VEES DOUBLE EXPRESS

The defending RBC Cup national champion Penticton Vees doubled the Express 6-3 on Sunday afternoon.

The visitors started quickly as Cody Depourcq and Wade Murphy scored on the first two Vees shots on rookie Daniel Urbani who got the start in goal for the Express.

Kolten Grieve cut the Express deficit down to one as his wrist shot from the left wing found it's way past Nic Renyard. The goal for Grieve was the start of a good game for the all AP line of Grieve, Spencer Quon and Cole Todd. That line had a number of good energy shifts in the Vees zone during the game. And their physicality was beneficial for the Express.

Adam Rossignol came close to tying the game at two for the Express as he had a great chance in front of the net, but his backhand went too high as he tried to roof it over Renyard.

One of the consistent story lines in this game was Penticton's response after Express goals.

Ryan Gropp protected the puck well against an Express defenceman and cut to the net and slid the puck through the legs of Urbani to give the Vees a 3-1 lead going to the second period.

The Express responded early in the second as Brad Ryan scored his first Express goal blasting it past Renyard from the right point just 35 seconds into the period.

Again the Vees had a quick response as former Express John Siemer got a breakaway and the slick forward made no mistake scoring on a slick deke to the forehand.

With the Express shorthanded Adam Rossignol had a chance for redemption for his chance in the first period as he was hauled down going to the net and was awarded on the penalty shot.

On the free pass, he shaded to the right but was denied as he tried to snap a shot to the stick side on Renyard.

The second period was notable for the Express for the powerplays they had. They couldn't score on a double minor powerplay which also included a 5 on 3 for nearly 2 minutes.

Late in the period the man advantage did strike as Marc Biega scored his second of the year firing a point shot past a screened Renyard.

For a third time in the game the Vees responded to an Express goal to restore their two goal lead. This was a tough one to take for the Express. Wade Murphy's shot from the slot was stopped, but the rebound bounced off the backside of Sam Mellor and past Urbani to give the Vees a 5-3 lead.

Chad Katunar started the third period in goal for Penticton. He finished the game strong for the Vees turning away all 8 Express shots sent his way.

Brad McClure finished the scoring into an empty net in the final seconds of the game.

The Express are on the road the next two weekends with a double dip in Prince George next weekend followed the next weekend with stops in Vernon and Penticton.

JON CALVANO SHOW

On the latest edition of the Jon Calvano show we discuss the new look Express games last weekend vs. Merritt and Prince George. We talk about the impact of Garrett Forster, Ben Isreael and Adam Rossignol. We break down how all the injuries the Express have had this season have impacted the season. And we look ahead to the three games this weekend vs. Langley, Merritt and Penticton.

     

CENTENNIALS @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

Here's the highlights of the 5-4 win for the Express over Merritt Friday.

 

 Highlights courtesy of Cary Derksen.

SPRUCE KINGS TOP EXPRESS

The Prince George Spruce Kings topped a short staffed Express roster that dressed just 9 forwards handing the Express a 7-2 set back.

The teams played a fairly even first period.

The only goal of the period came off a won faceoff in the Express zone. A point shot by Trevor Esau was stopped by Cole Huggins, but Shayne Morrisey roofed the rebound over Cole Huggins.

Prince George edged the Express 11-10 in shots in the first period.

The Spruce Kings quickly extended their lead in the second period. David Stephens snuck one through the legs of Huggins. That was followed just over two minutes later by a goal by Jeremiah Leudtke sliding home a pass from Chad Staley at the lip of the crease.

That goal saw Cole Huggins have his night come to an end after allowing three goals on fifteen shots.

A powerplay goal by Cameron Lawson snapping a shot through the legs of Daniel Urbani put Prince George up by four.

Exactly one minute later the Express got on the board as Will Cook scored on a wrap around. The goal was a measure of revenge for Cook as he thought he scored on an identical looking wrap around attempt on Kirk Thompson earlier in the period.

Lyndon Martell less than two minutes later put Prince George back up by four as he snapped home a pass from behind the net by David Stephens.

The Express didn't fold the tent in the third period. They came out with some jump looking to claw back into the game.

Justin Georgeson was hauled down cutting to the net after he got in behind the Prince George defence. He was awarded on a penalty shot. On the free pass, Georgeson shaded to the right then cut across the crease looking to opening up a more room but Georgeson's shot went wide of the net.

Zach Pryzbek scored on a wrist shot from the slot on a set up by Will Cook. Pryzbek had a number of quality scoring chances in the game.

Two late goals by Colten Hansen and Lyndon Martell's second of the game closed out the scoring.

The final shots reflected the solid effort put forth by the Express despite the one sided score as the Express outshot Prince George 37-35.

Next weekend the Express have three games in less than three nights starting with a key game in the playoff race Friday night vs. Langley.

ADAM ROCKWOOD GOAL

Click on the link to see Adam Rockwood's goal for the Express Friday night vs. Merritt.

FASTHockey :: Video Clip

PAVEL DATSYUK ERR... ADAM ROCKWOOD LIFTS EXPRESS TO DRAMATIC WIN

The only difference between Adam Rockwood and Pavel Datysuk on Rockwood's overtime winner for the Express Friday was that Rockwood wears 17 and Datsyuk wears 13 for the Detroit Red Wings.

The Express rookie pulled a Pavel Datsyuk goal out of his bag of tricks on his second overtime penalty shot goal that gave the Coquitlam Express a 5-4 overtime win over the Merritt Centennials.


It was the first game for the Express following the BCHL trade deadline the day before.

Newcomers Ben Israel and Garrett Forster made their Express debuts Friday. And they each left their mark on the game.

Isreal's impact came in the opening minutes of the game with big hit on a Centennials player cutting across the middle of the ice.

Merritt jumped out to a 2-0 lead on the Express after 20 minutes on goals by Sebastien Pare and Dylan Chanter. And they outshot the Express 13-3 in the opening period.

The Express were short staffed for the game. With Jackson Cressey and Anthony Conti dressed as AP's. And they had a hand in the Express win as well.

Coquitlam came out with some good jump to open the second period. They erased the two goal deficit quickly with Jackson Cressey scoring his first BCHL goal and that was followed 45 seconds later on a goal by Mitchell Fyffe to tie the game at two.

Merritt took a 3-2 lead late in the second period on a goal by Silvan Harper. Again the Express showed good resiliency and got that goal back just 38 seconds later on the first Express goal by Garrett Forster.

Jackson Cressey scored his second of the game 6 minutes into the third re-directing a Michael Maciag point shot to give the Express their first lead of the game.

Dylan Chanter scored his second of the game 5 minutes later to tie the game at 4 and we went to overtime.

Lets go straight to the second overtime. Adam Rockwood was hauled down going to the Merritt net. The hooking penalty to Sean Maktaak resulted in the automatic penalty shot.

On the penalty shot, the Express rookie knew what he was going to do right away. And made no mistake pulling off the Pavel Datsyuk type goal to give the Express the dramatic overtime win sending the whole building in Coquitlam into a frenzy after what they had just witnessed.

The goal and the win was such a huge morale booster for the Express. It has been a tough go for the them the last number of games. And winning in this fashion was the perfect tonic for the Express.

They were outshot 39-19. Cole Huggins provided the steady goaltending to keep the Express in the game. And their stick to it type attitude allowed them to battle through some adversity and find a way to dig deep and pick up a character win for sure.

The Express are back within one point of Langley for the final playoff spot in the Mainland division. The Rivermen were idle on Friday.

BEN ISRAEL INTERVIEW

At the morning skate prior to tonight's game vs. the Merritt Centennials I had a chance to speak with one of the newest members of the Coquitlam Express Ben Isreal.