Highlights of the Express 4-2 win over Alberni Valley Sunday.
Highlights produced by Eddie Gregory.
Highlights produced by Eddie Gregory.
Showing posts with label Drew Cooper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Drew Cooper. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Sunday, September 8, 2019
EXPRESS POWER PAST RIVERMEN IN SEASON OPENING WIN
The Express first four goals of the night came on the powerplay and Thomas Wardle made 41 saves in his BCHL debut as the Express opened the 2019-20 season with a 5-2 win over the Langley Rivermen. Click here for boxscore
Wardle got thrust into the starting role on opening night and not once did he show signs of nerves.
The West Vancouver native needed to be ready right from the get go as Langley peppered the Express net often in the first period. He made two good saves off Rivermen forward Joseph Musa in the first period. The second save coming on a one timer off the rush.
At the other end the Express had quality chances from Ryan Tattle and Tyler Schleppe but couldn't beat Braedon Fleming. The first period finished with Langley outshooting the Express 20-11.
The visitors settled down in the 2nd period. Then began to tilt the ice which led to powerplay opportunities.
On their second man advantage of the night the Express quickly struck by winning the face-off and setting up Drew Cooper for a one timer just seven seconds into the powerplay opening the scoring.
Langley got that one back right away with Kalen Szeto lifting the puck over Wardle to tie the game at 1 just seconds later.
The captain potted his second of the night exactly at the midway mark of the game. Again on the powerplay. This time creeping in back door and converting a cross crease pass from Connor Gregga to put the Express into a 2-1 lead.
The collective movement of the Express powerplay left Langley guessing all night long. And it played a role in the 3rd Express goal of the night. A quick set up and one timer into the slot was stopped by Fleming. But the rebound was buried by Tyler Schleppe for his first Express goal and a 3-1 lead.
Thomas Wardle was less busy in the second period turning aside 10 of the 11 Langley shots in the 2nd period as the Express carried a 3-1 lead into the third period.
The powerplay kept rolling into the third period. Adam Trotman was set up in the slot and ripped a shot high bouncing off the end glass right to the side of the Langley net where Danny Pearson jammed in his first of the season for a 4-1 Express lead with everyone of their goals coming on the powerplay. For all the attention that the Express powerplay generated. The penalty killing meanwhile shutdown all 6 Rivermen powerplays.
Finally the offence at 5 on 5 for the Express got rolling with Adam Trotman dishing a pass on the right wing to Steven Bellini who slid a pass to Bradley Ong who tapped it past Fleming for a 5-1 Express lead.
Tristan Fraser jammed a puck just across the goal line past Thomas Wardle to round out the scoring with just over 6 minutes remaining in the third period.
Langley did show some signs of frustration as the third period wound down. The Express were smart being able to maintain their focus the rest of the night to close out their first victory of the season.
The shots finished 43-29 in favour of Langley. But they were only 23-18 in favour of Langley in the final 40 minutes.
The Express will play their 2nd game of the season next Friday in Surrey.
Wardle got thrust into the starting role on opening night and not once did he show signs of nerves.
The West Vancouver native needed to be ready right from the get go as Langley peppered the Express net often in the first period. He made two good saves off Rivermen forward Joseph Musa in the first period. The second save coming on a one timer off the rush.
At the other end the Express had quality chances from Ryan Tattle and Tyler Schleppe but couldn't beat Braedon Fleming. The first period finished with Langley outshooting the Express 20-11.
The visitors settled down in the 2nd period. Then began to tilt the ice which led to powerplay opportunities.
On their second man advantage of the night the Express quickly struck by winning the face-off and setting up Drew Cooper for a one timer just seven seconds into the powerplay opening the scoring.
Langley got that one back right away with Kalen Szeto lifting the puck over Wardle to tie the game at 1 just seconds later.
The captain potted his second of the night exactly at the midway mark of the game. Again on the powerplay. This time creeping in back door and converting a cross crease pass from Connor Gregga to put the Express into a 2-1 lead.
The collective movement of the Express powerplay left Langley guessing all night long. And it played a role in the 3rd Express goal of the night. A quick set up and one timer into the slot was stopped by Fleming. But the rebound was buried by Tyler Schleppe for his first Express goal and a 3-1 lead.
Thomas Wardle was less busy in the second period turning aside 10 of the 11 Langley shots in the 2nd period as the Express carried a 3-1 lead into the third period.
The powerplay kept rolling into the third period. Adam Trotman was set up in the slot and ripped a shot high bouncing off the end glass right to the side of the Langley net where Danny Pearson jammed in his first of the season for a 4-1 Express lead with everyone of their goals coming on the powerplay. For all the attention that the Express powerplay generated. The penalty killing meanwhile shutdown all 6 Rivermen powerplays.
Finally the offence at 5 on 5 for the Express got rolling with Adam Trotman dishing a pass on the right wing to Steven Bellini who slid a pass to Bradley Ong who tapped it past Fleming for a 5-1 Express lead.
Tristan Fraser jammed a puck just across the goal line past Thomas Wardle to round out the scoring with just over 6 minutes remaining in the third period.
Langley did show some signs of frustration as the third period wound down. The Express were smart being able to maintain their focus the rest of the night to close out their first victory of the season.
The shots finished 43-29 in favour of Langley. But they were only 23-18 in favour of Langley in the final 40 minutes.
The Express will play their 2nd game of the season next Friday in Surrey.
Tuesday, July 2, 2019
EXPRESS 2019-20 SCHEDULE RELEASED
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| 2019-20 captain Drew Cooper (Graphic by Jacob Lazare) |
The season will start for the Express on Saturday September 7th in Langley. That's all part of the first three games the Express will play on the road, with a visit in Surrey on Friday the 13th and one week later back in Langley on September 20th.
The next night the Express will have their home opener on Saturday September 21st vs. Chilliwack. The home opener kicks off a 5 game home stand for the Express which includes the first meeting between the Express and Spruce Kings since last season's playoffs on Sunday September 22nd at 3:00.
The Express will travel to Langley four times this season. And they will be done with the George Preston Recreation centre before October is done after visits on back to back weekends October 12th and 18th. All told, the two teams will face each other 6 times in the first two months of the season. Considering the competitive nature that comes out of Express and Langley meetings, the two teams will certainly be sick of seeing each other by the time those six games are done. The final two meetings with Langley will be in Coquitlam in January.
All told the Express will play 8 games each vs. Mainland division rivals Surrey, Chilliwack, Langley and Prince George. The Express will have one home and one road game vs. the teams in the Island and Interior divisions.
Of those games that caught my attention, the Express will play 3 straight games vs. Prince George December 13th and 14th in Prince George. Then the Express will host the defending BCHL and Doyle Cup champions for their final game before the Christmas break on Wednesday the 18th at 12 noon. They will also play the Spruce Kings at noon on Wednesday January 22nd.
Then following a 10 day break, the Express get back in action with a home and home with Chilliwack on December 28th in Chilliwack and the next night in Coquitlam.
Surrey will make two visits to Coquitlam in one weekend Friday November 22nd and Sunday the 24th. That is all part of the longest home game of the season for the Express with 8 games from November 16th to December 8th.
They will start the new year with a 3 game in 3 night Interior division road trip with stops in West Kelowna, Vernon and Salmon Arm January 3-5. They will finish January with 6 of 7 games on home ice with a visit to Chilliwack sandwiched in between.
By February the Express will have played most of their home games with only two more games remaining on Poirier during the regular season. They will play 6 of their last 8 on the road. That includes Massimo Rizzo's return to Penticton on Valentines day. What better day for the Vees faithful to show love for their former captain?
The final regular season home game is Wednesday February 19th vs. Surrey before concluding the season with a pair of games in Prince George Friday the 21st and Saturday the 22nd.
Other dates of note include Wednesday November 20th when Alex DiPaolo returns to Coquitlam with the Penticton Vees. Sunday December 8th, Dallas Farrell returns to Coquitlam with the Wenatchee Wild at 7:15pm. Eight times this season the Express will have 7:15 starts for home games.
Last season after playing 3 games in 3 nights only once, in 2019-20 they will do it a total of four times.
The weather may be nice now, but soon it will turn and it will be time to head back into the rink.
Saturday, September 29, 2018
EXPRESS EXTEND WINNING STREAK TO 5
The Coquitlam Express have now won 5 games in a row following their 5-2 victory over the Langley Rivermen Friday night. Click here for boxscore
A strong night on special teams was key to the Express victory. They went 2 for 7 on the powerplay while killing off all 7 shorthanded situations.
Friday saw Express new comer Nicholas Wildgoose make his Express debut after he was acquired from the Vernon Vipers earlier this week.
He found the scoresheet picking up an assist on the Express first goal of the night. He was involved in a scrum with Christian Sanda digging for the puck below the goal line and Chase Danol came in and dug out the puck then roofing it over the shoulder of Alex Rolfe for a powerplay goal with one second remaining in the man advantage.
The goal for Danol was his 5th of the season and it was the 4th consecutive game he found the back of the net.
Josh Bruce and rookie Danny Pearson had been giving the Express valuable minutes in recent games, Friday their strong play resulted in contributions on the scoresheet.
They worked the puck in the Langley zone. Then got some help from defensemen Drew Cooper who pinched down to keep the attack alive. Then Bruce found Pearson who was alone in the slot and he snapped home his first BCHL goal for a 2-0 Express lead after 20 minutes.
The second period is where the Express penalty killing really helped win the game for the home team. They were shorthanded for a full two minutes on three separate occasions in the first 13 minutes of the period. The penalty killing units did a great job of limiting time for the Rivermen to set up on the powerplay. Then pressuring the puck up ice and forcing turnovers and at times ragging the puck to kill more time off the Rivermen advantages.
Christian Sanda was one of the better penalty killers on the night using his speed all over the ice to create problems for the Rivermen powerplay.
Alec Capstick did cut into the Express lead sliding the puck under Kolby Matthews at 7:03.
But the lead was back to 2 just over 3 minutes later after a quick pass up the middle found Josh Wildauer at the Langley blueline, Regan Kimens joining the rush stretched his leg as far as he could to stay onside then he took a pass from Wildauer and roofed his second of the season for a 3-1 Express lead.
Drew Cooper's physical play has opened some eyes from the backend this young season.
In the 2nd period he delivered a solid and clean check on Chase Pletzke. Rivermen defensemen Jake Livingstone didn't see the hit that way and rushed to the defence of his teammate and dropped the gloves with Cooper. It ended up being the end of the night for both players following the automatic ejections after the evenly fought tilt.
Livigstone ended up with the extra penalty for instigating giving the Express a 4 on 3 powerplay. It didn't take long for the Express to strike as Dallas Farrell zipped a pass across to Alex DiPaolo who scored his 4th of the season for a 4-1 Express lead after two periods.
At the other end Kolby Matthews had made 18 saves by the end of the second period. His best to that point came on a breakaway for Daneel Lategan.
Garrett Daly cut the Express lead to 4-2 just over three minutes into the third period with a snapshot from the right point past the glove of Matthews. But that would be the final puck to get past Matthews who finished with 25 saves to post his third straight win.
Danny Pearson and Josh Bruce capped off their solid night to help set up Cooper Connell who snapped home his 3rd of the season at 13:27 past Braedon Fleming. The veteran Langley goaltender came in for the third period after Alex Rolfe was relieved after 4 goals on 10 shots through 40 minutes. It's the second straight game the Express have chased the opposition's goaltender.
The win kept the Express tied with the Chilliwack Chiefs for first place in the Mainland division with 12 points.
The Express will host the Prince George Spruce Kings on Sunday afternoon.
A strong night on special teams was key to the Express victory. They went 2 for 7 on the powerplay while killing off all 7 shorthanded situations.
Friday saw Express new comer Nicholas Wildgoose make his Express debut after he was acquired from the Vernon Vipers earlier this week.
He found the scoresheet picking up an assist on the Express first goal of the night. He was involved in a scrum with Christian Sanda digging for the puck below the goal line and Chase Danol came in and dug out the puck then roofing it over the shoulder of Alex Rolfe for a powerplay goal with one second remaining in the man advantage.
The goal for Danol was his 5th of the season and it was the 4th consecutive game he found the back of the net.
Josh Bruce and rookie Danny Pearson had been giving the Express valuable minutes in recent games, Friday their strong play resulted in contributions on the scoresheet.
They worked the puck in the Langley zone. Then got some help from defensemen Drew Cooper who pinched down to keep the attack alive. Then Bruce found Pearson who was alone in the slot and he snapped home his first BCHL goal for a 2-0 Express lead after 20 minutes.
The second period is where the Express penalty killing really helped win the game for the home team. They were shorthanded for a full two minutes on three separate occasions in the first 13 minutes of the period. The penalty killing units did a great job of limiting time for the Rivermen to set up on the powerplay. Then pressuring the puck up ice and forcing turnovers and at times ragging the puck to kill more time off the Rivermen advantages.
Christian Sanda was one of the better penalty killers on the night using his speed all over the ice to create problems for the Rivermen powerplay.
Alec Capstick did cut into the Express lead sliding the puck under Kolby Matthews at 7:03.
But the lead was back to 2 just over 3 minutes later after a quick pass up the middle found Josh Wildauer at the Langley blueline, Regan Kimens joining the rush stretched his leg as far as he could to stay onside then he took a pass from Wildauer and roofed his second of the season for a 3-1 Express lead.
Drew Cooper's physical play has opened some eyes from the backend this young season.
In the 2nd period he delivered a solid and clean check on Chase Pletzke. Rivermen defensemen Jake Livingstone didn't see the hit that way and rushed to the defence of his teammate and dropped the gloves with Cooper. It ended up being the end of the night for both players following the automatic ejections after the evenly fought tilt.
Livigstone ended up with the extra penalty for instigating giving the Express a 4 on 3 powerplay. It didn't take long for the Express to strike as Dallas Farrell zipped a pass across to Alex DiPaolo who scored his 4th of the season for a 4-1 Express lead after two periods.
At the other end Kolby Matthews had made 18 saves by the end of the second period. His best to that point came on a breakaway for Daneel Lategan.
Garrett Daly cut the Express lead to 4-2 just over three minutes into the third period with a snapshot from the right point past the glove of Matthews. But that would be the final puck to get past Matthews who finished with 25 saves to post his third straight win.
Danny Pearson and Josh Bruce capped off their solid night to help set up Cooper Connell who snapped home his 3rd of the season at 13:27 past Braedon Fleming. The veteran Langley goaltender came in for the third period after Alex Rolfe was relieved after 4 goals on 10 shots through 40 minutes. It's the second straight game the Express have chased the opposition's goaltender.
The win kept the Express tied with the Chilliwack Chiefs for first place in the Mainland division with 12 points.
The Express will host the Prince George Spruce Kings on Sunday afternoon.
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