Kenny Cameron.

The opening half of the second period saw the Express spend the majority of that time shorthanded with infractions called on Cody Boyd, Zach Hodder and a double minor high sticking penalty to Brendan Lamont. Coquitlam's penalty killers really do deserve praise for their efforts Sunday. They killed off all that time shorthanded at a key point in the game. In total the Express finished the game killing off 6 Saints man advantages.

The power play time did give Spruce Grove momentum to build on for the second half of the middle period. They continued their push when the game returned to even strength.

Isaac Farrah finally broke through for the Saints as his slap shot appeared to be tipped past a screened Gordie Defiel. That would be the only puck to get past him as he kept up his high level of play in the Western Canada Cup opener.

It was another game that had the Express right where they wanted entering the third period and that is hanging in the balance tied at one.

Early in the third period however there was a scare as Bo Pieper got tangled up with defenceman Gabe Bast and crashed heavily into the end boards with the collision only intensified by the fresh ice.

Pieper was shaken up and was down on the ice for a long period of time bringing a hush over the crowd in Dauphin. Bo eventually shook off the hit and got up and went down the tunnel but did return a few minutes later. And seeing him quickly post game he didn't look to be too worse for ware.

Ryan Rosenthal broke the deadlock with just over 6 minutes remaining in the third period as he had two cracks at the puck from the slot and snapped home his second of the game for a 2-1 Express lead.

Then late in the third period Bo quickly forgot about the collision with the end wall as from the same spot as the hit, he set up his brother Canon who scored with 1:17 remaining for a 3-1 Express lead.

The win sees the Express open up with a 1-0 record. Spruce Grove who had spent time late in the season as the number 1 nationally ranked team is in an early hole at 0-2.

No rest for the wicked as the Express are right back at it facing another 1-0 team Monday when they will take on the MJHL champion Winnipeg Blues at 5:00 PM Pacific time.

BO PIEPER BCHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Coquitlam Express forward Bo Pieper has been named the BCHL Player of the Week for the week ending April 13, the league announced Monday.

Pieper exploded for four huge goals, including the game-winner, in Game 1 of the Fred Page Cup Finals. Pieper's offence helped the Express rally from a three-goal deficit to win the game 6-4.

The 5-foot-11, 180-pound native of Roseville, Minn. was named the game's 1st Star. He now has 10 goals and five assists for the Express in 17 playoff games.

Honourable mentions this week:

Coquitlam Express F Adam Rockwood: 2G, 1A, OT GWG, 1st Star

Coquitlam Express D Zach Hodder: 3A, 2nd Star

Vernon Vipers F Dexter Dancs: 2G, 1A, 2nd Star

BO & EXPRESS EXPLODE IN FINAL 40 TAKE GAME 1 OF CUP FINAL

It took 20 minutes for the Express to get rolling, but when they did they were tough handle, especially Bo Pieper who set an Express playoff franchise record scoring four times in a 6-4 win in game 1 of the Fred Page Cup final vs. the Vernon Vipers. The Express lead the championship series 1-0.

Probably some nerves of playing on the BCHL's biggest stage played a factor in the start for the Express. Vernon stormed out to a first period lead on goals by Brendan Persley, Brett Mulcahy and Deminco Hannoun. The first two strikes coming in the first 3:05 of the first period.

The visitors settled down and the tide definitely turned in the second period in the Express favor, and Bo Pieper began to take over. He scored his first two goals of the night at even strength and on the power play to pull the Express within one. Then late in the frame Corey Mackin on a shorthanded breakaway scored to tie the game at three with 1:03 left in the period. The Express now have 5 shorthanded goals in the playoffs. And 24 if you including the 19 they tallied in the regular season.

Vernon did restore their lead 3 minutes into the third when Mason Blacklock scored on a breakaway of his own.

Then came a key turning point, Gordie Defiel made a key stop, one of his 31 saves on the night as he came across to his left and stacking the pads to keep his team down just a goal. Moments later Bo Pieper capped off his hat-trick to even the game at 4.

Bo then set an Express playoff franchise record by scoring his 4th of the night to put the Express up for the first time Friday night. Corey Mackin then completed the Express run of 3 goals in a span of 5:02 in the third period with his second of the night. Zach Hodder finished with 3 assists from the backend.

Brendan Persley and Demico Hannoun each had a goal and an assist for Vernon. Austin Smith was tagged for 6 goals on 35 shots.

Game 2 goes Saturday night in Vernon. 

EXPRESS DOUBLE UP ON GRIZZLIES

The Coquitlam Express picked up their first win of the BCHL semi final round robin doubling Victoria 6-3.

The win improves the Express to 1-1 in the round robin. Victoria meanwhile is still searching their first win at 0-2. 

Cole Pickup got things rolling for Victoria scoring on a breakaway at 2:55 to open the scoring. 

The lead only lasted just over 3 minutes as the much maligned Express powerplay struck as Ryan Rosenthal got enough of a stick on a Corey Mackin pass and scored to tie the game at 1. It was just the 4^th powerplay goal for the Express in their 14^th playoff game. 

Victoria took their second lead of the night and it was the dangerous trio of the Fitzgerald triplets teaming up on the powerplay. Leo banged home the rebound of a shot for a 2-1 Grizzlies lead just 1:26 into the second period. Myles and Gerry drew the assists. 

Rosenthal scored his second of the night chipping it past Nic Renyard to even things at two with just over 5 minutes remaining in the second period. 

Victoria had the edge in play through two periods with a 23-12 edge in shots. But the Express have shown to be a very dangerous third period team during the post-season.

They kept that up Tuesday. Bo Pieper gave the Express their first lead of the night when he kept the puck on a 2 on 1 break and snap it past the glove of Renyard. Bo struck again 90 seconds later as from the corner he was able to bounce a puck in off the leg of Renyard for a two goal Express lead. 

Entering Tuesday, the Express needed to get more production from Adam Rockwood and Corey Mackin to help take some pressure off their linemate and captain Rosenthal. 

The two 18 year old forwards certainly rose to the occasion. Rockwood finished with 4 assists. Mackin had 1 goal and 2 assists. He scored the 5^th Express goal on the powerplay for a 5-2 lead. Entering Tuesday Mackin had just 1 goal in the playoffs. And he hadn't scored since game 5 vs. Prince George. 

Zach Hodder scored the 4^th goal for the Express off the third period for a 6-2 lead at 14:39. 

Rockwood and Rosenthal picked up the helpers to cap off their big nights. The Express top line combined for 3 goals and 8 assists for 11 points between the three of them. 

Gerry Fitzgerald rounded out the scoring with a powerplay goal with 2:06 remaining. Both teams finished 2 for 3 on the powerplay. 

Containing the Fitzgerald's was high on the to do list for the Express Tuesday. They did strike for a pair of goals on the powerplay. but you can give the line of Jace Hennig, Joey Santucci and Brendan Lamont a passing grade for checking them very closely at 5 on 5. 

Tuesday's win painted a very clear picture for the Express if they want to play for the Fred Page Cup. A win Thursday in Victoria for the Express would send them to the Fred Page Cup final for the second time in franchise history. The Express hope the third time in these playoffs is the charm when it comes to going on the road and being able to win and advance. 

EXPRESS PUT RIVERMEN TO BRINK IN BARN BURNER

Express celebrate game 4 win over Mainland division final.

The Coquitlam Express put the disappointment of a 5-0 loss the night before in the rear view mirror with a 5-3 win in game 4 of the Mainland division final.  Coquitlam now leads the best of 7, 3-1.

The fans in attendance were truly treated to an entertaining game made even better seeing the home team win.

The Express fourth line gave the big guns a boost when they opened the scoring on a Jackson Cressey goal set up by Daniel Lange with a shot that hit the leg of a Langley defenceman and got past the glove of Brock Crossthwaite.

It was the first goal of the playoffs from the Express fourth line. It's a great reward for a unit that all season long has provided such valuable minutes.

The Express had their chances to try an extended their lead with Bo Pieper walking out from behind the net to be denied by Crossthwaite. Then Joey Santucci going hard to the net had the rebound of a Jace Hennig slap shot bounce over his stick with a wide open net.

Shortly there after the Rivermen pulled even when Chris Forney fired a shot over the shoulder of a screened Gordie Defiel.

Matt Ustaski gave the Rivermen their first lead of the night when he come out from behind the Express net and was able to bounce the puck past a sprawled out Defiel.

Marc Biega continued his regular season success against the Rivermen in game 4 Tuesday. He scored pinching in from the left point and snapped a show low to the stick side on Crossthwaite.

A series is always about adjustments and the Express come out for the second period after tweaking their lines.

Captain Ryan Rosenthal was taken off line with Corey Mackin and Adam Rockwood. And he was put between the Pieper brothers to give the Express a little more size.

The new combination quickly started to click and generate chances. You couldn't not notice the Express captain on this night creating chances with his speed and powering the puck to the goal.

Before the Pieper's and Rosenthal made their mark on the score sheet the Rivermen took their second lead of the night when Tyson Witala set up Mitch McLain who had a wide open net to bury the puck a a 3-2 lead.

The lead only lasted 2:24 when the Express new line teamed up for the equalizer.

Bo Pieper set up Rosenthal who scored his 7th of the playoffs and the game was even at three.

You couldn't have asked for a more entertaining and evenly played game between these two clubs tonight. They played hard and clean. There was no extra circular activity. Neither team really gave the officials a reason to make any penalty calls.

They gave it all they had with so much on the line depending on the outcome for both teams.

The final 20 minutes was set up for the biggest period of the series for both teams. Was this series going to Langley for game 5 tied at two or with the Express leading 3-1?

The Pieper's and Rosenthal teamed up in the opening minute of the third period to give the Express their second lead of the night. Canon scored on a rebound 31 seconds into the frame for a 4-3 Express lead.

Finally the officials were forced to make a call with 4:20 remaining in the third period when Charlie Pelnik hit Joey Santucci into the boards and his head struck the glass.

On the ensuing power play Marc Biega struck for his second of the night blasting it past Crossthwaite for a 5-3 Express lead. The Express defenceman also had an assist for a 3 point night. Including the regular season, Biega has 8 goals vs. the Rivermen this season.

Gordie Defiel like the team in front of him had a bounce back performance with 31 saves.

The series now shifts back to Langley for game 5 at the Langley Events Centre Thursday with the Express looking to be the first team to punch their ticket to the third round of the playoffs.

Expect nothing more than the team with the BCHL's best record in the regular season to fight hard to defend home ice and save their season much like Prince George did in round one. 

EXPRESS DOUBLE UP SPRUCE KINGS

A much better defensive effort, and a 6 goal explosion did the job for the Express Friday as they took the rematch with the Prince George Spruce Kings winning 6-3 Friday night.

A solid contribution from the top 3 lines and steady goaltending from Gordie Defiel paced the Express on this night.

8 of the top 9 forwards hit the scoresheet for the Express. The only forward of that group to not hit the scoresheet was Cody Boyd but made his presence felt with his physical play.

The top line opened the scoring as captain Ryan Rosenthal slid the puck into the Spruce Kings zone, Alex Murray came out of his crease to play the puck and sweep it behind the net. But the Express captain read the play well and picked off the clearing attempt and quickly set up Adam Rockwood who tapped it home.

Brent Lashuk evened it up for Prince George as he took the puck off the boards and cut into the middle of the ice and snapped a shot low to the glove side past Gordie Defiel.

The Express re-stored their lead before the first period came to an end. Marc Biega led the rush into the Prince George end and fired a shot that snuck through the legs of Murray at 18:21. It was Biega's 6th goal of the season and his 5th on home ice this year.

Marco Ballarin pulled the visitors even early in the second period as he had multiple whacks at the rebound of a Sean Landrey shot before lifting it over Defiel just 53 seconds into the 2nd period.

The tie didn't last 3 seconds as Jace Henning broke out of the Express zone and led the attack and snapped a shot that hit the stick of a Spruce Kings defender and past Murray to put the Express in the lead for a 3rd time at 3-2.

Now the Express began to work at pulling away from Prince George.

Bo Pieper blasted home a one timer on the power play on a set up from his brother Canon to put the Express up a pair.

Just 1:02 later Braiden Epp briefly pulled Prince George back within one on a set up from Mitch Eden.

81 ticks of the clock later the Express again were up by 3 as Joey Santucci buried the rebound of a point shot for a 5-3 Express lead.

Then it was the Pieper brothers teaming up again and this time it was Canon banging home a rebound to put the Express up 6-3.

The line of Joey Santucci and the Pieper brothers teamed up for 3 goals and 4 assists for 7 points in the second period.

The third period was fairly uneventful as the Express cruised to victory the rest of the way.

They fired 35 shots on this night while limiting the opposition to just 25 shots on goal.

The Express penalty killing had a bounce back night after getting torched the previous 4 outings killing off all 3 Prince George power plays. The Express power play struck once on their 3 advantages.

They will have a day of rest before playing host to the Vernon Vipers Sunday afternoon. 

EXPRESS SWEEP HOME AND HOME WITH VEES

4 points up for grabs, and 4 points grabbed by the Coquitlam Express in their home and home series with the Penticton Vees.

The Express took the opener in Coquitlam Friday 3-1. Then took the return engagement in the South Okanagan Events Centre 2-1 in overtime Saturday.

John Saunders scored the only goal of the first period as his point shot got past Hunter Miska.

Miska came up with a great save in the first period turning aside a backhand re-direction by Ryan Rosenthal who was set up by Adam Rockwood.

The Express structure all night long never really allowed the Vees to generate many quality scoring chances in the two games this weekend.

Penticton had an edge in play in the second period outshooting the Express 12-3. Goaltender Gordie Defiel was having a strong game in the Express crease for a second night in a row. Plus he had a lot of help from his team in front of him clearing pucks away from danger.

Still holding on to the 1-0 lead going into the third period, the Express knew the Vees would come with a push looking for the equalizer. Their best chance early in the period came when Travis Blanliel was set up on a feed but Defiel came to his left and got his pad down for his second best save of the night.

The Vees finally tied it when former Express AP Anthony Conti deflected a point shot past Defiel with just over 4 minutes to go.

Nothing was decided after 60 minutes and the Express had collected 3 out of a possible 4 points vs. the Vees this weekend.

The game was still looking for a hero after 65 minutes of hockey.

In the second overtime the Vees had their chances to win it.

First Cody DePourcq found himself all alone in front of Defiel with all kinds of time. The diminutive forward skated across the crease and tried to roof the puck over the sprawled out Express netminder. But Defiel stayed with him and in pure desperation made a spectacular save stacking the pads.

Seconds later the Vees fired the puck towards the net from the point, it changed directions and found a way to trickle past Defiel. But the goal was immediately waved off when it was ruled Defiel was contacted in the crease.

Those would be the Vees best chances to win the game and they wouldn't get another.

With the puck at the Express blueline they were able to poke it free giving Bo Pieper a breakaway. He busted his tail to the Vee net and unleashed a shot only Bo Pieper can with a rocket over the glove of Hunter Miska giving the Express the dramatic overtime win.

Leading up to the games this weekend vs. the Vees, the Express had spent a lot of time working on their defensive part of the game. After the results this weekend and how they earned them, it should go a long way in the development of that aspect of the Express game this season.

Next week will be a busy one for the Express with four games in 5 nights. They have a home and home with the Surrey Eagles starting Wednesday in Surrey. Then after the return match Friday in Coquitlam, the Express are off to the island for games in Port Alberni and Nanaimo.

EXPRESS SPOIL RIVERMEN HOME OPENER

Bo Pieper scored his first BCHL hat-trick as part of 5 unanswered Express goals in a 6-2 win over the Langley Rivermen spoiling their home opener.

The win was their third in a row and improved their record to 3-1 on the young season.

Corey Mackin scored for the third straight game opening the scoring as he re-directed a pass at the lip of the crease into an open net.

It was an ideal start for the Express who opened up a 6-0 advantage in shots by the 12 minute mark of the first period. Langley didn't register their first shot of the game until the 14:21 mark with a long shot by Marcus Vela.

Gordy Defiel turned aside 35 Rivermen shots to post the win between the pipes. He came up with a key save late in the first period to deny Mitch Mclain on a rebound chance. Defiel also stopped Austin Azurdia on the door step in the opening minute of the second period.

The Rivermen came out with plenty of jump to open the second period. They clearly had the Express on their heals with their speed and cycle game.

Langley broke through on the powerplay as former Express Will Cook set up McLain on a give and go play and a quick one timer went through the legs of Defiel. It was the first powerplay goal allowed by the Express this season. They were the last team in the BCHL to allow a goal while a man down.

1:43 after the McLain's marker the Rivermen struck again as Jakob Reichert showed some slick hands before snapping a shot through the legs of Defiel to give the Rivermen their lone lead of the game.

The Express caught a break to pull even. While shorthanded, Bo Pieper broke out and had a teammate going to the net, his pass hit a Langley defenceman hustling back on the play and went through the legs of James Barr. It was the second straight game that the Express have scored a shorthanded goal.

56 seconds later the Express struck again as Adam Rockwood on a breakaway went to the backhand and roofed it over the glove of Barr to re-store the Express lead.

With 6 minutes left in the third period the Express powerplay which has yet to hit it's stride clutched up as Cody Boyd and Corey Mackin teamed up to set up captain Ryan Rosenthal for his first of the year as he snapped it home at the side of the net. It was just the second powerplay goal for the Express this season.

That was followed 55 seconds later by Bo Pieper's second of the game to put the Express up 5-2. Bo finished off his hat-trick in the final minute of the third period snapping home a pass from his brother Canon.

The final shots saw Langley out-shoot the Express 37-26.

The two teams will do it all over again Saturday night in the home opener for the Express.