EXPRESS AT RIVERMEN GAME 4 HIGHLIGHTS

Highlights of the Express 5-4 win in game 4 over Langley to complete the sweep of the Mainland division semi final.

Here's footage of the Express bench for game 4.

Videos produced by Eddie Gregory. Express bench footage courtesy of Jorge Parra and Underdog Productions.

RIVERMEN @ EXPRESS GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS

Highlights of the Express game 1 5-1 win over Langley in the Mainland division semi final Friday.

Highlights produced by Eddie Gregory.

EXPRESS FORCED TO STOMACH GUT WRENCHING GAME 2 OT LOSS TO SPRUCE KINGS

Heart break and or frustration is the prevailing feeling for the Express after dropping game 2 of the Mainland division semi final 3-2 in overtime to the Prince George Spruce Kings. The Express had a pair of third period leads, but came out of the game with nothing. Click here for boxscore

The Express got the early jump on Prince George taking the early 1-0 lead on the powerplay on Josh Wildauer's 1st of the series burying the rebound of a Chase Danol shot set up by a great cross ice pass from Dallas Farrell.

Jason Fortier tapped Kolby Matthews on the shoulder to start game 2. He turned aside the 7 first period Spruce Kings shots. Ben Poisson had the best chance for Prince George that didn't register as a shot on goal on a re-direct to start a Spruce Kings powerplay.

Early in the 2nd period Regan Kimens somehow couldn't convert a tap in opportunity at the side of the Spruce Kings net.

The Express did a good job in the 2nd period limiting the amount of time they spent defending in their own zone.

Ben and Nick Poisson had two of the best chances for Spruce Kings in the middle frame. Ben rang a shot off the goal post. Then Nick was robbed on a great glove save by Kolby Matthews.

Through 40 minutes the game was far from an entertaining affair. But the only thing that mattered at this point for the Express it was effective.

The solid defensive effort carried through to the midway mark of the third period.

Finally Prince George broke through off a won face-off in the Express zone. Chong Min Lee's shot went in off the stick of Danny Pearson who tried to tip it away from the net but inadvertently tipped it past Kolby Matthews to the tie game at 1.

Josh Wildauer scored his second of the night with just over 4 minutes left in the third period converting a pass out of the corner by Regan Kimens for a 2-1 Express lead.

Then with just under 90 seconds left in the third period Ty Westgard coming back into his own zone slashed the stick out of the hands of a Spruce Kings player which resulted in a 6 on 4 advantage following a Spruce Kings time out.

It only took 9 seconds for the Spruce Kings to tie it at 2 off the won face-off in the Express zone, Ben Brar re-directed Layton Ahac's shot with 1:33 to play sending the series to overtime for the first time.

Dustin Manz had the first good scoring chance of overtime but couldn't beat the pad of Kolby Matthews.

Then a loose puck was just sitting in a open Express crease, but was thankfully cleared away before an Spruce Kings player could get a stick on it.

Christian Sanda had a good chance for the Express in overtime chopping at a loose puck in the slot, but couldn't beat Logan Neaton who finished with 27 saves.

Then we had a rare occurrence in overtime. A fight between defensemen Jordan Schulting and Liam Watson-Brawn who were both automatically ejected midway through the period.

Controversy plagues the finish of this game. Troy Robillard fired a shot that was blocked at the point by Ben Brar. They then raced after the puck into the Express zone. Robillard appeared to reach with his stick and get a piece of the puck first before Brar goes down on the play. The Express captain however was whistled for the tripping penalty leaving the visitors furious.

Prince George was patient with their opportunity in overtime with Layton Ahac and Max Coyle playing catch with the puck at the point. Then Coyle let a shot got that was tipped home by Lucas Vanroboys for the winner and a 2-0 Spruce Kings lead in the series.

The Spruce Kings powerplay finished 2 for 5 on the night while the Express went 0 for 3.

39-29 was the shots on goal for Prince George.

The Express come home for game 3 Monday night down 2 games, but they certainly played well enough to put themselves in great shape to have at least come home with a split and maybe even a 2 game lead of their own. But that's playoff hockey. A play here, and a play there can make so much of a difference.

Monday night the Express will hope that home ice for game 3 will help turn some of their fortunes of what has been a very tight series so far. 

SPRUCE KINGS TAKE GAME 1 OVER EXPRESS

Game 1 of the Mainland division semi final between the Express and the Spruce Kings went as most people expected, a low scoring affair that saw the BCHL's top defensive team come out on top 3-1 to take a 1-0 series lead in the best of 7. Click here for boxscore

The first period was a penalty filled affair. Prince George got the early jump on the Express scoring on their first powerplay on a cross ice one timer that was buried by Nick Poisson past Clay Stevenson.

Logan Neaton at the other end made some his best saves of the first period with the Express on the powerplay. Most notably denying Chase Danol on a rebound chance.

The Express couldn't strike on their first three powerplays of the opening period. Their 4th came late in the frame. Regan Kimens was denied twice on cross ice passes late in the opening period.

10-10 was the shot count after the first period.

Connor Gregga scored your typical type playoff goal in the opening minute of the 2nd period jamming a puck under Logan Neaton to tie the game at 1 just 45 seconds into the period.

Josh Wildauer came close to the giving the Express their first lead of the night on a rebound chance in close that was shut down by Neaton.

Layton Ahac put Prince George back in the lead just under 4 minutes after Gregga's goal with a shot from the left wing boards that sailed over the glove of Clay Stevenson.

That goal sparked a flurry of activity that saw Patrick Cozzi fan on a shot on a great chance in the slot.

Regan Kimens then delivered one of the best hits of the night in the neutral zone, then watched the play go into the Express end where Clay Stevenson made a glove save off Ben Brar.

Jordan Schulting rang a shot off the goal post with 4 minutes left in the 2nd period.

The second goal of the night was one probably Clay Stevenson would want to have back. But he responded afterwards with some of his best saves of the night to this point. He made a marvellous glove save off Nick Poisson to keep it just a 2-1 game through 2 periods.

Prince George put the clamp down on the game in the third period liming the Express to just 4 shots and they finished the game with 22 on the night.

Clay Stevenson kept the Express one shot away with a breakaway save off Dustin Manz on a shorthanded opportunity.

Manz got his revenge in the final minute sealing the game with an empty net goal.

Prince George outshot the Express 29-22. The Express went 1 for 5 on the powerplay while the Spruce Kings went 1 for 3.

Game 2 of the series goes Saturday night in Prince George.

EXPRESS GO DOWN SWINGING AGAINST VEES

Clay Stevenson and Chris Klack
Photo courtesy of Damon James.

The Express season came to an end Wednesday night with a 2-1 loss to the Penticton Vees. The BCHL's top team completed a four game sweep of the Interior Division Quarterfinal. Click here for boxscore

In a series that at times saw Penticton play at a high tempo that resulted in blow out wins in games 2 and 3, it was a tighter game for the Express with a slower pace despite the fact they were outshot 59-26.

Right off the bad the Express had a great scramble chance, but they couldn't jam the puck past Vees goaltender Adam Scheel.

Clay Stevenson got the call between the pipes in game 4. He relieved Brock Hamm in each of the previous two games. Game 4 quickly developed into a game of a lifetime for the Express goaltender. He was peppered with plenty of shots and made Penticton earn everything that they got.

Late in the first period Stevenson made a sequence of four saves while the Express were shorthanded on a Vees two on one and a breakaway by Wyatt Sloboshan.

Stevenson finished the first period with 22 saves. The Express had 11 shots on Adam Scheel.

The second period has been the difference maker for the Vees. It appeared to be more of the same for Penticton early in game 4. Owen Sillinger scored his first of the series on a power play at 1:22 to open the scoring.

Josh Wildauer - Photo courtesy of Damon James

Then less than a minute later Owen's younger brother Lukas rolled the puck to the net and it rolled in and the officials originally called goal. Then upon further discussion it was waved off on a kicking motion. That overturn of the original call didn't sit too kindly on the Vees bench.

Three minutes later the Express tied the game on the power play. Jonathan Sheardown's shot was deflected by Josh Wildauer on his first of the series.

Lukas Sillinger appeared to have scored again at the 13 minute mark on a rebound chance. This time the official said no goal and the call stood again to the dismay of the Vees.

Off the ensuing face-off Jonathan Sheardown was robbed on a odd-man rush and the game remained tied going into the third period.

Early in the third Clay Stevenson had some adventures playing the puck and there were a couple of occasions where he nearly got burned.

Jack MacNab - Photo courtesy of Damon James

Wyatt Sloboshan appeared to be the best candidate to break the deadlock. He had numerous breakaways, but was shutdown by Stevenson each time.

Finally Penticton broke through on a Jonny Sheardown shot that was blocked springing a 2 on 1 the other way and Taylor Ward converted the pass from Massimo Rizzo for a 2-1 Vees lead with 12 minutes to play.

As the third period ticked down the Express kept fighting for their season, but eventually the Vees held on.

Clay Stevenson should be proud with the goaltending effort he gave his team finishing with 57 saves allowing his team to battle right to the final seconds.

Penticton will face the Trail Smoke Eaters in the second round as all four Interior division series finished in sweeps. The other series will see the Vernon Vipers take on the Wenatchee Wild.

I would like to thank everyone who took the time to read these posts and visit the blog. 

VEES 9 EXPRESS 2

The Penticton Vees gave the Express a cruel and harsh lesson in will and desire in playoff hockey in game 2 of the Interior division quarter final. The final result saw the Vees hand the Express a 9-2 loss for a 2-0 Vees series lead. Click here for boxscore

After a game 1 that lacked your typical playoff emotion due to the Express and Vees not meeting often during the regular season, game 2 started to see some dislike emerge between the two teams.

With Will Lawerence in the box for high sticking, Penticton struck early to open the scoring. The Vees got the puck to the Express crease and Chris Klack was allowed to swat home a loose puck with minimal threat of the Vees goal scorer having to be knocked on his backside in order to score the goal.

Back to back Vees penalties resulted in powerplays for the Express, but they couldn't take advantage of the opportunity. The second Vees penalty was handed to Michael Campoli for a check from behind on Troy Robillard and the Vees defenseman was given a minor and a game misconduct.

Massimo Rizzo sped into the Express zone and roofed a backhand just under the crossbar on Brock Hamm for a 2-0 Vees lead at 14:52.

29 seconds later the Express had a response rushing the puck into the Vees zone with Eric Linell feeding Haydn Delorme who got the puck to the crease and Jack Lippis jammed it home to cut the Fees lead to 2-1.

In the final seconds of the first period Jake Toor got drilled into the boards from behind by Kenny Johnson. The Express forward did need some help to get off the ice and the Vees defenseman was not penalized for the hit. To give Toor credit he did return for the second period.

Entering this series there was a vast discrepancy in playoff experience in favour of the Vees due in large part to Penticton entering the series as defending BCHL champions. Along the way for the Vees they learned how to raise their intensity and compete level in order to have success in the playoffs.

That was on full display in the second period as the Vees took over the game. They were first on pucks more often and battled harder to get the puck back.

It was that Vees work ethic that didn't take long to start paying off. After a lengthy shift of Penticton puck control in the Express zone, eventually they got the break down they were looking for and Jackson Keane banged home a loose puck in the goal crease for a 3-1 Vees lead.

The Penticton pressure continued. After more puck control and strong play by the Vees in the Express end, the puck was played back to the point to Nicky Leivermann whose shot was stopped by Hamm, but Taylor Ward was alone in front of the net for a 4-1 Vees lead.

By this point Penticton was firing on all cylinders. Dakota Bautin on a 2 on 1 took his time before ripping a shot past the glove of Brock Hamm for a 5-1 Vees lead.

Once the second period came to a close it was 6-1 Vees on a goal by Massimo Rizzo for his second of the night. That goal was the result of more Vees puck hunting then setting up Rizzo who ripped a quick shot over Hamm's glove.

The foot wasn't taken off the throttle to open up the third period. Taylor Ward scored his second of the night rushing into the Express zone and snapping a shot past the glove of Hamm for a 7-1 Vees lead at 1:10.

Marcus Mitchell buried the Vees third power play goal of the night winning a puck battle in the Express crease for a 8-1 lead. At this point Jason Fortier gave Brock Hamm the rest of the night off after 8 goals on 27 shots. Many of the 8 goals that beat the Express co-MVP was the result of break downs in front of him and the goaltender wasn't at fault for the rough night.

Clay Stevenson wasn't expecting to see any action on his 19th birthday. Especially under the circumstances with his team trailing 8-1. He was beaten by Taylor Ward's hat-trick goal at 7:38. Ward finished with three goals and two assists.

With the lopsided score, you watch to see who is continuing to battle hard when they're on the ice. Christian Sanda, Eric Linell and Josh Wildauer kept up their effort level. Wildauer fed Linell in the slot who scored on a second effort to round out the scoring.

The teams have two days to rest up before game 3 goes Tuesday night in Coquitlam. It's a good time for the Express to evaluate how hard they're willing to battle and compete to make sure this series will at least return to Penticton for a game 5 Friday night.

EXPRESS @ VEES GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS

Highlights from the Vees 2-1 win over the Express Friday night in game 1 of the Interior division quarterfinal.

Highlights produced by Eddie Gregory. 

VEES TAKE GAME 1

The Express opened their Interior division quarter final with a tight 2-1 loss to the Penticton Vees. Despite a valiant push by the Express, they couldn't break through for the equalizer late and trail this series 1-0.  Click here for boxscore

The opening 20 minutes saw the teams with chances at both ends. In the opening minute Chris Klack found himself alone behind the Express defense and was stopped by Brock Hamm as he went to the backhand. That save would be the start of a very impressive junior hockey playoff debut for Hamm. Friday was his first ever junior playoff game despite three years in the WHL Saskatoon and one year with Humboldt of the SJHL.

At the other end Eric Linell raced into the Vees zone unleashing a wrist shot that produced a juicy rebound for Jonny Sheardown, but Adam Scheel came to his right to rob the Express defender.

Penticton opened the scoring just shy of the 5 minute mark. Off a won draw in the Express zone by Taylor Ward, Johnny Tychonick did a nice job of walking the line then beating Hamm with a wrist shot that he never saw.

The early goal didn't allow Penticton to open the flood gates and really start to take over the play. The Express stayed right with the top team in the league.

Josh Wildauer came close to evening things up for the Express with a shot that clanged off the goal post on a first period power play.

In the opening minute of the second period the Express did strike. Jack MacNab got the puck into the Vees zone and Will Lawerence on the forecheck forced the turnover then set up Christian Sanda to even the game at one.

It was shortly following this goal that the game started to pick up for the Vees and Hamm started to shine.

He stopped a tip play in the goal crease on Marcus Mitchell to keep the game tied at one.

One momentary let down allowed the Vees to go ahead. A turnover along the boards quickly developed into a two on one down low and Mitchell put a pass on the tape of Jack Barnes who converted the set up for a 2-1 Vees lead.

Right off the face-off following the 2-1 goal Hamm stopped Jackson Keane with a quick glove save. Minutes later Hamm made a save on a Wyatt Sloboshan breakaway to keep the Express deficit at one heading to the third period.

The Vees lead was holding up at 8:46 of the third period when Josh Wildauer was drilled from behind by James Miller who was given a 5 minute major for a check from behind and a game misconduct. Devon Mussio didn't take too kindly to the hit delivered on Wildauer and came to his defense and was given a two minute roughing penalty. The Mussio penalty shaved off two minutes of a 5 minute power play the Express hoped to use for the equalizer. On the three minutes of power play time they did have, they had possession that led a few shots directed towards Scheel but nothing overly dangerous.

Meanwhile at the other end Hamm was still on top of his game keeping the Express one shot away from sending the game to overtime. Hamm made 14 third period saves. He finished with 37 saves and was named the game's second star.

In the dying moments as the Express made their final push they won a number of offensive zone draws that led to some of the best scoring chances of the night.

Will Lawerence was denied as he tried to stuff in the puck at the side of the net. Then off the next draw Josh Wildauer had a great chance in the slot and he let a good shot go that forced Scheel to fight with all he had to get control of the puck before the Express could get a stick on it.

Troy Robillard also had a good wrist shot chance off won face-off.

Eventually the clock ran out and the Vees held on to take the opener. Penticton outshot the Express 39-19.

Both teams were 0 for 2 on the power play.

Game two goes Saturday night 6pm in Penticton.

Game's 3 and 4 will be played Tuesday and Wednesday night in Coquitlam. 

EXPRESS VS. VEES BY THE NUMBERS

EXPRESS & VEES BY THE NUMBERS
OVERALL RECORDS
EXPRESS – 15-38-1-4, 35PTS, 5th in Mainland, 16th in BCHL	VEES – 40-12-3-3, 86PTS, 1st in Interior, 1st in BCHL
HEAD TO HEAD MEETINGS
Vees 2-0 Feb. 14 @ PEN 7-1 Vees Feb. 16 @ CQ 5-1 Vees
LAST 10 GAMES
EXPRESS - 1-8-1-0	VEES - 7-2-0-1
GOALS FOR, GOALS AGAINST
EXPRESS – GF 138, 17TH Avg. 2.37 GA – 210, 13TH Avg. 3.62, Diff. -72, 15th	VEES – GF 216, T-3RD Avg. 3.72 GA 130, 2nd, Avg. 2.24, Diff. +86, 2nd
SPECIAL TEAMS
EXPRESS PP – 14.7% - 15th PK – 81.7% - 10th	VEES PP – 22% - 3rd PK – 86.1% - 1st
Photo courtesy of Damon James OVERTIME RECORDS
EXPRESS 3-1-4	VEES 5-3-4
TOP SCORERS EXPRESS	TOP SCORERS VEES
Eric Linell – 58GP, 28G, 18A, 46PTS Josh Wildauer – 56GP, 11G, 23A, 34PTS Sam Kozlowski – 55GP, 8G, 22A, 30PTS Troy Robillard – 58GP, 5G, 21A, 26PTS Christian Sanda – 55GP, 9G, 15A, 24PTS	Owen Sillinger – 55GP, 32G, 34A, 66PTS Jonny Tychonick – 47GP, 9G, 37A, 46PTS Taylor Ward – 45GP, 21G, 22A, 43PTS Dakota Boutin – 47GP, 20G, 18A, 38PTS Massimo Rizzo – 49GP, 12G, 24A, 36PTS
EXPRESS GOALTENDERS	VEES GOALTENDERS
Brock Hamm – 27GP, 10-14-3, 1SO, 2.90 GAA, .911 Sv.% Clay Stevenson – 23GP, 4-16-0, 3.89 GAA, .885 Sv.%	Adam Scheel – 45GP, 29-12-3, 3SO, 2.08 GAA, .927 Sv.% Nolan Hildebrand – 19GP, 11-3-0, 2.42 GAA, .910 Sv.%
SCORING VS. VEES	SCORING VS. EXPRESS
Jack MacNab – 2G, 0A 2PTS Sam Kozlowski – 0G, 1A, 1PT Jack Lippis – 0G, 1A, 1PT Troy Robillard – 0G, 1A, 1PT	Owen Sillinger – 3G, 3A, 6PTS Wyatt Sloboshan – 1G, 2A, 3PTS Nick Leivermann – 1G, 2A, 3PTS Ryan Sandelin – 2G, 0A, 2PTS 7 others Tied w/ 2PTS
GOALTENDING VS. VEES	GOALTENDING VS. EXPRESS
Clay Stevenson – 0-1, 7.00 GAA, .837 Sv.% 36/43 Brock Hamm – 0-1, 5.17 GAA, .852 Sv.%	Adam Scheel – 2-0, 1.00 GAA, .947 Sv.%
HEAD TO HEAD SPECIAL TEAMS
CQ PP – 1/7 – 14.2% PEN PK – 6/7 – 85.8%	PEN PP – 2/4 - 50% CQ PK – 2/4 - 50%

CHIEFS COMPLETE SWEEP OF EXPRESS

Aidan Pelino save on A. McIlMurray - Photo courtesy of Damon James

The Chilliwack Chiefs are off to the Mainland division final with a 5-1 win in game 4 of the Mainland division semi final vs. the Express. Chilliwack completed a four game sweep of the series. Click here for boxscore

Ryan Coghlan & J. Kawaguchi - Photo courtesy of Damon James

Chilliwack left no doubt early on they planned on putting this series to bed Tuesday.

Kale Kane opened the scoring with a wrist shot from the right wing beating Lawson Fenton. That started the most dominant opening period of the series for the Chiefs. Chilliwack did score four times in the first period in game 2 Saturday, but they really controlled the play in the opening 20 Tuesday that was more lopsided than their four goal game 2 start.

Jake Smith took advantage of an Express turnover two minutes after Kane's goal and snapped home a wrist shot for a 2-0 lead.

Four minutes later Jordan Kawaguchi dug a the puck out of skates in the corner and found a pinching in Rylan Bechtel who snapped home a one timer for a 3-0 Chiefs lead before the game was 11 minutes old. At that point Chilliwack had a 11-2 advantage in shots and finished the period outshooting the Express 16-6.

Mark Esposito gave Chilliwack a 4-0 lead four minutes into the second period.

Austin McIlMurray put his finishing touches on a strong series by scoring his 4th goal of the series, and the lone Express goal on the night pouncing on a loose puck in front of Aidan Pelino.

Ryan Forbes put the finishing touches on the series scoring his 2nd of the series four minutes into the third.

Chilliwack limited the Express to just 14 shots while sending 37 pucks the way of Lawson Fenton.

Not only did the Chiefs sweep the Express in this four game series, they swept all eleven head to head meetings with the Express in the regular season and playoffs.

V. Sukumaran & Lawson Fenton - Photo courtesy of Damon James

It's the first time in 8 head to head playoff meetings between the Express and Chiefs that ends in a sweep. The Express are swept in a playoff series for just the second time in their 15 season history. The previous sweep coming in 2011 at the hands of the Surrey Eagles.

The Chiefs did an excellent job spreading their attack around in the four game sweep with 16 of 19 skaters that dressed for Chilliwack in the series registering at least a point.

Jordan Kawaguchi paced Chilliwack's balanced attack with a two point effort in each of the four games in the series. His final numbers that last two years vs. the Express is remarkable. In 24 games vs. the Express in the regular season and playoffs the last two years he scored 24 goals and 20 assists for 44 points.

Chilliwack will play the winner of the Wenatchee Wild and Langley Rivermen series in the Mainland division final.

I would like to thank everyone with the Express organization for another season to broadcast their games. Everyone within the organization from the coaches, support staff, office staff and most importantly the players who have been excellent to deal with this season and every year i've been involved in the organization.

Thanks to CKPM 98.7 for picking up the broadcasts this year and everyone who took time to listen.

Thank you to the parents of the players for their support this season and taking time to listen to the broadcasts. I really appreciate it.

And thank you for taking time to visit this blog. September can't come fast enough.

ADAM'S OT HEROICS PUT THE EXPRESS ON BRINK

Mat Michie & Linden Hora - Photo courtesy of Garrett James

Austin Adam's OT goal gave Chilliwack a 4-3 win over the Express in game 3 of the Mainland division semi final. Chilliwack now owns a commanding 3-0 lead in the series putting the Express on the brink of elimination. Click here for boxscore

Lawson Fenton & V. Sukumaran - Photo courtesy of Garrett James

Coming off a lopsided 9-1 loss in game 2 Saturday, the Express needed to find their defensive structure in game 3 that they showed in game 1 that pushed Chilliwack to need an OT win in the series opener. In game 3 Monday the Express found that structure again in their game.

That allowed the Express to keep the game close all night and come within a single shot of a victory for a second time in three games this series.

But for a third straight game in this series Chilliwack opened the scoring. Dennis Chowlowski beat Lawson Fenton with a wrist shot up over his glove.

Jackson Cressey & Austin Adam - Photo courtesy of Garrett James

Special teams throughout the night had big moments at various times in game 3. The Express killed of the second Chiefs power play of the first period with Ryan Coghlan in the box for roughing after he went after Jordan Kawaguchi in frustration after the Chiefs sniper got the better of Coghlan after he lined up Kawaguchi for a hit.

In the final minute of the 1st period the teams traded chances with the Express on the power play. Jake Smith missed an open net on a 2 on 1 shorthanded chance. The Express went the other way and Aidan Pelino robbed Taylor Green on a set up from Colton Kerfoot on a 2 on 1 for a second straight game.

Moments later the Express power play broke through. Cam Bertsch threw the puck at the net from the left wing and it bounced in to tie the game at one.

Ryan Forbes and Linden Hora were called for elbowing and charging second period penalties at the same time giving the Express a full two minute two man advantage. The Express quickly made the Chiefs pay with Austin McIlMurray scoring on a one timer from the left circle set up by Charlie Barrow for a 2-1 Express lead.

The Express power play up until that point had been the lone source of offense in the series. The first five goals for the Express in the series have all come with the man advantage.

In the playoffs mistakes are always magnified much more than they are in the regular season. Teams can't be gifted opportunities when they have the skill to make teams pay.

Austin McIlMurray scored twice - Photo courtesy of Garrett James

That is exactly what happened allowing the Chiefs to even the score. Blake Hayward swatted Kohen Olischefski's stick on the ice away as Olischefski went to pick it up. The officials rightly called Hayward for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Jordan Kawaguchi only needed 20 seconds on the power play to make the Express pay poking home a loose puck for his third of the series to tie the game at 2.

The second period was a seasaw affair and the Express took their second lead, again it was Austin McIlMurray snapping home a pass from Alex Ambrosio in the slot to give the Express their second lead of the night at 3-2.

This lead didn't last either for the Express. Jeremy Germain scored on his own rebound to tie it at three after two periods.

Chilliwack has had trouble shutting down the Express power play in this series. The Express finished the night 2 for 5. But Chilliwack got two big penalty kills at a key time. The Express had their second two man advantage late in the second that carried over into the third period.

The Express weren't able to strike for a second time on a 5 on 3 and the game was tied at three.

Now the series really hung in the balance in the third period in a 3-3 tie. Chilliwack at this point started to control the majority of the play in the Express end. For Coquitlam, they maintained their structure in their own end. And Lawson Fenton shut the door when the Chiefs looked for the lead.

McIlMurray, J. Lansdell & C. Kerfoot - Photo courtesy of Garrett James

Fenton also got a little help as well as Jordan Kawaguchi rang a shot off the post with the Chiefs on their lone power play of the third period.

Chilliwack's puck control allowed them to slowly apply more pressure on the Express hoping they would crack. The Express did a lot of things right in their own end to battle the game to overtime.

Once overtime began it was more of the same for the Chiefs. Lawson Fenton made his best save of overtime off Jeremy Germain with the Express goaltender down but got his left paid on the Chiefs forward's shot.

The dam finally broke on the Express however. Jordan Kawaguchi behind the Express net found in a pinching Austin Adam and Adam sledgehammered the pass past Lawson Fenton to give the Chiefs a 4-3 OT win and 3-0 series lead at 5:23.

Jordan Kawaguchi showed again Monday why is a money player. He scored another key goal after an Express undisciplined penalty to tie the game in the 2nd period. He then set up the game winning goal to put the Chiefs on the brink of a sweep of the Express.

The Express will be playing for the playoff lives and try to avoid the sweep in game 4 Tuesday in Coquitlam.

FORBES OT HERO AS CHIEFS PREVAIL IN GAME 1

Ryan Forbres scored the overtime winner as the Chilliwack Chiefs took game one 3-2 of the Mainland division semi final vs. the Express. Click here for boxscore

The Chiefs lead the best of 7, 1-0.

The Express played as close to a perfect road game you could have asked for in a building the Express haven't won in their last 11 visits to Chilliwack.

They played a patient game, didn't allow Chilliwack to run the Express around in their end of the rink. Limiting the quality chances that goaltender Lawson Fenton faced.

Head Coach Barry Wolff gave Chilliwack a different look mixing up his line combinations. Alex Ambrosio took Jackson Cressey's spot centering Colton Kerfoot and Austin McILMurray.

Cressey played on the wing with Mitch Newsome and Cam Bertsch. Cressey did take the majority of the faceoffs when he was on the ice.

The Express came close to opening the scoring in the first period. Ryan Coghan blasted a shot off the post. Seconds later the Express threw the puck at the net and it bounced off the leg of Alex Ambrosio and just wide.

One of the biggest keys for the Express in this series will be how they manage Jordan Kawaguchi. He has torn the Express to shreds the last two seasons. Almost every time the Kawaguchi, Kale Kane and Jeremy Germain line was on the ice they were matched up with against the Mat Michie, Jack Surowiec and Blake Hayward line.

They were responsible for keeping Kawaguchi within an arms length and get in his face whenever possible.

It was scoreless after one period with the Express outshooting the Chiefs 14-10.

Simplicity was one of the best aspects of the Express game all night long. They just threw plenty of pucks at Chiefs goaltender Aiden Pelino whenever they could. That part of the Express game picked up in the second period. Jack Surowiec, Colton Kerfoot, had some of the Express best chances in the opening half of the second period.

At this point in time no one should be surprised who opened the scoring. The Express didn't have the the Surowiec, Michie and Hayward line on the ice, they had a chance to dump the puck in from center ice to make the change and get the matchup they wanted. Then the puck is turned over at the Chilliwack blueline and Kawaguchi is going the other way with it. He beat an Express defender off the rush then bounced the puck in off Lawson Fenton to opening the scoring. Kawaguchi had 10 goals in 6 regular season games vs. the Express this season.

The lead only last four minutes as the Express tied it on a power play goal by Luca Leone coming out the corner with the puck and sliding it between the legs of Pelino.

The Express were in the position they wanted to be in a 1-1 tie entering the third period. Special teams was shaping up to be a big difference maker for the Express in game 1. They killed off a Mat Michie roughing penalty early in the period. Then Austin McIlMurray gave the Express the lead taking a feed in the slot and scoring to put the Express up 2-1 with 12 to go set up by Jackson Cressey and Colton Kerfoot.

Then the Express penalty killers rose to the occasion shutting down a Chilliwack poweprlay with Nic Coltura in the box.

As the clock ticked down to the final minutes the Express were doing everything right to close out game 1 and come away victorious. They were getting pucks deep in the Chiefs zone, they were responsible defensively, getting in shooting lanes and blocking shots protecting the middle part of the ice.

Chilliwack made their final push in the final minute pulling Aidan Pelino and Austin Adam came off the bench as the extra skater. Adam found the puck on his stick at the line and did the smart thing throwing the puck at the net and it bounced to the stick of Jordan Kawaguchi who scored the tie the game with 57 seconds left.

It is becoming the stuff of legend the amount of massive goals that Kawaguchi has scored against the Express the last two seasons. He has 23 goals in his last 21 games against the Express. The vast majority of those goals have all been enormous.

In overtime the Express made an early push looking to end the game with chances for Alex Ambrosio and a Luca Leone defection.

Overtime only lasted four minutes. Ryan Forbes carried the puck into the Express zone, cut into the middle and fired a wrister that powered through Lawson Fenton and trickled into the net to give Chilliwack the come from behind game 1 win.

Despite the disappointing setback, the Express have to focus on the solid effort they put forth in game one. The outcome didn't go their way. But it wasn't from a lack of solid play. Another structured effort in game 2 could put the Express in a position to come home for game 3 in Coquitlam with a split.

EXPRESS TO PLAY FOR FRED PAGE CUP

It took until the third overtime to decide it, but the Express are off to the Fred Page Cup final for the 2nd time in franchise history as they defeated the Victoria Grizzlies 4-3.

The win improved the Express to 2-1 in the round robin semi final. Victoria is eliminated as their record fell to 0-3 and will not be able to catch either the Express or the Vernon Vipers who are 2-0.

It will be the Express and the Vernon Vipers to decide who will be the BCHL champion in 2014. The series will start Friday April 11th in Vernon.

Marc Biega, Canon Pieper scored in the first two periods for the Express. Ryan Rosenthal scored with 1 minute remaining in the third period to send the game to overtime.

Daniel Lange was credited with the triple overtime winner tipping a Marc Biega shot.

The Fitzgerald triplets scored all three goals for Victoria on this night. Myles and Gerry scored in the first period. Leo scored in the third period. The three of them scored 5 of the 6 goals in the two games between the Express and Victoria in the round robin.

Canon Pieper had a chance to end it in the first overtime but was stopped on a penalty shot by Alec Dillion.

The Express also killed off a 5 minute major penalty assessed to Joey Santucci in the first overtime.

Gordie Defiel had another great night in the Express crease. He finished with 58 saves on the night. Including 31 in 46:51 of overtime.

This is the second visit to the Fred Page Cup final for the Express. They defeated the Penticton Vees in 6 games in 2006 when the franchise was located in Burnaby.

ROUND 3 SCHEDULE

The Express have a well earned week of rest after two six game series wins over the Prince George Spruce Kings and Langley Rivermen to win the 2014 Mainland division playoff championship.

They will use that much needed time off to heal any bumps and bruises that have accumulated over the course of 12 games in 18 days. Which also included the grind of a the 6 game series with Prince George that saw lengthy bus trips back and forth from Coquitlam to Prince George.

In the third round the Express will play the Island division champion Victoria Grizzlies who eliminated Powell River in 6 games. And the Interior division champion and RBC Cup hosts the Vernon Vipers who needed a 3-1 third period come back and an overtime goal from Michael McNicholas to keep their dream alive of coming through the front door of the tournament they're hosting in May.

Each team is scheduled to play each other once home and once away. The top two teams will advance to the Fred Page Cup to play for the BCHL championship.

Here's the full schedule for the third round. Express games are in bold.

March 28, 7:15pm	(2) Vernon @ (1) Victoria	Q-Centre
March 30, 7:00pm	(3) Coquitlam @ (2) Vernon	Kal Tire Place
April 1, 7:00pm	(1) Victoria @ (3) Coquitlam	Porier Sports and Leisure Centre
April, 3, 7:15pm	(3) Coquitlam @ (1) Victoria	Q-Centre
April, 5 7:00pm	(1) Victoria @ (2) Vernon	Kal Tire Centre
April 7, 7:00pm	(2) Vernon @ (3) Coquitlam *If Necessary	Poirier Sports and Leisure Centre
04/09/14	Tie-Breaker game if necessary	TBA

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 UP 2-0 IN MAINLAND FINAL

Gordie Defiel and Tyson Witala in game 2 of Mainland final. Photo courtesy of Garrett James.

The Coquitlam Express have a 2-0 lead in the Mainland final after taking game 2 at the George Preston Rec. Centre 2-1 over the Langley Rivermen.

The Express got first period goals from Zach Hodder and Ryan Rosenthal and Gordie Defiel had another solid performance between the pipes with 36 saves for the win.

Early on saw a parade to the penalty box for both teams. Soon the Express found themselves with a 5 on 3 power play that they made count.

Ryan Rosenthal teed up a one timer for Zach Hodder who blasted it past the glove of Brock Crossthwaite at 2:39.

It was a much better first period for the Express in this one compared to 24 hours earlier where they were outshot 19-9.

The Express outshot the Rivermen 15-8.

The animosity between the two clubs starting to come to the forefront in game 2. Bo Pieper seemed to draw the ire of the Rivermen late in the first period. He was sent hard to the ice deep in his own zone and got up reaching for his face after a cross check from Austin Azurdia.

Then in the final minute of the first period Bo was decked and left some blood on the ice following a pass to Ryan Rosenthal who scored for a 2-0 Express lead.

Langley started to raise their game in the second period trying to get back into it. They fired 15 shots toward the Express goal but couldn't get a puck past Defiel. His best save came off Tony Bretzman who was robbed by Defiel's quick glove hand.

8 minutes into the third period Mark Whiteley was on the receiving end of a double team hit that left the Express defenceman shaken up. He did not return. On the play Evan Anderson was assessed a 5 minute major for a blow to the head penalty and given a game misconduct.

Anderson could be facing an automatic two game suspension according to the Junior A Supplement.

The Express power play couldn't take advantage of the 5 minute power play they could have used to put the game in the bag.

With renewed life Langley struck just after the penalty expired as Kevin Kilistoff scored to give what was at the time a listless game the Express appeared to have in control suddenly some drama and life for Langley.

The final 6:32 saw Langley look for the equalizer. Their best chance may have come on a scramble when the puck went in the air and landed on top of the with 2 minutes remaining.

The Express weathered that final push which included a few more key stops for Defiel.

Some final fireworks late in the game saw a boarding penalty assessed to Cody Boyd. Then at the end of the game Jacob Reichert picked up a double minor for a spear on Gordie Defiel and Zach Hodder was assessed a slashing penalty coming to the defense of his goaltender.

That sets the table for what should be a vital game 3 in the series Monday night in Coquitlam. The Express will look to try and put the BCHL's top team in the regular season into a 3-0 hole.  

EXPRESS TAKE GAME 1 OF MAINLAND FINAL

Defiel with one of his 36 saves in game 1. Photo courtesy of Garrett James.

The Coquitlam Express took game 1 of the Mainland division final with a 4-2 win over the Langley Rivermen at the George Preston Recreation Centre.

The Express used 3 third period goals and another strong performance from Gordie Defiel who finished with 36 saves.

Defiel set the tone for what would be a very strong night in the opening minute with a great glove save off Marcus Vela.

Canon Pieper opened the scoring for the Express when he was set up by Brendan Lamont and scored on a backhand deke past Brock Crossthwaite following a Langley turnover at their own blue line.

An unlikely source tied the game for Langley 2:31 later when AP Cameron Bertsch scored poking the puck past Defiel following a face-off in the Express end.

Langley peppered the Express crease with 19 shots in the first period but were only able to get the lone goal.

Gordie Defiel continued to punctuate his strong night in the second period and looked as calm and composed as ever turning aside the next 12 Langley shots in the second period. They had a 31-17 edge after two periods.

Coquitlam began to turn the game in their favor in the third period.

Ryan Rosenthal on a set up from Corey Mackin slid home his 5th of the playoffs for a 2-1 Express lead at 3:32.

Cody Boyd provided the goal from the third different line for the Express when he threw the puck at the net and it hit the leg of Rivermen defenceman Chris Forney and bounced in at 8:44.

2:04 later it was back to a one goal game when James Robinson took a drop pass from Austin Azurdia and snapped a wrist shot low to the stick side past Gordie Defiel.

Boyd then sealed the win for the Express when he struck for his second of the night with just over two minutes remaining when he converted a set up from Joey Santucci and deked past Crossthwaite and slid the puck home.

The strong finish in the third period saw the Express outshoot the Rivermen 15-7. Langley finished with 38 shots compared to 32 for the Express.

Coquitlam also killed off 4 Langley power plays and weren't able to convert on any of the 3 man advantages they had.

Game 2 of the series is back at the George Preston Rec Centre Saturday night with the Express looking to bring a 2-0 series lead back to Coquitlam. 

EXPRESS AND RIVERMEN BY THE NUMBERS

OVERALL RECORDS
EXPRESS 27-26-2-3, 59PTS 3rd in Mainland division. Defeated Prince George 4-2 in 1st round.	RIVERMEN 37-13-3-5, 82PTS 1st in Mainland division, 1st in BCHL. Defeated Surrey 4-2 in first round.
HEAD TO HEAD RECORDS – Each team was 4-3-0-1
HEAD TO HEAD MEETINGS
Sep. 20 @ LA 6-2 Express Sep. 21 @ CQ 5-4OT Rivermen Oct. 11 @ CQ 3-1 Rivermen Oct. 24 @ LA 12-2 Rivermen Nov. 15 CQ 6-3 Express Dec. 28 @ LA 6-5OT Express Dec. 29 @ CQ 3-2 Express Feb. 18 @ LA 4-1 Rivermen
2014 BCHL PLAYOFFS
EXPRESS ROUND 1 VS. SPRUCE KINGS Gm. 1 Mar. 4 @ PG – 3-2 L Gm. 2 Mar. 5 @ PG – 3-2 W Gm. 3 Mar. 7 @ CQ – 2-0 W Gm. 4 Mar 8 @ CQ – 6-3 W Gm. 5 Mar. 10 @ PG – 3-2 2OTL Gm. 6 Mar. 11 @ CQ – 2-1 W	RIVERMEN ROUND 1 VS. EAGLES Gm. 1 Mar. 4 @ LA – 4-2 W Gm. 2 Mar. 5 @ LA – 4-3 L Gm. 3 Mar. 7 @ SRY – 6-3 W Gm. 4 Mar. 8 @ SRY – 7-5 L Gm. 5. Mar. 10 @ LA – 3-0 W Gm. 6 Mar. 11 @ SRY – 6-1 W
GOALS FOR, GOALS AGAINST
Express Regular season 226 GF (1st), 226 GA, (13th) Playoffs 17 GF 2.83 AVG., 12 GA 2.00 AVG.	Rivermen Regular season 200 (6th), 155 GA (2nd) Playoffs 27 GF 4.5 AVG., 17 GA 2.83 AVG.
SPECIAL TEAMS
CQ PP Reg. season19.22% (6th), PK 81.97% (7th) Playoffs PP 1/23 4.3%, PK 28/30 93.33%	LA PP Reg. Season 17.25% (14th), PK 83.63% (4th) Playoffs PP 7/24 29.17%, PK 27/34 79.41%CQ PP 19.22% (6t
TOP SCORERS PLAYOFFS
EXPRESS Rosenthal 4G, 2A, 6PTS B. Pieper 3G, 1A, 4PTS Santucci 2G, 2A, 4PTS Mackin 1G, 3A, 4PTS 6 players tied with 3PTS	RIVERMEN Ustaski 6G, 3A, 9PTS Azurdia 3G, 4A, 7PTS Reichert, Dobrombsky, Robinson tied w/ 6PTS Vela, McLain tied w/ 5 Pts Killistoff, Urban 4PTS
EXPRESS GOALTENDING PLAYOFFS Gordie Defiel 4-2, 2.00 GAA, .944 Save %	RIVERMEN GOALTENDING PLAYOFFS Brock Crossthwaite 4-2, 2.59 GAA, .918 Save % Lyndon Standwood 1GP, 5.26 GAA, .857 Save %
TOP SCORERS VS. RIVERMEN Adam Rockwood – 1G, 10A, 11PTS Ryan Rosenthal – 5G, 4A, 9PTS Canon Pieper – 5G, 3A, 8PTS Marc Biega – 6G, 1A, 7PTS Bo Pieper – 4G, 3A, 7PTS	TOP SCORERS VS. EXPRESS Mitch McLain – 5G, 7A, 12PTS Tony Bretzman – 4G, 6A, 10PTS Austin Azurdia – 3G, 5A, 8PTS J. Reichert & A. Azurida – 2G, 5A, 7PTS Matt Ustaski – 3G, 3A, 6PTS
GOALTENDING VS. RIVERMEN	GOALTENDING VS. EXPRESS
Gordie Defiel – 3-3, 3.99 GAA, .877 Sv. % Pierce Dushenko – 1-1, 5.26 GAA, .825 Sv. %	Brock Crossthwaite – 0-3, 3.38 GAA, .866 Sv.% Lyndon Stanwood (Split between Chiefs & Rivermen) – 2-2, 4.71 GAA, .844 Sv. %

EXPRESS VS. RIVERMEN PREVIEW

The Coquitlam Express and Langley Rivermen will meet in the Mainland division final starting Friday at George Preston Recreation Centre in Langley after both teams advanced winning their first round series in six games.

The series will begin at the old stomping grounds of the Langley Hornets due to the BC High School Basketball championships taking over the the Langley Events Centre. If a game 7 of Langley's first round series with Surrey was to be played, it was slated for the George.

The Express dispatched the scrappy Prince George Spruce Kings with a 2-1 win in Coquitlam Wednesday. The Rivermen did the same with a 6-1 win over the pesky Surrey Eagles at the South Surrey Arena.

For the Express this series has the makings to be just as close as their first round match up with Prince George.

The biggest difference from the first round to the second round for the Express will see them go up against a bigger and more physical opponent.

Prince George presented a challenge of shutting down their smaller more skilled forwards like Chad Staley, Jeremiah Luedtke and Justin Rai.

It will be a different story in this series that will see the Express try and shut down bigger and more physical first line of Jacob Reichert, Matt Ustaski and Mitch McLain. For the Express they will catch a break in game 1 as McLain the Rivermen captain will serve the second game of a two game suspension following his five minute major goaltender interference penalty assessed in game 5 of their series with Surrey.

During the regular season these teams quickly developed a dislike for one another. The Rivermen built their team in the off-season with a distinct influence on size. When the Express and Rivermen met early in the regular season Langley tried to use their size to establish a physical presence. It didn't take long for the Express to meet the challenge and respond.

That set the tone for the entire season series between the two teams. And it made for some entertaing and emotional games to watch between the two teams. I don't expect things to be any different in this series. It will probably only be ramped up a level with a berth in the third round of the BCHL playoffs on the line.

These teams equally split 8 head to head meetings with each other with both clubs posting identical 4-3-0-1 records for 9 points.

The Express did win 3 of the last 4 regular season meetings between the two teams. Highlighted by back to back wins for the Express 6-5 in Langley and a 3-2 win at home in a back to back upon the resumption of play following the Christmas break. Langley took the final regular season meeting vs. the Express 4-1 at the Langley Events Centre February 18th.

Both teams used a very balanced attack in their six game first round victories. The Express had 10 different goal scorers. Langley bettered that with 13 different players scoring goals. Langley did score 10 more goals than the Express in their first round series. They were led by Matt Ustaski who scored 6 goals and 9 points.

The Express led the BCHL during the regular season with 226 goals scored. They didn't match that pace in the first round vs. Prince George. But during the course of the regular season they found ways to win tight one goal games vs. some of the top clubs in the BCHL. And that experience certainly paid off in their first round series vs. the Spruce Kings. And their ability to minimize the damage inflicted by Prince George's top players was a big reason why the Express were successful. They have a slightly more challenging team to try and lock down in this series.

The Rivermen finished the regular season with the best record in the BCHL with 37 wins and 82 points in 58 games. That mark was helped by Langley posting a BCHL high 10 overtime wins this season. If you go by regulation wins, the Rivermen only posted 3 more victories than the Express with 27 compared to 24 for the Express.

And that success for both clubs in one goal games helps set up what should be a very close series.

Both teams had solid goaltending in the first round. Express net minder Gordie Defiel was probably the series MVP vs. Prince George turning aside 201 of the 213 shots sent his way for a .944 save percentage and a 1.90 goals against average.

Brock Crossthwaite had a 2.59 GAA and .918 save percentage in their win over the Surrey Eagles.

Like their series with Prince George, this series has the makings to be another battle that will feature fairly even clubs and we will likely see a lot of one goal games. The physical aspect will likely ramp it up another level. In the end this one has the makings to go 6 or maybe even 7 games.

Let's get in started.

EXPRESS ELIMINATE SPRUCE KINGS IN 6, RIVERMEN NEXT

Express salute fans following game 6 win over Prince George.

The Coquitlam Express eliminated the Prince George Spruce Kings in game 6 of their Mainland division semi final with a 2-1 win.

It's the first series win for the Express franchise since the Kyle Turris years in 2006 and 2007 when the franchise was located in Burnaby. It's also the first time the Express franchise based in Coquitlam has won a playoff series.

Both teams hit the ice 24 hours after playing game 5 the night before 9 hour drive up north in game 5 following a 3-2 Prince George OT win.

Midway through the first period Prince George opened the scoring midway through the first period when Justin Rai took a drop pass from Cole Todd and snapped home his fourth goal of the playoffs.

Captain Ryan Rosenthal pulled the Express even just over 4 minutes later when he took a pass from Corey Mackin from behind the net and snapped home his fourth goal of the series to tie the game at one.

The second period saw Prince George open the period with a power play with Cody Boyd in the box. The man advantage was extended with 1 second left in the penalty when Joey Santucci was called for roughing.

The Express killed off both penalties after being a man down for nearly 4 minutes.

On the other side of the special teams coin the Express power play was starting to feel a little heat for not having scored entering game 6. It finally broke through midway through the second period when Bo Pieper banged home the rebound of a Cam Marks shot off the end boards midway through the second period for a 2-1 Express lead.

As the second period ticked down, the Express top line of Adam Rockwood, Corey Mackin and Ryan Rosenthal began to really dominate every time they were on the ice. Many of their shifts were spent in the Prince George zone trying to extend the Express lead.

The third period began with the Spruce Kings needing to raise their game with hopes of extending their season in an attempt to force a game 7.

And they sure did have a push. Prince George had chances for Skylar Pacheco and Jeremiah Luedtke ring off the post. Justin Rai was denied at the side the net. Gordie Defiel made a solid save on a deflection from the slot. The Express net minder saved his best save for a glove save off Mitch Eden.

The Express also killed off two more Prince George power plays in the third period and they finished a perfect 6 for 6 while a man down.

In a series that saw the teams combine for just 3 power play goals, 2 for Prince George and 1 for the Express, the Express went 1 for 23 on the power play while killing off 28 of 30 shorthanded situations in the series.

There was very little that separated these two teams through the 6 games. 4 of the 6 games were decided by just a single goal.

In the end I believe the Express depth which saw 10 different players score goals to just 5 for Prince George, and just some slightly better goaltending by Gordie Defiel than Alex Murray propelled this series win.

Round two of the playoffs will begin Friday night when the Express will line up against the BCHL regular season champion Langley Rivermen in the Mainland division final.

This series has the makings to be another hard fought and tight series similar to what the Express faced in round one. The biggest difference from round 1 to round 2 might be a more physical test against a bigger and more physical Langley team. It certainly has the makings to be another good one.

I'm sure I speak for all of you when I say I can't wait.