I think the headline pretty much speaks for itself. The Express lost the opening game of their home and home with their top rival the Langley Chiefs. Thursday's loss was the Express' 9th set back in their last 10 games in the month of October. And the Express have now lost all 8 games away from home this month.
Langley opened the scoring 6 minutes into the game when Joe Walter's shot squeaked through Harrison May and dribbled into the net.
The Express had a pair of great chances to pull even moments later.
First, Andrew Walsh did well to come across to his right and get his right pad down to deny Jon Puskar on a 2 on 1 break. That save was followed moments later with Walsh turning away Rich Manley as he got in behind the Langley defence, but Walsh poked the puck away from Manley.
Late in the period the Express did break through. Garrick Perry slid a puck under Walsh to pull the Express even at 18:32. The goal for Perry broke a pair of lengthy droughts for the 2nd year forward.
The goal was his first point in his last 8 games. And his first goal in his last 11.
Perry had very little time to savour his goal when just 13 seconds later the Chiefs restored their lead when Dennis Robertson's shot from the left point got past May to give the Chiefs a 2-1 lead.
Langley took the lead into the room. Having a lead after 20 minutes is something foriegn to this Express team. They've only had the lead after the first period just twice this season. And haven't lead after 20 minutes in 13 games.
Early in the 2nd came a real back breaker for Burnaby, Langley won a neutral zone faceoff and Dennis Robertson fired the puck from beyond the Burnaby blueline and it got past Harrison May to give the Chiefs a 3-1 lead.
That goal would mean the end of the night for Harrison May who was yanked afterwards after allowing 3 goals on 19 shots.
Nick Enegren came in to replace May, but it didn't get much better for Burnaby and Enegren didn't get much help.
Travis Irving and Mac Roy both out battled Simon Denis for pucks in front of the Express net for Langley goals to give the Chiefs a 5-1 lead through 40 minutes.
The third period just saw more goals ending up in the back of the Burnaby net with Enegren getting very little help.
Irving added his 2nd of the period at 3:56 to give the Chiefs a 6-1 lead. That was followed by Marcus Watson getting past Todd Fletcher, Watson's shot was stopped but Brad Goss got to the net first beating the Express defence to bang home the rebound to make it a 7-1 Chiefs lead.
The final nail in Burnaby's coffin on this night was sealed in the final minute when Mitch Pacey came out of the penalty box and took a feed from Trevor Gerling and Pacey scored on the breakaway to round out the scoring.
Final score:
Chiefs 8 Express 1.
Shots:
Express 41 Chiefs 37
Powerplays:
Express 0/7
Chiefs 1/5
3 stars:
3. Andrew Walsh - Quietly had a steady night in the Chiefs crease stopping 40 of 41 Express shots. His performace was easily overlooked with the lopsided score in favour of his club.
2. Travis Irving - Scored a pair of goals and had a fight with Luke Challier in the third period.
1. Dennis Robertson - Scored a pair of goals to set the tone for the Chiefs and take the wind out of the Express sails. Robertson also added an assist.
Next up:
Home vs. Langley Friday night.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
JONES A SMASH IN MINNESOTA
Last year I showed former Express Milan Lucic hitting Toronto's Mike Van Ryn through the glass.
Well tonight, it was Express alum David Jones of the Colorado Avalanche hitting Minnesota's Nick Schultz breaking the glass.
Hey, the way Andrew Ladd plays, I wouldn't be surprised to see him level someone through the glass some time soon. I wouldn't want to play against him. He hits his opponents hard.
Well tonight, it was Express alum David Jones of the Colorado Avalanche hitting Minnesota's Nick Schultz breaking the glass.
Hey, the way Andrew Ladd plays, I wouldn't be surprised to see him level someone through the glass some time soon. I wouldn't want to play against him. He hits his opponents hard.
Monday, October 19, 2009
EAGLES SWEEP HOME & HOME WITH EXPRESS
This past weekend the Express had a home and home series with the Surrey Eagles.
Burnaby was hoping to build off their 9-5 win Wednesday night that snapped Burnaby's 6 game losing streak.
Both teams went into the series heading in opposite directions in the month of October. Surrey was 6-1 in October, while the Express had just 1 win in their 7 games in October.
The series started Friday night in Surrey. The first period saw the Express generate a few chances, but it was the Eagles who had plenty of momentum thanks to three powerplays and buzzing all around the Burnaby net. The Eagles however couldn't put any of their 15 first period shots past Harrison May and the teams went to the room scoreless through 20 minutes.
Rich Manley opened the scoring in the opening minute of the 2nd period as Manley took a feed from Jon Puskar and came down the left wing and slid a shot through the legs of Paul Barclay.
And despite the shots in favour of Surrey, the Express had the important first goal of the game.
The Express lead didn't last long as the Eagles tied the game while shorthanded. Mike Krgovich broke in on a 2 on 1 break with Tyler Morley, and Krgovich beat Harrison May with a wrist shot to the stick side.
The Eagles continued to press in the second period, but much like the first had a tough time getting a puck past Harrison May. May's strong goaltending allowed the Express to take the lead late in the 2nd period when Matt Ridley scored his first goal of the season when he jumped in the rush took a feed from Puskar and snapped a shot past Barclay to restore the Express lead.
Ridley's goal was just the 2nd goal of the season from an Express blueliner.
The Express took their lead into the third period and added to it early in the third. Matt Ius put a pass on the tape of Dylan Herold to give the Express a 3-1 lead 1:20 into the third.
Now for the 2nd straight road game, the Express had a 3-1 lead in the third period. But much like last Sunday in Powell River, the lead didn't guarantee the Express victory.
Richard Vanderhoek blasted a shot from the right circle that handcuffed Harrison May just over a minute after Herold's goal to cut the Express lead back down to one.
The Express had their chances to restore their two goal advantage following Vanderhoek's goal with a pair of powerplays, but couldn't come up with a clutch powerplay goal.
Then with the Eagles on a powerplay of their own, they erased the Express lead as Chris Santiago beat Harrison May with a wrist shot over his glove to tie the game at 3 at 8:35.
So for the 2nd straight road game, the Express had allowed a 3-1 lead to slip away.
However, the Express had another opportunity to re-store their lead with a powerplay but again came up firing a blank. Much thanks to the desperation of the Surrey penalty killers getting down and blocking numerous Express shots.
Following the conclusion of the Express third powerplay, the Eagles took the lead for the first time in the game. Surrey sent the puck into the Burnaby zone, and while the puck was sliding down the ice, an Eagle player went to the bench and Andrew Wallace came on the ice and picked up the puck and out waited Harrison May to give Surrey a 4-3 lead.
The goal raised the question of whether or not the Eagles had to many players on the ice. After some discussion from the officiating crew, the goal was allowed to stand.
Now the Express had just under 7 minutes to pull even. 2 minutes of that time was erased moments after Wallace's goal when Luke Challier was sent off for checking to the head and given a game misconduct. The Express did kill off the powerplay. But when the game resumed at 5 on 5, Surrey sat back in a defensive shell not allowing Burnaby to generate much of an attack.
The Eagles then iced the game when Matt Ridley coughed up the puck at his own blueline and the Eagles went the other way and Mike Krgovich scored his 2nd of the game on a feed from Andrew Wallace.
Final score:
Surrey 5 Burnaby 3.
Shots:
Surrey 45
Burnaby 27
Powerplays:
Burnaby 0/6
Surrey 1/7
3 stars:
3. Tyler Morley - 2 assists and was strong on the penalty kill all night for Surrey.
2. Andrew Wallace - Scored game winning goal and set up Krgovich's insurance marker in the third period.
1. Mike Krgovich - 2 goals and 1 assist to lead Surrey's attack en route to victory.
It was the 2nd straight road game for Burnaby where they allowed a 3-1 third period lead to slip away.
Harrison May did allow 5 goals on 45 Eagles shots. But if it were not for his strong play in the opening 40 minutes, the game could have already been decided before the third period had began.
The Express have now lost all 7 road games in the month of October. And are 1-6-0-1 in October.
The rematch for these two teams went 24 hours later at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre.
The Express hoped that a return home would reverse their fortunes. The Express went into Saturday's game with a 3-0-0-1 record on home ice.
The first period was better for Burnaby. More time spent in Surrey's end of the rink and getting some chances but couldn't get one past Vinny Lessard.
The best chance the Express had was a breakaway for Garrick Perry, but Lessard shut the door on the struggling Perry as he tried to beat him between the legs. Perry went into Saturday's game without a point in his last 6 games, and without a goal in his last 9 games.
The game was scoreless through 20 minutes with the Express holding a 11-7 shot advantage.
Both Harrison May and Vinny Lessard kept up their strong play in the 2nd period. Most notably Lessard, who had turned aside a number of quality scoring chances to keep the game scoreless.
Finally the ice was broken late in the 2nd period when Tyler Morley blasted a drop pass from Cole Gelly past the glove of Harrison May at 18:09.
Before the period was done, the Express had a chance to pull even with Doug Marshall being called for tripping giving Burnaby a late powerplay.
The Express powerplay looked dangerous. Their best scoring chance came in the dying seconds when they got a puck past Lessard, but the puck curled away from the crease and stayed out of the net.
Surrey took their 1-0 lead to the room after two periods. Mainly due to the strong goaltending of Vinny Lessard who had stopped all 27 Express shots through 2 periods.
And when a goaltender is playing well, he will need a bit of luck on his side, and the puck curling away from his crease could be a little puck luck on the side of Lessard.
Finally the Express broke through and got a puck past Lessard on their 32nd shot of the game. Brad Reid won a faceoff in the Eagles zone. Reid won it back to Matt Ius who had his initial shot blocked, but his 2nd shot beat Lessard upstairs to pull the Express even.
Surrey re-stored their lead midway through the third when Grant Toulmin took advantage of a Burnaby turnover in the neutral zone. Toulmin carried the puck over the Express line and leaned into a wrist shot so much so he fell giving the shot some extra torque to beat Harrison May.
In the final 10 minutes of the game, the Express got some chances to pull even again, but couldn't get another one past Lessard. Then the Eagles clamped down defensively as the third wore on and shut the Express down the rest of the way.
Final score:
Surrey 2 Express 1.
The loss was Burnaby's first regulation loss on home ice this season. Both teams are headed in opposite directions following Surrey's sweep of the Express in the home and home. Surrey had won 8 of their 9 games following the win Saturday. Then after coming from behind again in the third period Sunday and knocking off Trail 6-4, the Eagles are 9-1 in the month of October.
Main reason for the Express falling on this night, Burnaby ran into a hot goaltender. Vinny Lessard was outstanding all night long turning aside many quality Burnaby scoring chances.
Meanwhile, Burnaby has now lost 8 of 9 games in the month of October.
Shots:
Burnaby 35
Surrey 25
Powerplays:
Both Surrey & Burnaby 0/2
My 3 stars,
I didn't agree with the selections of the 3 stars Saturday night,
So here's my selections,
3. Grant Toulmin - Scored the game winning goal midway through the third period.
2. Matt Ius - The only Express player to get a puck past Vinny Lessard.
1. Vinny Lessard - The main reason why Surrey prevailed Saturday night vs. Burnaby. He was great stopping 34 of 35 Express shots. The Eagles don't win on this night without his strong play.
Up next:
A home and home series with the Langley Chiefs. The series begins Thursday in Langley with the Express making their first visit to the brand new Langley Events Centre.
Return match goes Friday at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre.
Burnaby was hoping to build off their 9-5 win Wednesday night that snapped Burnaby's 6 game losing streak.
Both teams went into the series heading in opposite directions in the month of October. Surrey was 6-1 in October, while the Express had just 1 win in their 7 games in October.
The series started Friday night in Surrey. The first period saw the Express generate a few chances, but it was the Eagles who had plenty of momentum thanks to three powerplays and buzzing all around the Burnaby net. The Eagles however couldn't put any of their 15 first period shots past Harrison May and the teams went to the room scoreless through 20 minutes.
Rich Manley opened the scoring in the opening minute of the 2nd period as Manley took a feed from Jon Puskar and came down the left wing and slid a shot through the legs of Paul Barclay.
And despite the shots in favour of Surrey, the Express had the important first goal of the game.
The Express lead didn't last long as the Eagles tied the game while shorthanded. Mike Krgovich broke in on a 2 on 1 break with Tyler Morley, and Krgovich beat Harrison May with a wrist shot to the stick side.
The Eagles continued to press in the second period, but much like the first had a tough time getting a puck past Harrison May. May's strong goaltending allowed the Express to take the lead late in the 2nd period when Matt Ridley scored his first goal of the season when he jumped in the rush took a feed from Puskar and snapped a shot past Barclay to restore the Express lead.
Ridley's goal was just the 2nd goal of the season from an Express blueliner.
The Express took their lead into the third period and added to it early in the third. Matt Ius put a pass on the tape of Dylan Herold to give the Express a 3-1 lead 1:20 into the third.
Now for the 2nd straight road game, the Express had a 3-1 lead in the third period. But much like last Sunday in Powell River, the lead didn't guarantee the Express victory.
Richard Vanderhoek blasted a shot from the right circle that handcuffed Harrison May just over a minute after Herold's goal to cut the Express lead back down to one.
The Express had their chances to restore their two goal advantage following Vanderhoek's goal with a pair of powerplays, but couldn't come up with a clutch powerplay goal.
Then with the Eagles on a powerplay of their own, they erased the Express lead as Chris Santiago beat Harrison May with a wrist shot over his glove to tie the game at 3 at 8:35.
So for the 2nd straight road game, the Express had allowed a 3-1 lead to slip away.
However, the Express had another opportunity to re-store their lead with a powerplay but again came up firing a blank. Much thanks to the desperation of the Surrey penalty killers getting down and blocking numerous Express shots.
Following the conclusion of the Express third powerplay, the Eagles took the lead for the first time in the game. Surrey sent the puck into the Burnaby zone, and while the puck was sliding down the ice, an Eagle player went to the bench and Andrew Wallace came on the ice and picked up the puck and out waited Harrison May to give Surrey a 4-3 lead.
The goal raised the question of whether or not the Eagles had to many players on the ice. After some discussion from the officiating crew, the goal was allowed to stand.
Now the Express had just under 7 minutes to pull even. 2 minutes of that time was erased moments after Wallace's goal when Luke Challier was sent off for checking to the head and given a game misconduct. The Express did kill off the powerplay. But when the game resumed at 5 on 5, Surrey sat back in a defensive shell not allowing Burnaby to generate much of an attack.
The Eagles then iced the game when Matt Ridley coughed up the puck at his own blueline and the Eagles went the other way and Mike Krgovich scored his 2nd of the game on a feed from Andrew Wallace.
Final score:
Surrey 5 Burnaby 3.
Shots:
Surrey 45
Burnaby 27
Powerplays:
Burnaby 0/6
Surrey 1/7
3 stars:
3. Tyler Morley - 2 assists and was strong on the penalty kill all night for Surrey.
2. Andrew Wallace - Scored game winning goal and set up Krgovich's insurance marker in the third period.
1. Mike Krgovich - 2 goals and 1 assist to lead Surrey's attack en route to victory.
It was the 2nd straight road game for Burnaby where they allowed a 3-1 third period lead to slip away.
Harrison May did allow 5 goals on 45 Eagles shots. But if it were not for his strong play in the opening 40 minutes, the game could have already been decided before the third period had began.
The Express have now lost all 7 road games in the month of October. And are 1-6-0-1 in October.
The rematch for these two teams went 24 hours later at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre.
The Express hoped that a return home would reverse their fortunes. The Express went into Saturday's game with a 3-0-0-1 record on home ice.
The first period was better for Burnaby. More time spent in Surrey's end of the rink and getting some chances but couldn't get one past Vinny Lessard.
The best chance the Express had was a breakaway for Garrick Perry, but Lessard shut the door on the struggling Perry as he tried to beat him between the legs. Perry went into Saturday's game without a point in his last 6 games, and without a goal in his last 9 games.
The game was scoreless through 20 minutes with the Express holding a 11-7 shot advantage.
Both Harrison May and Vinny Lessard kept up their strong play in the 2nd period. Most notably Lessard, who had turned aside a number of quality scoring chances to keep the game scoreless.
Finally the ice was broken late in the 2nd period when Tyler Morley blasted a drop pass from Cole Gelly past the glove of Harrison May at 18:09.
Before the period was done, the Express had a chance to pull even with Doug Marshall being called for tripping giving Burnaby a late powerplay.
The Express powerplay looked dangerous. Their best scoring chance came in the dying seconds when they got a puck past Lessard, but the puck curled away from the crease and stayed out of the net.
Surrey took their 1-0 lead to the room after two periods. Mainly due to the strong goaltending of Vinny Lessard who had stopped all 27 Express shots through 2 periods.
And when a goaltender is playing well, he will need a bit of luck on his side, and the puck curling away from his crease could be a little puck luck on the side of Lessard.
Finally the Express broke through and got a puck past Lessard on their 32nd shot of the game. Brad Reid won a faceoff in the Eagles zone. Reid won it back to Matt Ius who had his initial shot blocked, but his 2nd shot beat Lessard upstairs to pull the Express even.
Surrey re-stored their lead midway through the third when Grant Toulmin took advantage of a Burnaby turnover in the neutral zone. Toulmin carried the puck over the Express line and leaned into a wrist shot so much so he fell giving the shot some extra torque to beat Harrison May.
In the final 10 minutes of the game, the Express got some chances to pull even again, but couldn't get another one past Lessard. Then the Eagles clamped down defensively as the third wore on and shut the Express down the rest of the way.
Final score:
Surrey 2 Express 1.
The loss was Burnaby's first regulation loss on home ice this season. Both teams are headed in opposite directions following Surrey's sweep of the Express in the home and home. Surrey had won 8 of their 9 games following the win Saturday. Then after coming from behind again in the third period Sunday and knocking off Trail 6-4, the Eagles are 9-1 in the month of October.
Main reason for the Express falling on this night, Burnaby ran into a hot goaltender. Vinny Lessard was outstanding all night long turning aside many quality Burnaby scoring chances.
Meanwhile, Burnaby has now lost 8 of 9 games in the month of October.
Shots:
Burnaby 35
Surrey 25
Powerplays:
Both Surrey & Burnaby 0/2
My 3 stars,
I didn't agree with the selections of the 3 stars Saturday night,
So here's my selections,
3. Grant Toulmin - Scored the game winning goal midway through the third period.
2. Matt Ius - The only Express player to get a puck past Vinny Lessard.
1. Vinny Lessard - The main reason why Surrey prevailed Saturday night vs. Burnaby. He was great stopping 34 of 35 Express shots. The Eagles don't win on this night without his strong play.
Up next:
A home and home series with the Langley Chiefs. The series begins Thursday in Langley with the Express making their first visit to the brand new Langley Events Centre.
Return match goes Friday at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
EAGLES @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS
Here's the highlights from Saturday's 2-1 Eagles win over the Express.
Highlights courtesy of Cary Derksen of Purple Penguin Productions.
Highlights courtesy of Cary Derksen of Purple Penguin Productions.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
EXPRESS SMOKE TRAIL
Step away from the panic button! I repeat, step away from the panic button! The Express have won a hockey game again.
They snapped their 6 game losing streak (all on the road) with a 9-5 home ice victory over the Trail Smoke Eaters Wednesday night.
Burnaby was looking for a little pay back on Trail after they knocked off Burnaby 5-4 in overtime in Trail on October 3rd.
The Express were hoping that they would get back on the winning track once they returned to the comfortable confines of home ice. The Express didn't have much time to dwell on their previous outing, just 2 days after falling 4-3 in Powell River Sunday afternoon in a game that saw Burnaby let a 3-1 third period lead slip away.
Heading into the game, the Express needed a few things to start to go their way to get back into the win column. The first was to get off to a good start. Most notably score the first goal. The Express had allowed the games first goal in 5 of the 6 games during their losing streak.
They got that all important first goal from Jon Puskar just 3 minutes into the game as he dangled through a Trail defender then fired it through the legs of Kiefer Smiley.
Hear Puskar's 1-0 goal here.
The lead only lasted just 6 minutes as the Smoke Eaters responded with a powerplay goal by Tye Lewis to tie the game. That was followed less than 4 minutes later by a goal from Nick Sandor who knocked the puck out of the air and into the net to give Trail a 2-1 lead they took into the 2nd period.
Burnaby's Sander had a response for the Express as Konrad hacked and whacked home his first goal of the season 2:32 into the period to tie the game.
The game didn't remain tied for long as the Smokies re-stored their lead less than 2 minutes later as Nick Sandor scored his 2nd of the game beating Harrison May with a wrist shot from the right boards.
Trail then took a two goal advantage midway through the 2nd period as Steve Koshey skated around the Burnaby net and come out front untouched and beat Harrison May to give the Smoke Eaters a 4-2 lead.
Now the Express needed to provide a response if they were going to snap their losing skid.
The Express pulled back within one moments after Koshey's goal by scoring a powerplay goal by Dylan Herold with Koshey sitting in the penalty box. Herold knocked the puck out of the air and past Smiley to pull the Express back within one.
Hear Herold's first goal here.
The goal for the captain was his first point in 6 games.
Moments after Herold's goal came the games turning point. Luke Challier was called for roughing and Burnaby couldn't allow the Smoke Eaters to score their third powerplay goal of the game at this point if they were to attempt a comeback. The Express got the big kill they needed and got some momentum from it.
Challier got involved in the play right after he served his penalty as he put a pass into the slot for Herold who quickly snapped home his 2nd of the period to pull the Express even.
Hear Herold's 2nd of the game here.
From that on, the Express 2nd period magic continued to roll. The Express added late period goals by Jon Puskar his 2nd of the game and Matt Ius to give the Express a 6-4 lead heading to the third period.
Hear Ius' 6-4 goal here.
In total the Express scored 5 goals in the 2nd period. They have now outscored their opposition 26-8 in the 2nd period this season.
Now with a 2 goal lead the Express needed to finish the job in the third period. All they had to do was think back to Sunday with the knowledge that a 2 goal lead can slip away and they can't stop working. They have to keep pressing forward.
Burnaby did just that. Midway through the third the Express iced it as Konrad Sander took advantage of a falling Graeme Strukoff to cut to the net, his shot hit the post, but Brodie Jamieson banged home the rebound for his first BCHL goal.
Jamieson then added his 2nd of the game 4 minutes later when Challier cut down the left wing, put the puck to the net and Jamieson poked a loose puck home that was lying in the crease.
Hear Jamieson's 2nd goal of the game here.
Burnaby's 3rd line finished their strong night when Challier scored on the powerplay for Burnaby's 7th straight goal and a 9-4 lead.
Trail rounded out the scoring in the final minute when Travis St. Denis fed a pass cross ice to Strukoff who roofed it on Harrison May to round out the scoring. The goal was Trail's 3rd powerplay goal of the game.
Final score:
Express 9 Smoke Eaters 5.
Shots:
Burnaby 37
Trail 34
Powerplays:
Burnaby 2/6
Trail 3/10
3 stars:
3. Luke Challier - 1 goal and 4 assists to lead the Express offensive attack.
2. Jon Puskar - 2 goals and 1 assist for the Express.
1. Dylan Herold - Scored 2 big goals in the 2nd period to erase a 4-2 Express deficit in the 2nd period.
The win for Burnaby snapped their 6 game losing streak. Meanwhile Trail is still in search of their first road win of the season. It was the third straight road game for Trail in which they have allowed at least 8 goals.
The win for Burnaby was much needed on so many levels. First off all, to give the team a boost by finding that winning feeling again. Plus, they needed a full team effort and they got just that from all 18 skaters on this night. Every single player on the roster stepped up and played to their potential.
Burnaby need their top 6 group of Manley, Puskar, Reid, Herold, Ius and Perry to all find the scoresheet again and be the Express best players. And they all did just that with 5 of those 6 players hitting the scoresheet. If Perry had some puck luck on this night he would have hit the sheet as well.
The top 6 forward group combined for 5 goals and 6 assists for 11 points. Burnaby's third line of Luke Challier, Brodie Jamieson and Konrad Sander all broke out with Challier leading the offensive attack for the Express with a 5 point night. 1 goal and 4 assists. That line combined for 4 goals and 7 assists for 11 points.
Burnaby's 4th line of Sean Dinsmore, Clay Wilson and Paul De Jersey also played well providing energy all night.
Up next:
The first crucial games of the season for the Express. A home and home with the Surrey Eagles. The win for Burnaby pulled them into a tie for 3rd place in the Coastal Conference with 14 points. The Express head into this home and home series with Surrey 5 points back of the Eagles for 2nd place in the conference. This series is crucial for Burnaby to stay within striking distance of the Eagles.
They snapped their 6 game losing streak (all on the road) with a 9-5 home ice victory over the Trail Smoke Eaters Wednesday night.
Burnaby was looking for a little pay back on Trail after they knocked off Burnaby 5-4 in overtime in Trail on October 3rd.
The Express were hoping that they would get back on the winning track once they returned to the comfortable confines of home ice. The Express didn't have much time to dwell on their previous outing, just 2 days after falling 4-3 in Powell River Sunday afternoon in a game that saw Burnaby let a 3-1 third period lead slip away.
Heading into the game, the Express needed a few things to start to go their way to get back into the win column. The first was to get off to a good start. Most notably score the first goal. The Express had allowed the games first goal in 5 of the 6 games during their losing streak.
They got that all important first goal from Jon Puskar just 3 minutes into the game as he dangled through a Trail defender then fired it through the legs of Kiefer Smiley.
Hear Puskar's 1-0 goal here.
The lead only lasted just 6 minutes as the Smoke Eaters responded with a powerplay goal by Tye Lewis to tie the game. That was followed less than 4 minutes later by a goal from Nick Sandor who knocked the puck out of the air and into the net to give Trail a 2-1 lead they took into the 2nd period.
Burnaby's Sander had a response for the Express as Konrad hacked and whacked home his first goal of the season 2:32 into the period to tie the game.
The game didn't remain tied for long as the Smokies re-stored their lead less than 2 minutes later as Nick Sandor scored his 2nd of the game beating Harrison May with a wrist shot from the right boards.
Trail then took a two goal advantage midway through the 2nd period as Steve Koshey skated around the Burnaby net and come out front untouched and beat Harrison May to give the Smoke Eaters a 4-2 lead.
Now the Express needed to provide a response if they were going to snap their losing skid.
The Express pulled back within one moments after Koshey's goal by scoring a powerplay goal by Dylan Herold with Koshey sitting in the penalty box. Herold knocked the puck out of the air and past Smiley to pull the Express back within one.
Hear Herold's first goal here.
The goal for the captain was his first point in 6 games.
Moments after Herold's goal came the games turning point. Luke Challier was called for roughing and Burnaby couldn't allow the Smoke Eaters to score their third powerplay goal of the game at this point if they were to attempt a comeback. The Express got the big kill they needed and got some momentum from it.
Challier got involved in the play right after he served his penalty as he put a pass into the slot for Herold who quickly snapped home his 2nd of the period to pull the Express even.
Hear Herold's 2nd of the game here.
From that on, the Express 2nd period magic continued to roll. The Express added late period goals by Jon Puskar his 2nd of the game and Matt Ius to give the Express a 6-4 lead heading to the third period.
Hear Ius' 6-4 goal here.
In total the Express scored 5 goals in the 2nd period. They have now outscored their opposition 26-8 in the 2nd period this season.
Now with a 2 goal lead the Express needed to finish the job in the third period. All they had to do was think back to Sunday with the knowledge that a 2 goal lead can slip away and they can't stop working. They have to keep pressing forward.
Burnaby did just that. Midway through the third the Express iced it as Konrad Sander took advantage of a falling Graeme Strukoff to cut to the net, his shot hit the post, but Brodie Jamieson banged home the rebound for his first BCHL goal.
Jamieson then added his 2nd of the game 4 minutes later when Challier cut down the left wing, put the puck to the net and Jamieson poked a loose puck home that was lying in the crease.
Hear Jamieson's 2nd goal of the game here.
Burnaby's 3rd line finished their strong night when Challier scored on the powerplay for Burnaby's 7th straight goal and a 9-4 lead.
Trail rounded out the scoring in the final minute when Travis St. Denis fed a pass cross ice to Strukoff who roofed it on Harrison May to round out the scoring. The goal was Trail's 3rd powerplay goal of the game.
Final score:
Express 9 Smoke Eaters 5.
Shots:
Burnaby 37
Trail 34
Powerplays:
Burnaby 2/6
Trail 3/10
3 stars:
3. Luke Challier - 1 goal and 4 assists to lead the Express offensive attack.
2. Jon Puskar - 2 goals and 1 assist for the Express.
1. Dylan Herold - Scored 2 big goals in the 2nd period to erase a 4-2 Express deficit in the 2nd period.
The win for Burnaby snapped their 6 game losing streak. Meanwhile Trail is still in search of their first road win of the season. It was the third straight road game for Trail in which they have allowed at least 8 goals.
The win for Burnaby was much needed on so many levels. First off all, to give the team a boost by finding that winning feeling again. Plus, they needed a full team effort and they got just that from all 18 skaters on this night. Every single player on the roster stepped up and played to their potential.
Burnaby need their top 6 group of Manley, Puskar, Reid, Herold, Ius and Perry to all find the scoresheet again and be the Express best players. And they all did just that with 5 of those 6 players hitting the scoresheet. If Perry had some puck luck on this night he would have hit the sheet as well.
The top 6 forward group combined for 5 goals and 6 assists for 11 points. Burnaby's third line of Luke Challier, Brodie Jamieson and Konrad Sander all broke out with Challier leading the offensive attack for the Express with a 5 point night. 1 goal and 4 assists. That line combined for 4 goals and 7 assists for 11 points.
Burnaby's 4th line of Sean Dinsmore, Clay Wilson and Paul De Jersey also played well providing energy all night.
Up next:
The first crucial games of the season for the Express. A home and home with the Surrey Eagles. The win for Burnaby pulled them into a tie for 3rd place in the Coastal Conference with 14 points. The Express head into this home and home series with Surrey 5 points back of the Eagles for 2nd place in the conference. This series is crucial for Burnaby to stay within striking distance of the Eagles.
SMOKE EATERS @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS
Here's the video highlights from Burnaby's 9-5 win Wednesday over the Trail Smoke Eaters.
Highlights courtesy of Cary Derksen and Purple Penguin Productions.
Highlights courtesy of Cary Derksen and Purple Penguin Productions.
JIM ROBSON INTERVIEW
During the 2nd intermission of Wednesday's game vs. Trail I had a chance to interview Hall of Fame Vancouver Canucks broadcaster Jim Robson.
Hear my interview with Jim Robson here.
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