EXPRESS SWEEP RIVERMEN

The Express have punched their ticket to the second round of the playoffs with a 5-4 win over the Langley Rivermen to complete a four game sweep of the Mainland division semi final. Click here for boxscore

Game 4 was similar to the previous night with the teams devoting one period to trade goals back and forth. That would come in the second period.

The opening frame saw the Express push the pace early on looking to get the early jump on the Rivermen. They broke through late in the period when Connor Gregga opened the scoring for a second straight night jamming home a loose puck in the goal crease for a 1-0 Express lead.

The second period saw the Express ramp up their effort level looking to expand their lead. Despite a 5-1 advantage in shots to open the period, it was the Rivermen who got a break to pull even. To open an Express powerplay the Rivermen won the face-off and quickly sent the puck down the ice where Sean Bunting hustled to the puck and then cut to the net and beat Jack Watson with a backhand to pull the Rivermen even.

88 seconds later the Express took their second lead of the night as Massimo Rizzo from the top of the right circle snapping home his first of the night to put the Express into a temporary 2-1 lead.

Ryan Helliwell's point shot 1:11 later eluded Watson to pull Langley even at two on the powerplay.

Earlier in the period Ethan O'Rourke just missed a tap in on an Express powerplay. He didn't miss his second tap in opportunity converting a Will Margel pass for the third Express lead of the night.

Langley's answer to that goal came just less than four minutes later with Tanner Versus burying a rebound of a Ryley Wallack shot to tie the game at 3.

The Express counter punch to that goal came just 26 seconds later with Steven Bellini jumping into the rush and taking a Will Margel pass and snapping a quick shot past the glove of Jonathan Mor to give the Express a 4-3 lead heading to the third period. Will Margel had three assists in game 4 and 2 goals and 5 assists in the series.

Insurance came for the Express midway through the third as Rizzo burst out on a two on one break and decided to keep the puck and beat Jonathan Mor on the stick side to open a 5-3 Express lead. Rizzo had four goals and three assist in this series.

A two goal deficit wasn't going to deter Langley's hopes of keeping the series alive. The Express meanwhile dug in to do the little things right to preserve the lead. Josh Wildauer made two good plays on a penalty kill by getting in the way of Rivermen shots.

Then unfortunately for Wildauer a third shot block attempt of a Ryan Helliwell test deflected off Wildauer's stick from the high slot and it eluded Jack Watson to cut the Express lead to 5-4 with 7:22 to play.

That would be as close as the Rivermen would come. Jack Watson shut the door the rest of the way to finish with 27 saves to post his fourth win of the series.

The Express advance to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since their championship season in 2014. It's the third all time sweep of a series for the Express. They swept the Langley Hornets in the first round in 2006. Then in 2014 they swept the Vernon Vipers in the Fred Page Cup Final.

Now the Express will get some rest before they will open the second round against either the Chilliwack Chiefs or Surrey Eagles. That series is tied at two games apiece. 

EXPRESS VICTORIOUS IN FIESTY GAME 1 WITH RIVERMEN

It was a heated opener of the Express and Rivermen Mainland division semi final. At the end of the night the BCHL's top team prevailed by a 5-1 score to take a 1-0 series lead. Click here for boxscore

Seemingly more often than not when the Express and Rivermen meet the tempers flare up. But Friday went to another level.

The Express went with a new look with Ethan O'Rourke centering Massimo Rizzo and Ryan Tattle. That line gave the Express a good mix of speed and sandpaper. For the most part it was Tattle on that line bringing the sandpaper and he was trying to hit everything he possibly could.

The energy translated to a quick start for the Express. Late in the first period that line had a notable shift of pushing the pace in the Rivermen zone. Massimo Rizzo brought the sandpaper by laying out Brendan Budy with a big hit along the boards. Tattle meanwhile fed the puck back to Joey Berkopec who opened the scoring with a wrist shot over the glove of Jonathan Mor. That capped off an opening period that saw the Express outshoot Langley 15-4.

The waters began to simmer between the teams in the second period. Massimo Rizzo was whistled for a double minor for high sticking. With the second penalty to Rizzo in effect, a Tanner Versluis tripping penalty took Langley off the poweprlay. That would become a consistent theme on this night.

One theme that carried over from the regular season into game 1 is the Express making Langley pay for undisciplined penalties. With Colten Kovich in the box for roughing after the whistle, Rizzo found the scoresheet in the manner he's known for. He ripped a wrist shot past a screened Mor for a 2-0 Express lead.

Langley took themselves off the powerplay for a second time in the middle frame on a Sean Bunting cross checking penalty. On the ensuing Express powerplay Will Margel tapped home a Danny Pearson pass at the edge of the crease for a 3-0 Express lead after two periods.

Things really got wild as the third period went on in game 1. There were too many scrums and roughing situations to all list in this space.

Christian MacDougall made his return to the lineup in game 1. He was right in the middle of a lot of things on this night. His agitating style had Langley players barking at him all night. And the gritty Express forward was eating it all up. Ryan Tattle was also in the mix of a lot of things on this night in addition to using his speed playing alongside Rizzo and O'Rourke.

There was only one fight on this night that saw Tyler Schleppe and Ryan Helliwell drop the gloves with just over 8 minutes to play.

Nick Carabin burying the rebound of his own wraparound just as an Express powerplay came to an end made it 4-0 Express. His goal snapped a 43 game goalless drought for Carabin. His last goal came all the way back on October 23rd vs. Langley.

Massimo Rizzo buried his second powerplay goal and picked up his 4th point of the night midway through the period to open a 5-0 Express lead. Rizzo's two powerplay goals surpasses his regular season total of one with the extra man this season. The Express finished 3 for 9 on the powerplay.

As the third period ticked down while the tempers kept on being riled up, Jack Watson was hoping his playoff debut would result in a shutout. Unfortunately he was denied it when Sean Bunting scored with 55 seconds to play. But that would be the lone blemish on Watson who opened the playoffs with 23 saves.

These teams will have a day off between games 1 and 2 to cool down before the series resumes Sunday night in Coquitlam. 

CAPITALS HAND EXPRESS FIRST HOME LOSS

Adam Trotman & Zach Borgiel - Photo courtesy of Damon James

The Cowichan Valley Capitals rode goaltender Zach Borgiel to the tune of 32 saves as the Capitals handed the Express their first home ice loss of the season in their 24th home game with a 2-1 win. Click here for boxscore

It was the first loss for the Express at home since game 3 of last years playoffs vs. Prince George to bring the 24 game home ice winning streak to an end.


Fireworks got the game off to a bang. Tyler Schleppe and Christian MacDougall started on the wings for the Express on the opening face-off and they were hacking with the Caps wingers lining up along side them forcing the officials to intervene before the game got started.

Then right off the bat Christian MacDougall was shoved into the corner boards and the Express forward was hurt on the play and didn't return.

Dan McIntyre was given a 5 minute major and a game misconduct for the check from behind on MacDougall.

Wyatt Head - Photo courtesy of Damon James

On the major penalty Cowichan opened the scoring taking advantage of a turnover at the Express blueline which allowed Olivier Gauthier to walk in on a breakaway where he slid a backhand past Jack Watson to open the scoring.

Wyatt Head pulled the Express even on the powerplay snapping his 2nd Express goal past Borgiel to tie the game at one just under three minutes later.

That set the stage for a fast pace and hard fought first period between two division leaders.

The game began to turn in the Caps favour in the second period as they began to force the Express into turnovers coming out of their zone.

Cowichan took the lead when Matthew Crasa pounced on the rebound of a Tanner Sidaway shot that Jack Watson couldn't handle with his glove.

Connor Gregga - Photo courtesy of Damon James

Jason Fortier wasted no time immediately pulling Watson in favour of Joe Howe after two Caps goals on 10 shots in just under 26 minutes of action. For Howe it was his first game action for the Express after being acquired from Victoria at the trade deadline.

Howe kept the Caps at bay the rest of the way finishing with 14 saves in 34 minutes.

The Express ramped up their level in the third period looking for the equalizer. But each time they were turned back by a dialed in Zach Borgiel. He finished with 20 saves in the third period to earn the win. In the dying seconds he got a little help as well as the Express on a scramble got the puck to the crease where the puck was tucked back into the pads of Borgiel by a teammate.

Prince George comes to Coquitlam Wednesday afternoon as the Express four game home stand resumes. 

CHIEFS SNAP EXPRESS STREAK AT 17

3 months and a day was how long the Express had gone between losses. In between was a franchise record 17 game winning streak which came to an abrupt end with a 6-1 loss to the Chilliwack Chiefs.
Click here for boxscore

It didn't take long to see that it wasn't going to be the Express night. A neutral zone turnover allowed the Chiefs to quickly transition back into the Express zone and Brett Rylance snapped a shot over the glove of Jack Watson to open the scoring.

Five minutes later Peter Reynolds pounced on a James Bohn turnover behind the net and Reynolds snapped a pass to Nikita Nesterenko who buried the feed for a 2-0 Chilliwack lead. That goal would be the start of a big night for both Nesterenko and Reynolds.

Midway through the first period Mathieu Caron came to his right to deny Connor Gregga to keep the Express off the board.

A fast zone entry into the Express zone with the Chiefs on the powerplay and then a quick give and go saw Peter Reynolds bury his first of the night for a 3-0 Chilliwack lead.

Despite allowing three goals in the first period, Jack Watson made a number of notable saves in the first period to keep the deficit at just three after facing 16 first period Chillwack shots.

The quality chances for Chilliwack carried over into the second period and Watson continued to stand tall to keep the Chiefs at bay. His best save of the period denied Joey Larson on a breakaway.

The best chance for the Express in the middle frame was a Greg Lapointe shot on a powerplay that clanked off the crossbar and stayed out. The powerplay finished 0 for 5 on the night.

The Chiefs certainly made a concerted effort to be a little extra physical to test the Express mettle. Christian MacDougall was certainly very much engaged going back and forth in the hostilities with the Chiefs.

He started the third period in the box giving and Chilliwack opened the period on the powerplay.

Jack Watson did all he could in the opening seconds on a scramble to fight to keep the puck out of the net. But the Chiefs maintained possession of the puck and Tommy Lyons was set up in the slot where he extended the Chiefs lead to 4-0.

Just under two minutes later a stray pass in the offensive zone allowed Reynolds to go the other way on a breakaway where he scored his second of the night with a shot over the right shoulder of Watson to make it 5-0.

Wyatt Head made his Express debut Saturday night after being acquired from West Kelowna. He made a few notable plays in the defensive zone to help break up Chilliwack scoring chances.

Head midway through the third picked up his first Express point with a wrist shot that was tipped home by AP Nolan Wall who scored his first BCHL goal to break up Mathieu Caron's shutout bid. That would be the only puck of the 37 Express shots to get past Caron.

With just over three minutes left in the third period Peter Reynolds completed his first BCHL hat-trick poking a loose puck under Watson. Reynolds finished with 3 goals and 2 assists for 5 points. Nikita Nesterenko had a four point night with one goal and three assists.

The loss prevented the Express from setting a franchise record with their 37th win of the season. All 6 of the Express losses have come on the road this season.

The Express have little time to dwell on Saturday's setback as they return home Sunday afternoon to play host to the Langley Rivermen. 

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.