SCHOLARSHIPS UPDATE

Apologies for the lack of updates on the blog. My schedule has been pretty busy from the time the Express were eliminated from the playoffs until now. And that included my trip to Russia.

I have to provide some updates on some Express scholarships since the season came to an end.

During the regular season, the Express were able to get scholarships for Garrick Perry, Brad Reid, Massimo Lamacchia, Jared Eng and Destry Straight. And the player commitments have continued from the conclusion of the season in early March.

Defenceman Matt Mazzarolo has signed on to play Division III Hockey next season with Neumann University in Pennsylvania. Mazzarolo was acquired by the Express early in the season in a trade with the Surrey Eagles. The 20 year old was a steady physical presence for the Express this past season. He played 33 games with the Express and scored 1 goal and 5 assists for 6 points.

Mark Begert is following in the footsteps of fellow rookie Destry Straight as Begert has secured a scholarship to Boston College for next season.

Begert had a very solid rookie campaign in the BCHL. He showed fine progression and development throughout the course of the season. He was one of only three players to play in all 60 games during the regular season. Massimo Lamacchia and Jason Grecica were the others. Begert scored 4 goals and 7 assists for 11 points. Three of Begert's goals came on the powerplay. The other, which was his first in the BCHL came into an empty net after exiting the penalty box on December 17th vs. the Quesnel Millionaires.

Mike Krgovich became an instant key member of the Express attack when his rights were acquired from the Salmon Arm Silverbacks in November. He gave the Express some scoring punch, grit and the ability to be relied upon as a key checker vs. the oppositions best players. He will now take his talents up Burnaby mountain where he will play for the two time defending BC Intercollegiate Hockey champion SFU clan for next season.

In 36 games with the Express, Krgovich was a point per game player scoring 17 goals and 19 assists. He was a BCHL all star with the Surrey Eagles in the 09-10 season. He had 139 points in 171 career BCHL games with the Express, Eagles and Williams Lake Timberwolves. He also played 96 career WHL games with the Red Deer Rebels and Chilliwack Bruins.

Last but certainly not least was Riley Mcintosh. He has committed to Lakehead University in Thunder Bay Ontario. Ri-Mac had a fantastic 20 year old season with the Express. He was named the teams MVP and Top defenceman. He was the anchor on the Express blueline all season long.

His steady play made life easier for the Express when he was on the ice. He used his 6'5 frame to his advantage by blocking countless number of shots by being in the right position. He was regularly matched up against the top forwards of the Express opposition. His effortless style allowed him to play upwards of 30 plus minutes per night. And towards the end of the season it wasn't uncommon that he would play 35 plus minutes and take 4 minute shifts. His skating and puck moving ability allowed the Express to quickly breakout of their own zone and get on the attack.

Mcintosh led all Express defenceman in scoring with 11 goals and 36 points. He is the second player the Express have sent to Lakehead University. All time leading scorer Mark Soares is one year removed from a 4 year tenure at Lakehead following Soares winning a Royal Bank Cup with the Express in 2006.

With the addition of Mcintosh, Begert, Mazzarolo and Krgovich to the list of commitments the Express had in the regular season, they have sent a total of 9 players to post secondary institutions for next season. Not a bad number for the Express organization.

MCNEELY SIGNS WITH LONG ISLAND

Former Express teammate Brad Hunt and somehow a die hard Islander fan is jealous of Tyler McNeely, the former Express captain has signed a one year deal with the New York Islanders.

This season McNeely completed a 4 year career at Northeastern University where he scored 44 goals and 95 points. He then signed with the Islanders AHL affiliate in Bridgeport to finish the season where he averaged more than a point per game with 5 goals and 11 points in 10 games.

McNeely played three seasons with the Express from 2004-07 scoring 215 points in 161 games. His best year in the regular season at least came in the 06-07 when he scored 32 goals and 104 points. But he is best remembered for his performance in the 2006 playoffs. He led all BCHL scorers with 36 points in 20 games including scoring the Fred Page Cup winning goal in game 6 vs. the Penticton Vees. That was part of the journey that eventually saw McNeely lift the Royal Bank Cup.

STRAIGHT'S FINAL RANKING

NHL Central Scouting came out with it's final rankings for the draft coming up in June in Minnesota.

Express forward Destry Straight's ranking came in at 82nd overall among North American skaters.

The Coastal Conference rookie of the year drew plenty of interest from NHL clubs early in the year and didn't dissapoint. He was selected to participate at the CJHL Top Prospects Game in Dauphin Manitoba in December. He returned from the trip to the prairies and was one of the Express' most consistent point producers helping lead the Express to their first playoff appearance in three seasons.

Straight finished the year with 26 goals and 67 points which was second in Express scoring. He then added another goal and two assists in four playoff games.

Other BCHL players listed include, Westside's Micheal King and Trail's Joey Baker ranked 133rd and 134th. Baker's Trail teammate Sam Mellor is ranked 147th. Pearce Eviston and Madison Dias of the Victoria Grizzlies are slotted 153rd and 165th. Ryan Renz who split this past season in Alberni Valley and Vernon was ranked 208th.

ATKINSON AND MICHELLE EXPRESS BOUND

The trade last December that sent Brad Reid to the Salmon Arm Silverbacks has now been completed.

Clinton Atkinson D (91) and Cody Michelle FW (92) are coming to the Express as the future considerations to finalize the trade.

Atkinson will be entering his 20 year old season next year. He had a fine season last year finishing third among all BCHL defencemen with 48 points. Plus, his 45 assists were second among defencemen trailing only Coastal Conference MVP Joey Laleggia who was the top play maker in the BCHL with 62 helpers. In 105 career BCHL games, Atkinson has 5 goals and 50 assists for 55 points.

Express Head Coach Jon Calvano is familiar Atkinson having coached him with the Vancouver North West Giants in 06-07.

In his first season in the BCHL, Michelle had 11 goals and 28 points in 56 games. He brings some decent size 6' 173lbs and grit to the Express lineup. Prior to coming to Salmon Arm he played with the Prince Albert Mintos of the Saskatchewan Midget League.

Michelle captained Team Saskatchewan to a gold medal in the Aboriginal Midget Championships in 2010. He teamed up with Interior Conference Rookie of the year Bryce Gervais and Taylor Fauchoux for 46 points in that tournament.

WIERCIOCH TO MAKE NHL DEBUT

Former Express Patrick Wiercioch is expected to make his NHL debut tonight for the Ottawa Senators when they take on the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh.

He got the call to fill in for Sergei Gonchar who is sidelined with a concussion.

Wiercioch played the 06-07 season with the Burnaby Express as a 16 year old. He had 9 goals and 25 points in 42 games in his lone season in Express colors.

He then went to the USHL's Omaha Lancers where he was drafted by the Sens in the 2nd round 42nd overall in 2008.

He played the previous two seasons at the University of Denver. This season he's played his first full season of pro hockey with the Sens AHL affiliate in Binghamton racking up 4 goals and 16 points in 63 games.

From what I have read, Wiercioch had a slow start this season making the transition to the pros. But has been one of the baby Sens better players in the last 6 weeks.

Weircioch was quoted as saying "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't (nervous)". His parents are trying to make their way to Carolina for the game.

When he steps on the ice, Weircioch will become the 7th former Express to play in an NHL game and 2nd this season to make his debut after Mark Dekanich played earlier this season for the Nashville Predators.

EXPRESS TOP PLAYS VIDEOS

Here's two more videos from Cary Derksen to end the season featuring the top hits and plays of this past season.

HITS:


PLAYS:

EAGLES SWEEP EXPRESS

The Surrey Eagles completed a 4 game sweep of the Express with a 3-1 win.

A shorthanded Express roster played one of their best games of the playoffs.

The Express played without injured players, Mike Krgovich, Mitchell Deacon, Garrick Perry, Matt Mazzarolo and the suspended Cody Castro.

Coming up were AP's Alex Kerfoot, Mitchell Fyffe, Joey Santucci and Djordje Leposavic.

Despite the roster lacking in Junior A experience, the Express battled the Eagles hard all game long.

The difference in this game was of the main reasons Surrey completed the sweep. And that is the Eagles top line leading their attack. Richard Vanderhoek scored a pair of goals. Jeff Vanderlugt scored the other Eagles goal.

Destry Straight scored the lone Express goal in the second period off the rush to pull the Express even.

A tip of the hat is due to the Express. They battled hard all game long hoping that their season wouldn't come to an end on home ice.

Karel St. Laurent came up with some timely saves most notably in the second period off of Massimo Lamacchia and Austin Carroll. Khaleed Devji had another strong game in the Express crease.

The penalty killing had it's best night of the playoffs going perfect on this night. But the powerplay never found a way to get in track in this series. During the regular season the Express powerplay was among the top 5 in the BCHL. Surrey completely shut it down and did not allow a single Express powerplay goal in the 4 game series.

Whenever a season comes to an end, your heart always goes out to the 20 year olds. Their junior careers come to an end. Jason Grecica, Riley Mcintosh played their final games tonight. While Mike Krgovich, Matt Mazzarolo watched from the stands, and of course captain Garrick Perry was mending a dislocated shoulder after having surgery a few days ago. Jared Eng and Massimo Lamacchia also saw their junior careers come to an end as they have signed scholarships for next season.

Congratulations to the Surrey Eagles on winning this series. They will play the Langley Chiefs for the third straight year in the playoffs after they completed a 4 game sweep of their own with a 6-5 overtime win over the Alberni Valley Bulldogs.