EXPRESS ALUM HUTCHINSON PASSES AWAY

This is a post I hope no one ever has to write.

Tragic news coming out of New York State where Express alumni Matt Hutchinson was among three bodies found dead.

Click here for a story on the tragedy.

#OneKnight pic.twitter.com/Fztclw6rt5

— Geneseo Knights (@GeneseoKnights) January 17, 2016

RIP Kelsey and Matt. You'll always be a part of our family. #OneKnight pic.twitter.com/wNEwtDwTGA

— Geneseo Knights (@GeneseoKnights) January 17, 2016

This is Matt Hutchinson's locker @ the fire Dept. Chief says he was a hard worker, role model. @news10nbc pic.twitter.com/SVFeKAbGkx

— Nina Porciuncula (@whec_nina) January 18, 2016

You can always count on Hutchy to lighten the lockerroom and always did it with a big smile. Going to miss you man. Rest in peace.#OneKnight

— Alex Petan (@pettsy19) January 17, 2016

Unless you play you don't know how quick teammates become brothers. RIP hutch. One of the good ones gone too soon. https://t.co/YWObSl8eNz

— Brady Shaw (@shawsy28) January 18, 2016

Hutchinson dressed for 68 of his 129 career BCHL games with the Express during the 10-11, and 11-12 seasons. He also played in the BCHL with Quesnel and Chilliwack.

His 1st Express goal can be seen at the 2:21 mark of the video below.



He was a senior in his 4th year and Geneseo University. Matt was just 24 years old and taken away way too soon.

Sincere condolences to everyone who's life was touched by Matt Hutchinson.

Everyone in the Express organization past and present is mourning his loss. 

REMPAL SCORES HIS 50TH IN CLIPPERS WIN OVER EXPRESS

Sheldon Rempal scored his 50th of the season - Photo courtesy of Damon James

Sheldon Rempal scored his 50th goal of the season and Devin Brosseau scored twice as the Nanaimo Clippers dropped the Express 5-2 Sunday afternoon. Click here for boxscore

The loss was the third straight for the Express all at home after starting their seven game home stand with a three game winning streak.

Mat Michie - Photo courtesy of Damon James

The Express knew they had to keep a close eye on the line of Rempal, Devin Brosseau and Spencer Hewson. As a result they were matched up most of the night against the Mat Michie, Jack Surowiec and Cam Bertsch line. That line did a good job getting in their face and limiting their chances in the first period.

A hard fought and evenly played first period came to an end scoreless.

It was a much different story in the second period.

Will Reily opened the scoring for Nanaimo on the power play pinching in from the right point.

This game was one of the more emotional games seen in the BCHL this season. As a result there were plenty of penalties.

Two quick Nanaimo infractions gave the Express a 5 on 3 power play for 1:41. Just 30 seconds into the power play the Express pulled even as Charlie Barrow's point shot was tipped past Evan Johnson.

50 seconds later still on the power play the Express struck again. Jackson Cressey sent the puck down low to Austin McIlMurray who zipped a pass across to Colton Kerfoot who buried it giving the Express their lone lead briefly.

1:11 after Kerfoot's goal, Rempal and Brosseau broke out on a two on one, with a chance to snap home number 50 on his stick, Rempal dished a perfect pass to Brosseau who converted to tie the game at two.

Alex Ambrosio - Photo courtesy of Damon James

Then on Brosseau's next shift he struck again. His original shot deflected wide of the Express net. He then picked up the puck behind the net and bounced it in off Tyger Howat to restore Nanaimo's lead at 3-2.

There were a number of lengthy scrums and pushing of shoving at various times after the whistles in the game. One late in the 2nd period resulted in a Nanaimo power play.

That power play saw Devin Brosseau set up Sheldon Rempal who scored his 50th goal of the season in his 45th game giving the Clippers a 4-2 lead heading into the third period.

The Express did strike twice on the power play. But they allowed other key opportunities to slip through their hands that could have helped their cause. They had back to back powerplays in the opening 5 minutes of the third period but were unable to score and cut into the Clipper lead. Then after another scrum in front of the Clippers bench resulted in the Express receiving a second lengthy two man advantage this time for two minutes but they couldn't repeat their second period magic.

Mitch Newsome - Photo courtesy of Damon James

Gavin Gould rounded out the scoring in the third period bouncing the puck in off Tyger Howat for his first Clippers goal in similar fashion to Brosseau's second of the game.

Evan Johnson in the Nanaimo crease had a very solid night finishing with 37 saves to earn the victory.

The seven game home stand for the Express wraps up Friday vs. the Wenatchee Wild with the Express looking to come out of it with a winning record. 

RIVER MEN PUTS CLAMP ON EXPRESS IN CRUNCH TIME

Mitch Newsome (18) scored in his Express debut - Photo courtesy of Damon James

The Langley Rivermen scored three unanswered third period goals as part of a 5-3 win over the Express. Four year WHL veteran Torrin White led the charge with a four point night to pace the Rivermen attack. Click here for boxscore

The Express entered the game four points back of the Langley Rivermen looking to try and reel in the Rivermen in the race for third place in the Mainland division standings.

In the five games for the Express since the Christms break they've been heavily outshot in the first period in four of those games and the Express made a point of wanting to turn the tables in that department Friday.

They started on the right foot with Taylor Green opening the scoring for the Express just over two minutes into the game.

That goal gave the Express some momentum in the first few minutes of the game.

But puck management for the Express was an area that hurt them throughout the night.

A bad pass back into the Express zone was pounced on by Justin Fregona and he walked in and deked past Tyger Howat scoring his 6th goal in 4 games against the Express this season.

Charlie Barrow - Photo courtesy of Damon James

Late in the first period a turnover at the Rivermen blueline started a Rivermen rush the other way and a give and go between Torrin White and Will Campion saw the veteran blue liner score to give Langley a 2-1 lead. The shots were 9-5 in favour of the Rivermen after 20 minutes.

The Express had the first three powerplays of the game. Then in the second Langley got the next three. The penalty killers rose to the occasion keeping the Rivermen off the board. Then captain Jackson Cressey muscled the puck into the Rivermen zone and cut to the net to score his third shorthanded goal of the season to even the score at two at 17:14.

Friday saw Mitch Newsome make his Express debut against one one his former teams after being acquired Sunday from Salmon Arm. He hit the score sheet for the first time burying a pass from the boards and scoring off the rush to put the Express into a 3-2 lead.

That goal power proved to be one of the few highlights for the Express in the third period that belonged to the Rivermen.

This game had a feel of a playoff game, and in playoff games teams that are successful do the little things right in order to win. Langley's veteran players showed veteran savvy in the final period to earn the two points. It started with the Rivermen working the puck in the Express zone and grinding them down. Dominic Franco was particularly strong using his size and strength effectively doing that.

Then after an effective shift for Franco's line in the Express zone ended, the Rivermen changed on the fly and Cam Ginnetti chased down his own dump in and was first on the puck then set up Torrin White who blasted a shot past Tyger Howat to tie the game at three.

51 seconds later after another Express turnover, a give and go between White and Max Kaufman saw the latter re-direct a pass between the pads of Howat for a 4-3 Rivermen lead.

Tyler Howat faced 35 shots - Photo courtesy of Damon James

Then White put the final stamp on a stellar night by scoring his second of the night from the slot for a 5-3 Rivermen lead. White finished with two goals and two assists. He was doing it at both ends of the rink in the third period. Defensively he came up with a number of blocked shots.

It was a tough night for the Express best players to generate offense at 5 on 5. Austin McIlMurray in particular was on the receiving end of some big hits when matched up against Rivermen captain defenseman Jordan Schneider.

Bo Didur only had to face 18 shots to earn the victory for Langley.

Up next for the Express will be a Sunday afternoon affair against Sheldon Rempal and the Nanaimo Clippers. 

EXPRESS ACQUIRE NEWSOME

Express acquired Mitch Newsome from Salmon Arm - Photo courtesy of Damon James.

The Coquitlam Express added to their forward depth at the trade deadline Sunday.

They acquired Mitch Newsome (97) from the Salmon Arm Silverbacks in exchange for future considerations.  The Surrey native has split this season with the Silverbacks and the Langley Rivermen. He has 3 goals and 8 assists in 34 games this season. He played his first full season in the BCHL last year with the Penticton Vees.

In 85 career BCHL games Newsome has 10 goals and 25 assists for 35 points. He also added 1 goal and 1 assist last year as the Vees won Fred Page Cup. At the Western Canada Cup in Fort McMurray he chipped in with a goal.

Newsome comes to the Express with a commitment to Michigan Tech for the fall of 2016.

Welcome to the Express Mitch.

Mitch Newsome (left) celebrates a goal - Photo courtesy of Garrett James

LATE RALLY NOT ENOUGH FOR EXPRESS VS. PG

Lawson Fenton did all he could to keep the Express in it - Photo courtesy of Damon James

A late third period rally made the final score close, but in reality the Express weren't good enough for the full 60 minutes falling to the Prince George Spruce Kings 4-3. Click here for boxscore

The Express have gotten off to slow starts in four of five games since the Christmas break. They have been able to dig themselves out of early holes, but tonight it came back to bite them.

Lawson Fenton was barraged with plenty of rubber in the first period and he did all he could to try and hold the Spruce Kings at bay. He was beaten by an Adam Brubacher blast that overpowered the glove of Fenton for a power play goal. Then following a won draw in the Express zone Tanner Campbell beat Fenton with a shot over his glove. Fenton was beaten twice on 11 first period shots, but it could have been worse were it not for Fenton considering the quality of chances for the Spruce Kings.

The Express didn't help themselves on special teams either. They had a two man advantage at the end of the first period that carried over to the second for over a minute, but were unable to even muster a shot.

For most of the night the Express were unable to generate much of an attack. It was a different story for Prince George. Corey Hoffman extended the Spruce Kings lead with the second of three Spruce Kings power play goals for a 3-0 second period lead.

Jack Surowiec - Photo courtesy of Damon James

After two periods the Express were limited to just 9 shots.

It took until the third period for the Express to finally try and claw back into the game. Owen Stout scored for a third straight game to get the Express on the board.

Then Prince George capped off a 3 for 7 night on the power play with Campbell's second of the game. The Spruce Kings also shut down the Express on all 5 of their man advantages.

Campbell's goal came just over 4 minutes remaining and it appeared the Spruce Kings were going to cruise to victory. But suddenly it was a one goal game after goals by Blake Hayward and Taylor Green 32 seconds apart.

Those goals made things interesting down the stretch and the Express did have their chances but it was too little too late and the Express couldn't complete the comeback.

Starting with their next game vs. Langley on Friday a better start and a 60 minute effort will be required after playing with fire with their slow starts in four of their last five games.

PINCHUK TRADED TO CANMORE

J. Pinchuk traded to Canmore Eagles (AJHL) - Photo courtesy of Damon James.

The Coquitlam Express have traded defenseman Jarrell Pinchuk (97) to the Camore Eagles (AJHL) for future considerations.

The Fort Saskatchewan Alberta native had 5 goals and 14 assists for 19 points in 37 games for the Express this season. He was acquired by the Express in the off-season from the Drumheller Dragons of the AJHL.




The Express would like to thank Jarrell for his contributions to the Express this season and wish him all the best in Canmore.

The BCHL trade deadline is Sunday January 10.

SMOKE EATERS @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

2016-01-08 TRL @ COQ
January 8, 2015 - BCHL Live game Highlights Trail Smoke Eaters visit Coquitlam Express Jr A Hockey Club Brought to you by UnderDog Productions ©2016
Posted by UnderDog Productions on Saturday, January 9, 2016

Highlights courtesy of Jorge Parra and Underdog Productions.