EXPRESS WIN 40TH GAME AS CLAY STEVENSON SETS EXPRESS FRANCHISE SHUTOUT RECORD

Graphic by Jacob Lazare.

Clay Stevenson made 29 saves for his 4th shutout of the season and his 6th in his regular season career as the Express blanked Langley 5-0. Click here for boxscore

For Stevenson, his 6th career regular season shutout passes Cole Huggins for the most all time in Express history. His 4th shutout this season ties Matthew Gordon for most in a single season. It was also his 29th win of the season which tied Kevin Jebson for most wins in a season by a goaltender in Express history.

Langley came out hitting trying to set an early tone. Most notably Massimo Rizzo was on the receiving end of a double team hit in the neutral zone. But it would be long until Langley wasn't able to keep up with the Carolina Hurricanes pick.

Joey Berkopec opened the scoring for the Express just past the 5 minute mark snapping a shot over the glove of Braedon Fleming. For Berkopec it was his first goal in an Express uniform since being acquired from Merritt.

Massimo Rizzo had been very dangerous in the last few games for the Express. But he wasn't getting the pay off by finding the back of the net with the hard work he was putting in to generate chances.

Tonight he broke through. Just past the 11 minute mark he converted a Greg Lapointe pass tipping home his first of the night. The goal chased Fleming after just two goals on four shots.

Greg Lapointe and Danny Pearson both returned to the lineup after missing time with injuries. Lapointe's impact was immediate as he had a number of good chances in the first period.

Jonathan Mor came in the Langley net following the 2-0 goal. Late in the period he had no chance handing a wicked Rizzo wrist shot for a 3-0 Express lead after one.

Danny Pearson had his share of chances during the night in his return to the lineup. He picked up an assist in his return with a shot that wound up in the feet of Mor and was tucked home in the goal crease by Brad Ong. It was the third goal in the last two games for Ong.

Stevenson only had to make 6 saves in the second period. But he got some help in the period to keep Langley off the board when a loose puck in the crease that Stevenson couldn't find right away was cleared just as Stevenson found the puck and was in the process of covering it.

In the third, not only did Stevenson had to fight off Langley shooters. He had to endure a few collisions in the crease. The second one he had Sean Bunting hit on top of the Express goaltender as Noah De La Durantaye hustled back to get into the play and levelled the Langley forward.

The contact didn't deter the Express goaltender in his pursuit of his 4th shutout of the season.

Rizzo meanwhile had his share of chances in the second period to get his 3rd of the night. Then when he was not trying to finish off the hat-trick he was able to cap it off. On a two on one with Nick Carabin, Rizzo's pass for the Express defenceman ended up going in off a Langley defenceman for Rizzo's second hat-trick of the season.

Friday's game was loaded with penalties. The Express were 0 for 9 on the powerplay. But they were a perfect 8 for 8 on the penalty kill. Friday's effort will move the Express back into the top spot in the overall BCHL penalty killing rankings.

Saturday will see the Express hit the road for their lone visit of the season to Wenatchee. 

EXPRESS SET FRANCHISE RECORD IN PRINCE GEORGE

A new franchise record for regular season consecutive wins was set by the Express with their 11th in a row after a 8-5 win in Prince George Saturday. Click here for boxscore

Heading into the game it would have been understandable if this game slipped through the hands of the Express. Injuries up front and on the blueline meant that 13 forwards and 5 defence were dressed with 4 affiliate players in the lineup.

Early on the patchwork lineup showed. A Jack Watson misplay of the puck behind the net resulted in Thomas Richter opening the scoring at 1:52. That was followed by a pair of Corey Cunningham goals  two and a half minutes apart and Prince George had quickly jumped out to a early 3-0 lead.

From then on Jack Watson settled down and his team did in front of him as well. Greg Lapointe started the comeback for the Express snapping shot past the glove of Jett Alexander for his 19th of the season.

Cooper Connell cut to the net and cut the Prince George lead to 3-2 with a backhand goal before the first period was done.

Prince George native Ethan O'Rourke played a big role (pardon the pun) in helping set Express history at the expense of his former team. Early in the second he tapped home a pass to pull the Express even at 3.

Adam Trotman just past the 5 minute mark gave the Express their first lead of the net speeding in from the left wing and sliding a backhand past Alexander to make it a 4-3 game.

This back and forth game saw Prince George tie things up just a shade under 90 seconds later when Domenic Gorozzo snapped a shot past Watson.

A minute later O'Rourke struck for his second of the night dancing in and roofing a quick shot over Alexander for a 5-4 Express lead through two periods.

O'Rourke capped off his first junior hockey hat-trick potting home a loose puck despite a collision at the Prince George crease that had bumped the net and it's supports to open a 6-4 Express lead.

Now with a two goal lead in hand with just under a full period to play the shorthanded Express just had to dig in as a group and hold this thing to the finish line. Nolan Welsh made it a one goal game just shy of the 8 minute mark.

But this battle tested Express group persevered and Cooper Connell buried his second of the night on a one timer for a powerplay goal with just over six to goal. Then Josh Wildauer sealed the win with an empty net goal with just over two minutes to go.

The 11 game winning streak breaks the regular season franchise record set during the 06-07 season. The all time Express winning streak record is 13 games during 05-06 season split over the end of the regular season and into the playoffs. Overall the Express have won 18 of their last 19 games.

And by improving to 30-5 before the Christmas break, the Express have joined a special group of teams with 30 wins before Christmas.

With a 30-5 record and posting their 30th win before the 🎄Xmas break,@BCHLExpress join a prestigious list of @GoBCHL teams since 03-04 with 30 wins before Xmas.

15-16 Vees 34 games
11-12 Vees 35 games
09-10 Vipers & Vees 33 & 37 games
05-06 Bulldogs 38 games

— Eddie Gregory (@EddieGregory81) December 15, 2019

The Express will wrap up their pre-Christmas portion of the schedule Wednesday afternoon at high noon when they will host Prince George in the first school day game of the season.

RIZZO'S FIRST BCHL HAT-TRICK PACES 6-1 EXPRESS WIN OVER SURREY

Massimo Rizzo mixed in his first BCHL hat-trick as the Express scored six unanswered goals to defeat the Eagles 6-1. Click here for boxscore

The win was the 15th straight home win dating back to last season's playoffs. 

Surrey did something Friday that no team has done all year in Coquitlam and that is score first. Christophe Tellier poked home a loose puck for a powerplay goal to open the scoring. That would be the only puck to get past Jack Watson who made 23 saves for his 4th win of the season. 

That goal woke the Express up who ramped up their energy and didn't take long to tie it on a goal by Ethan O'Rourke who buried his own rebound for his 4th of the season. 

The second period saw the Express pace ramp up even further and the Eagles had trouble keeping up with the hosts. 

It didn't take long for the offence to follow. A nice pass by Will Margel rink wide to Connor Gregga sprung a two on one with Massimo Rizzo, Gregga laid a perfect pass to Rizzo who showed great patience before finishing on the backhand for his first of the night. 

In the dying moments of an Express powerplay Greg Lapointe walked in a ripped a shot short side over the shoulder of Tommy Scarfone for his team leading 16th of the season.

Then Rizzo showed Lapointe 45 seconds later he has a great shot as well ripping one over the shoulder of Scarfone for his second of the night and a 3-1 Express lead after two periods. 

The third period had some similarities to Wednesday night vs. Penticton with a number of players dropping the gloves.

First it was Kabir Gill and Adamo Santia having a go. There was more of that to come as the period went along. 

Josh Wildauer at the side of the Eagles net potted home a loose puck to open a 5-1 Express lead. 

Then there was more fisticuffs. Brandon Santa Juana and Christian MacDougall went at it. That was followed just over a minute later by Steven Bellini and Christophe Tellier settling things while the Express were on the penalty kill. 

The only question that remained was if Rizzo was going to get his first BCHL hat-trick. That was answered in the dying minutes of the game when Josh Wildauer dumped in the puck, Tommy Scarfone came out to play it but he had puck bounce off his stick right in front of the open net to Rizzo who pounced on the gift for his 3rd of the night. Rizzo is the first Express player this season to register a hat-trick. 

The teams will get together again on Sunday afternoon in Coquitlam. 

WARRIORS @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

Highlights of the Express 8-1 win over West Kelowna Monday.

Highlights produced by Eddie Gregory. 

EXPRESS USE FULL THROTTLE 2ND PERIOD TO BLOWOUT WARRIORS

Jared Power scored his first BCHL hat-trick and second of his junior career in a 8-1 Express win over West Kelowna on a rare Monday night game. The Express used a six goal second period to take complete control of the game. Click here for boxscore

Little went right for the West Kelowna Warriors. Their lone goal of the night opened the scoring, Auston Chorney rushed the puck right into the Express zone then snapped a shot from the right wing past Kolby Matthews. That goal would be the lone knock on Kolby Matthews who had a great night the rest of the way shutting the door.

Power's big night got rolling on the Express first powerplay of the night. With Power standing in front of the net, he showed good hands deflecting a Connor Gregga shot to tie the game at one. Prior to the game, Connor Gregga was named the Express player of the month after 5 goals and 10 assists for 15 points in 9 December games.

It didn't take long for the Express to completely suck the life out of the Warriors in the second period.

Regan Kimens gave the Express their first lead converting a set up from the slot from Jordan Schulting for a 2-1 Express advantage at 4:18.

And from there the goals just kept coming.

Jared Power buried his second of the night on a scramble lifting a backhand over a sprawled out Connor Hopkins at 7:30.

2:11 later a quick pass up ice on the tape of Chase Danol allowed him to cut in from the left wing and his shot trickled through Hopkins and was poked home by Josh Bruce for his 3rd of the season to open up a 4-1 lead.

That goal chased Connor Hopkins after 4 goals on 21 shots. Warriors Head Coach Geoff Grimwood also called his timeout at that time.

The message didn't get through as the Express kept rolling along, and Brock Baier faced the brunt of the Express attack. He was welcomed to the game by facing a great odd man rush chance for Christian Sanda.

Power then put the puck past Baier completing his first Express hat-trick converting a tap in pass from Connor Gregga to make it a 5-1 lead. It was the first hat-trick for Jared Power since November 22, 2016 when he was a member of the Olds Grizzlys of the AJHL. Connor Gregga finished up three assists.

Jack Cameron got in on the fun 43 seconds after Power's third goal taking a feed in the slot and snapping home just his second of the season.

Then Alex DiPaolo capped off 6 Express goals in 11:05 burying the rebound of a Kabir Gill point shot to make it a 7-1 game.

Even though the Express middle period will be highlighted by the offensive eruption, Kolby Matthews had a very strong second period as well making 15 saves at the other end of the ice. He would finished with 36 saves for 12th win of the season.

The Express took their foot off the gas in the third period. The only goal of the frame came late in the period by Josh Wildauer poking home a loose puck in the crease after Jordan Schulting was set up backdoor by Regan Kimens.

There will be little time for the Express to enjoy their victory as they continue their busy week Wednesday when they host the Merritt Centennials. 

CHIEFS WITH A 9 SPOT VS. EXPRESS

Express bench looks on  - Photo courtesy of Garrett James

Vimal Sukumaran tallied his third hat-trick of the season and was among three Chiefs players with a four point night in a 9-1 win over the Express. Click here for boxscore

Jack Surowiec - Photo courtesy of Garrett James

Chilliwack scored early, often and right through to the end.

It started in the opening minute of the first period with Jake Smith opening the scoring on a scramble play.

Then Vimal Sukumaran started his big night with his first two of the night on a set up from the slot and scoring alone at the side of the Express net for a 3-0 Chiefs after the first period.

The Express had their chances but weren't able to finish when it came time to bury the puck. Jackson Cressey was robbed by the pad of Aiden Pelino after the Express captain took a drop pass from Austin McIlMurray. Then McIlMurray had a breakaway but put his backhand out of play.

Blake Hayward - Photo courtesy of Garrett James

Cressey had more chances for the Express on a pair of second period powerplays but was unable to bury them either.

Sukumaran completed his third hat-trick of the season and scored his 30th of the year on a breakaway goal after he blocked an Express shot at the Chiefs blueline. Sukumaran finished with three goals and one assist.

Dennis Cholowski made it 5-0 through two periods.

The beat went on for Chilliwack in the third period, Zach Guitarri, Jordan Kawaguchi, Taylor Allan and Kohen Olischefski added third period goals. All told the Chiefs struck for 9 goals on 30 shots. Kawaguchi and Olischefski had one goal and three assists.

Keegan Jones - Photo courtesy of Garrett James

Austin McIlMurray scored the lone Express goal on the night in the third period.

Aiden Pelino battled through a few collisions with Express players and injury to turn aside 19 of 20 shots to post the win.

Chilliwack improved to 4-0 vs. the Express this season.

The Express return to action Monday afternoon on Family day in Surrey.

CRESSEY'S HAT-TRICK POWERS OT COMEBACK VS. RIVERMEN

Jackson Cressey's second hat-trick of the season completed a dramatic come back for the Express 6-5 in overtime vs. the Langley Rivermen. Click here for boxscore

The captain's third of the night came in overtime on the power play in a game where the Express scored a season high four power play goals.

Things didn't start well for the Express. Justin Szeto opned the scoring for Langley burying the rebound of a point shot following a won face-off in the Express zone. 58 seconds later the Rivermen added to their lead on Ryan Barrow's first of two on the night.

Keegan Jones cut into Langley's lead before the first period was done holding off a Rivermen defender and powering the puck to the net and beating a stretched out Bo Didur. For Jones it was his third goal of the season.

Langley took their second two goal lead of the night in the second period off a goal by Rivermen Captain Jordan Schneider whose wrist shot tipped off an Express defender and fluttered over the shoulder of Lawson Fenton.

All night long when the Rivermen went up a pair, the Express had a response and stayed within striking distance. A quick give and go on the power play between Alex Ambrosio and Taylor resulted in the former scoring with a quick shot over the glove of Bo Didur.

Midway through the second period the Express got into penalty trouble with Blake Hayward and Alex Ambrosio being called for hooking and cross checking penalties 17 seconds apart resulting in a lengthy Rivermen two man advantage.

The Rivermen were patient with their opportunity slowly moving the puck around in the Express zone. Finally William Campion found Torrin White alone at the side of the Express net who had a tap for Langley's third two goal lead of the night at 4-2.

Period two wound down with the Express on the power play, and the rallying Express cut into the deficit in the dying seconds with Jackson Cressey scoring his first of the night snapping home a hard pass across from Austin McIlMuarray to make it 4-3 going to the third period.

Five minutes into the third period Ryan Barrow's second of the game put Langley up a pair for a fourth time.

Jackson Cressey scored his second of the night and the third power play goal of the game scoring off the rush with just under seven minutes to go.

It was at this point Express Head Coach Barry Wolff took a look at his bench and decided who was going and who wasn't. He juggled his lines and shortened his bench looking to spark one final come back.

He placed Mitch Newsome on the line with Austin McIlMurray and Jackson Cressey. Keegan Jones was skating with Cam Bertsch and Colton Kerfoot. The resulting changes altered the look with a little more grit on the top line and a combination of size, speed and skill on the second line.

The changes paid off late in the game as the Express completed their comeback with former Rivermen Mitch Newsome carrying the puck into the Rivermen zone then getting the puck in deep for McIlMurray who set up Newsome in front of the net who scored his second Express goal to tie with with just over two minutes left in regulation. Both of Newsome's goals for the Express have come in the third period in two games against his former team.

It was a slow start for the first four minutes of the four on four overtime. Then after a Langley rush in the Express zone Rivermen captain Jordan Schneider was called for a roughing penalty with just 14 seconds left in the first overtime.

The red hot Express power play didn't take long for Schenider to pay for his penalty. They won the draw and quickly set up and Colton Kerfoot put a pass on the tee for Cressey to unload a one timer up over Bo Didur for Cressey's third power play goal of the game. That capped off a 4 for 6 night for the Express on the power play which was a season high for power play goals for the Express.

For Cressey it was his second hat-trick of the season. This weekend the captain scored the game winning goal in both of their games and he now has 29 goals on the season.

Lawson Fenton made 33 saves for his 10th win of the season.

The Express return home for one game on Wednesday vs. Wenatchee before the Express hit the road for their final road trip of the season next weekend on the Island. 

EXPRESS SURVIVE VIPERS BITE

Brett Supinski had his second consecutive hat-trick and Chris Tai finished with 40 saves as the Express knocked off the Vernon Vipers 5-4 in the second meeting in a week between the two teams. Click here for boxscore

Vernon looked to pick up right where they left off when they knocked off the Express last Saturday when they fired 59 shots. The first period five minutes looked similar as they jumped on Coquitlam. Colton McCarthy scoring on a wrap around and Thomas Aldworth with a wrist shot from the left wing got the Vipers off on the right foot in the first five minutes.

As quickly as the Vipers started, the Express responded in kind. Brett Supinski started his big night by getting the Express on the board just 32 seconds after Aldworth's goal by snapping a quick shot through the legs of Danny Todosychuk. That was followed just over five minutes later on a goal by Brendan Lamont with a wrist shot over Todosychuk's glove.

 The top line of Corey Mackin, Brett Supinski and Brendan Lamont all had a hand in the first two Express goals.

Penalty killing had been taking it's lumps for the Express in recent outings. But it had a big impact on helping the Express get the two points. They killed off all 5 Vernon power plays. Their best work came in the first period on a 51 second Vernon 5 on 3. And two Vernon power plays in the third period with the Express protecting the lead.

As the second period began, Chris Tai's best work began to come to the forefront. The ice would become very heavily shifted towards the Express net in the final two periods but Tai rose to the challenge. He turned aside 20 of 21 Vernon shots in the middle period. The only goal to beat him in the second was Liam Finlay's first of two on the night.

Two goals for the Express in the final minutes of the second period gave them a 4-3 lead heading to the third period. Jackson Cressey finished off a couple of great passes by Brett Supinski and Corey Mackin for a power play goal to tie the game at three. Then in the final minute of the period Corey Mackin put the puck on a tee for Supinski who bombed away for his second of the night.  That goal gave BCHL scoring leader Corey Mackin 80 points on the season. He finished the night with a season high five assists which also ties an Express franchise record for assists in a game. Supinski hit the 70 point mark with his late second period goal. They now have 81 and 71 points respectively.

Supinski then completed his second consecutive hat-trick and third three goal game of the season with a shot through the legs of Todosychuk at 6:30 of the third period. Supinski finished with three goals and two assists.  He now has a seven game goal streak with twelve goals and five assists for seventeen points. He has points in 18 of his last 19 games.

Liam Finlay made things interesting with his second of the night with just over three to go, but they couldn't puck another puck past Chris Tai. The Express net minder turned aside 31 of 33 Vernon shots in the final two periods to earn the win.

 Up next the Express host the Trail Smoke Eaters Sunday afternoon.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3RD PERIOD RALLY LEADS TO EXPRESS SECOND WIN

Third period goals by Nic Rasovic and the second and third goals of the afternoon by Brett Supinski lead a enormous rally for a 4-3 win over Nanaimo for just the second victory of the season for the Express. Click here for boxscore

There aren't many times when just the second victory of the season can be an emotional one, but that certainly can be said for the Express on this occasion.

Nanaimo entered the game riding a four game winning streak and took their first two games of their Mainland road swing with wins over Surrey and Langley. They got off on the right foot on a goal by Nicolas Carrier scoring on a deflection that slid through the legs of Brayden Krogfross.

In each of the previous two outings for the Express the opposition would get an extended 5 on 3 power play and would score on it to eventually come away victorious. Sunday it was the Express' turn for a extended 1st period 5 on 3. Brett Supinski scored his first of the game on the advantage to even the score for the Express at 17:31 of the first period.

As the Express continue their work to try and improve and turn the ship in the right direction there were positive signs throughout the course of Sunday's game. They consistently were able to establish a cycle in the offensive zone that hasn't been a element of the Express game earlier this season. That is part of the reason why the Express finished the first period with 18 shots on goal.

Jake Wozney playing in his first BCHL game gave Nanaimo a 2-1 lead in the second period banging home the rebound following a won face-off in the Express end of the rink.

San Jose Sharks draft pick Jacob Jackson gave Nanaimo a 3-1 lead when his shot beat Krogfross over the glove from the left wing.

In order for the Express to get back in the win column it was about finding ways to do the little things well incrementally over the course of the game. That included improvement in the discipline department and penalty killing. They certainly ticked that box off on Sunday.

The biggest penalty kill of the game came midway through the third period with Nic Rasovic in the box for elbowing. That capped off a a perfect 3 for 3 game for the Express while a man down. In order to have a strong night while a man down you need a big save from your goaltender. Brayden Krogfross came up with his biggest making a save on Jackson from the slot to keep the Express down just a pair. Krogfoss finished with 36 saves to pick up his second win.

Following the conclusion of the Rasovic penalty he picked up a Jivan Sidhu clearing attempt coming out of the box and scored his first of the season on the backhand.

That goal gave the Express the boost they needed for their big finish. They re-established their cycle and began to press for the equalizer. It came with just over two minutes remaining in the third period as Supinski found himself with the puck on his stick and eye to eye with Guillime Decelles and the Union committed forward scored top shelf for his second of the game.

Then in the final minute Brendan Lamont like a bull in a china shop diligently worked the puck in the Clipper zone deep and eventually got the puck to the net leading to a scramble and Supinski capped off his first BCHL hat-trick to give the Express their lone lead of the night with just 32 seconds to play.

The Express battled hard for the full 60 minutes and were rewarded for their effort. They finished with a season high 43 shots on goal.

Next weekend the Express will hit the road for it's first real road trip of the season with visits on the way to Alberni Valley, Cowichan Valley and Powell River.

MACKIN'S HAT-TRICK NOT ENOUGH AS EXPRESS FALL TO RIVERMEN

Corey Mackin's first BCHL hat-trick wasn't enough for the Express as they fell 5-4 to the Langley Rivermen Friday night. Click here for box score

The Express remain with just one win of the season with a record of 1-4-0-1 through the first six games of the season.

As the team tries to improve as the season goes along the lessons learned along the way are pretty tough.

Things started well for Mackin and the Express with Mackin scoring his first of the night after he picked off a pass in the neutral zone and scored on his own rebound beating Bo Didur.

Three minutes later however Langley pulled even on William Campion's point shot that changed directions and find it's way past Pierce Dushenko.

It was another strong night for the Express powerplay striking twice on eight advantages. The first goal coming off the stick of Corey Mackin who snapped home Joey Santucci's cross ice feed for his second of the night.

But for as good as the powerplay has been for the Express, the penalty killing has been as equally if not even more not good enough.

For the second straight game the opposition got an extended 5 on 3 advantage, and for the second straight game the Express would find themselves fishing the puck out of their net as the game turns in favour of the opposition.

Gage Torrell and Matthew Graham scored 36 seconds apart to give Langley a 3-2 lead going to the second period.

The Express have now given up a BCHL high 12 powerplay goals on 32 shorthanded situations and their penalty killing sits dead last at 62.5%. They've given up at least one powerplay goal in each of their five losses and multiple powerplay goals in four of the six lossses to start the season.

Corey Mackin completed his first BCHL hat-trick 13 minutes into the second period snapping home a wrist shot from the slot that was tipped past Didur.

Newcomer Jivan Sidhu acquired earlier in the day from the Nipawin Hawks of the SJHL made his Express debut for the Express Friday. He was on the wrong end of a turnover of the puck coming out of his own zone that allowed Kevan Killistoff to score at 3:46 to give Langley a 4-3 lead.

41 seconds later Langley struck again as Gage Torrel scored his second of the night re-directing Jacob Zeleznikar's point shot past Pierce Dushenko. Langley finished the night with 42 shots. It was the third time this season an Express netminder had faced 40 plus shots.

Cameron Bertsch gave the Express hope when he converted as pass from Nic Rasovic for his first BCHL regular season goal with 7:18 to play.

That led to some momentum and some of the best scoring chances for the Express on the night. More specifically Brett Supinski. His first best chance when he put his own rebound off the post with Didur beat. Then his second came on a late Express powerplay with Supinski set up in front but Didur fired up his glove for his best of 28 saves on the night.

The Express will get their next crack at their second win of the season Sunday afternoon vs. Nanaimo.

EXPRESS AND EAGLES BURN OUT THE GOAL LIGHTS

There will be new goal lights required before the Express next home game vs. Prince George after they won a goal filled affair with the Surrey Eagles 9-6.

The Express exploded out of the gates. Joey Santucci had what would turn out to be a memorable sequence for the 19 year old forward who got his night started by opening the scoring at 3:16 snapping home a pass from behind the net.

48 seconds later Canon Pieper was hauled down and awarded a penalty shot. He made no mistake beating Devon Fordyce with a deke to the forehand.

Then the Santucci show resumed. He scored his second of the period just 24 seconds later to make it 3-0. Then 9 seconds after that Santucci capped off his hat-trick to give the Express a 4-0 lead.

At the end of it the Express had scored 4 times in a span of 1:21 with Santucci scoring 3 of his goals in the same 1:21 span. I don't have any official records, but it may have been the fastest hat-trick recorded by an Express player in franchise history.

Up 4 less than 5 minutes into the game, the Express appeared to be in cruise control.

Before the period was done the Eagles brought the Express back down to earth somewhat.

Braeden Russell got the Eagles on the board just 1:19 after Santucci's 3rd of the night.

Then the Eagles pulled within one on goals by Joseph Drapluk and Russell's second of the game 1:35 apart late in the period and it was 4-3 after 20.

Surrey completed their come back just over two minutes into the second period as Russell completed his hat-trick swatting home a loose puck at the side of the Express net.

Then the Express went back on the attack.

Adam Rockwood re-stored the Express lead powering the puck to the net and sliding it home for his 7th of the season and 3rd goal in his last 4 games.

1:25 later Marc Biega broke out on a 2 on 1 with Joey Santucci, and the defenceman decided to keep the puck instead of trying to set up Santucci for his 4th of the game. It turned out to be the right decision as Biega snapped it past Fordyce.

Then on the power play Ryan Rosenthal from the high slot re-directed a Marc Biega point shot to put the Express up 7-4.

These teams were filling the net after two periods. Why stop in the third?

Nathan Renouf picked his his 4th point of the night scoring at the side of the net to go with his 3 assists at 1:40.

Jackson Cressy responded for the Express 2:20 later banging home the rebound of a Jace Hennig shot.

The teams finally settled down and took a 14 minute break from scoring goals until Canon Pieper scored his second of the game into an empty night while the Express were shorthanded. It's their 10th shorthanded goal this season. Canon now his 3 of them. And the Express as a team have now scored 4 of their shorthanded goals vs. the Surrey Eagles this season.

Nic Pierog scored a powerplay goal with 25 seconds left in the third period. Then finally the clock had run out on this high scoring affair to put an end to a wild night.

With the win the Express re-store a 3 point lead on Surrey for 3rd place in the Mainland division. They will now begin to use up their 3 games in hand on the Eagles with a trip to the Island for games in Alberni Valley Saturday and Nanaimo Sunday. 

EXPRESS WACK THE CHIEFS

The Coquitlam Express matched a season high with 9 goals in a 9-4 win over the Chilliwack Chiefs to sweep a home and home between the Mainland division rivals.

The Express got Chilliwack down early and didn't let them up until the clock struck 0:00 at the end of the third period.

Captain Ryan Rosenthal got the visitors offence rolling in the opening minute as he scored from the slot on the first shot of the game 45 seconds into the contest.

Canon Pieper had a memorable night in the valley with his first BCHL hat-trick. He got his evening kicked off by snapping a shot from the left wing past Chiefs started Josh Halpenny. The goal chased the Chiefs netminder after he allowed 2 goals on 6 shots in the first 12:20 of the game.

Lyndon Stanwood who got the start the night before didn't fare much better. Canon Pieper scored his second of the game shorthanded as he split the Chiefs defence and poked the puck through the legs of Stanwood.

It was the 5th shorthanded goal of the season by the Express which is the most of any team in the BCHL. At the time of the goal, the Express had scored 1 more goal while shorthanded than powerplay goals they had allowed all season.

Jordan Kawaguchi got the Chiefs on the board as he put home a rebound from a Carter Cochrane point shot.

But just 12 seconds later the Express were back up by 3 as Corey Mackin scored his Express leading 8th goal of the season at 18:31.

Pierce Dushenko got his 3rd start of the season in the Express crease. And with his teammates putting 4 on the board in the first period giving him some run support to work with, it's easy to overlook the 20 saves on the 21 Chief shots sent his way in the first period. Some of his best saves came off Mathieu Tibbet and Austin Plevy.

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

Marc Biega picked up his first point of the season as his wrister from the point on the powerplay gave the Express a 5-1 lead.

Austin Plevy finally scored his first goal of the season while shorthanded for the Chiefs as he took the puck hard to the net and jammed it under Dushenko.

But like they did in the first period, the Express had a quick response as Bo Pieper who had his first two assists of the season fired a great pass to hit Rosenthal in stride and he cut to the net and tucked the puck past Stanwood for a 6-2 Express lead.

Canon Pieper finished off his hat-trick late in the second period as he came out from behind the Chiefs net and made a spin move and fired off a backhand past Stanwood.

Halpenny came back out to start the third period in the Chiefs crease. And the story didn't change for the hosts. Matthew Barry-Lamontagna scored his second goal of the season as his innocent looking wrister from centre ice wasn't so innocent and it bounced off the blocker of Halpenny and in for an 8-2 Express lead.

Jackson Cressy scored the final goal of the night for the Express as he finished off a great passing play set up by Anthony Gardner's great back door pass.

10 players hit the scoresheet tonight for the Express, 6 had multi point efforts.  The 9 goals matches a season high for most goals in a game set earlier this season in a 9-4 win over Alberni Valley at the Prospera Centre in Chilliwack at the Bauer BCHL showcase.

To close out the night Kyle Westerlingh had Dushenko beat on a penalty shot but put his backhand off the post. Then the Chiefs scored two meaningless goals to cap off the score off the sticks of Andrew Silard and Kurt Black.

The win puts the Express one point back of both Langley and Prince George for first place in the Mainland division. And the two wins also puts the Express 9 points clear of Chilliwack.

The Express finish off the weekend Sunday afternoon in Surrey.

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.