CURRIE CREDITED WITH A GOAL

Former Express goaltender Mark Currie has been credited with scoring a goal. He's now playing with the renowned Notre Dame Hounds in the Saskatchewan Jr. Hockey League.

Currie was the last player to touch the puck when the Weyburn Red Wings scored on their own goal while their netminder was pulled for a delayed penalty Wednesday night. It is not known the last time a goaltender was credited with scoring a goal in the Saskatchewan league.

Weyburn went on to defeat the Hounds 8-5.

Currie has a 7-5 record this season with a 4.19 GAA.

He was the Express third string goaltender during their run to the 2006 Royal Bank Cup.

REID & CANADA WEST MAKE AN EARLY STATEMENT

It was a great start for Brodie Reid and his Canada West teammates in exhibition play for the upcoming World Junior A Challenge.

Reid led the attack with a hat-trick and one assist as Canada West hammered Augustina College 9-2.

Langley's Derek Grant scored twice while Penticton's Denver Manderson had a pair of helpers.

Canada West outshot their opponents 50-22.

The next game for Canada West is Friday vs. the two time silver medalists Canada East.

Following the game, the roster will be trimmed down from 25 to 22 before the tournament begins on Sunday in Camrose Alberta.

Canada West will open the tournament vs. Belarus.

WELCOME HOME LUCIC

It was a great home coming for former Express Milan Lucic.

This morning he had his 07 Memorial Cup ring that was stolen from his Vancouver home this past summer replaced. Tonight, he is victorious in his first NHL game in Vancouver as his Bruins blanked the Canucks 1-0.

Lucic had 8 hits and 5 shots on goal. He even gave the Canucks a scare in the third as his slap shot from the wing caught Roberto Luongo up high shaking him up.

Tim Thomas stopped all 31 Canuck shots for his second consecutive shutout.

Kyle Turris is the next Express alum to come to town as his Coyotes will be at GM Place on Thursday Nov. 6.

David Jones and his Avs will be here on Nov. 12. Andrew Ladd's Blackhawks are in town on December 20.

GREAT SHOT

This is random and out of the blue. But I just wanted to post this great shot of Joe Pavelski hitting the ice in San Jose.

EXPRESS TRADE WIN & LOSS

Everything was looking bright going into last weekend for the Express. They were getting 2 new faces in the lineup with Dylan Herold and Cam Brodie coming over in a trade with Merritt. The injuries were starting to heal up. And the Express had the island and mainland division cellar dwellers Alberni Valley and Surrey on the schedule.

Saturday the Express welcomed the two win Alberni Valley Bulldogs to the Bill Copeland Sports Centre. The Dogs were playing their third game in 3 nights to wrap up their mainland division road trip.

The Express injury problems appeared to be a thing of the past with Max Grassi, Brodie Reid, Garrick Perry, Anthony Collins and Jacob Verheyden all back in the lineup.

During their time away, the team lost 6 straight games, the special teams took a beating and the identity of the team was lost.

Another, bright spot for the Express was getting to face Bulldogs goaltender Matthew Wong. Last season when he was a member of the Victoria Grizzlies. The Express torched him in the regular season and playoffs for a 2-4 record, 6.14 GAA and a save percentage of 79.69%

So going into the weekend there were no excuses for the Express.

Well, things started to change when the puck dropped Saturday night. The powerplay got back on track when Mike Leidl scored his first goal of the season firing a wrist shot past Dogs goaltender Matthew Wong 2:33 into the game.

Less than 4 minutes later the Express power play struck again. And one of the new faces Dylan Herold got on the score sheet for the first time as he played it down low to Brodie Reid who put in front for Max Grassi to put home for a 2-0 Burnaby lead.

Great start for the Express. But, the Express coaches knew for as poor as the Dogs record is, it wasn't going to be an easy game. The head to head matchups last season between the two teams was all the proof the Express needed as a reminder the game wasn't going to be a cake walk.

Even though the Express swept all 4 games last season, the Bulldogs made the Express earn everything they got.

Same could be said for Saturday night. The Dogs didn't get rattled by the quick start by the Express and rallied to tie the game on goals by Mark Morikawa and Chris Moulson before the first 20 minutes was done. The Dogs had outshot the Express 14-11 in the first period.

The Express power play went to work again in the second when Brodie Reid found Grassi back door and he picked the top corner for his second goal of the game to restore the Express lead. The goal was Burnaby's 3rd powerplay goal of the game. A far contrast from the struggles the PP had in recent games when it went 3 for it's last 58 opportunities in the last 11 games.

The penalty killing also had a bounce back game. The opposition was 11 for 30 on the power play during the Express 6 game losing streak. That's a percentage of 36.6%. The PK also contributed offensively when Max Grassi poked the puck of Eliot Raibl's stick at the Express blueline and had all day to bury his third goal of the game on a breakaway to restore a two goal Express advantage.

Hear Grassi's hat-trick here.

It was Grassi's first career BCHL hat-trick.

One of the most encouraging signs from an Express point of view was seeing the hard working aggressive forechecking style of play return thanks to all the healthy bodies.

Despite falling behind by two for the second time in the game, the Dogs still didn't quit. In the third, the Dogs were building momentum after 2 power plays. They didn't score on the 5 on 4 advantages, but moments after a Mike Leidl penalty expired, Eliot Raibl took a cross ice pass and blasted home a one timer to make it a one goal game midway through the third.

It would set up a dramatic finish to the game. Anthony Collins had a chance to put the game on ice but could score when he shot wide on a breakaway. Burnaby also couldn't take advantage on the powerplay with Jackson Garrett sitting in the box for high-sticking.

That takes us to the final minute. The Dogs pulled Wong for an extra attacker. Then the Express got into penalty trouble with Mike Leidl being called for high sticking at 19:27. Followed seconds later by a Brodie Reid tripping penalty at 19:44 giving Alberni Valley and 6 on 3 advantage.

Alberni Valley won the faceoff in the Burnaby zone and put the puck in front creating a mad scramble that seemed to last an eternity before finally the puck was cleared to the corner and the horn sounded giving the Express the 4-3 victory snapping their 6 game losing streak.

Having a healthy roster and the new faces certainly made a big difference for the Express. Herold skated along side Grassi and Reid on the top line. That trio combined for 3 goals and 4 assists.

Grassi had the hat-trick in his return and Brodie Reid had 3 assists in only his 5th game of the season. Herold had one assist in the win.

The power play finished 3/6 and the penalty killing was a perfect 10 for 10.

Zack Mazo had 3 assists in the loss for Alberni Valley.

Shots

Burnaby 28
Alberni Valley 27

3 stars

3-Eliot Raibl (1G)
2-Mike Leidl (1G)
1-Max Grassi (3G)

Sunday the Express were off to Surrey for an afternoon affair. The game was huge for both clubs in the standings. The Express were looking to open up a 8 point lead on the Eagles for 3rd place in the Mainland division. Surrey came in riding a modest 2 game winning streak. Including a dramatic 6-5 win on the road in Victoria. Handing the Grizzlies their first home ice loss of the season.

The Eagles took the last meeting between the two clubs at South Surrey Arena by a score of 6-1. The Eagles struck 4 times on the power play. They had more jump and simply outworked the Express from the drop of the puck.

The day had a casual lassiez faire feel to it. The sun was shining. The people I talked to at the rink had the same feeling. And it carried over to the game.

The game was scoreless after a rather uneventful first period. The shots were only 7-7 after the first period. The highlight of the period coming when Ryan Pajimola leveled Express rookie Gavin Hohl at the blueline. That would be the end to the Express rookie's night. The Express were also without defenceman Greg Bay with an injury.

The game wasn't full of great scoring chances. Burnaby had their best chance to open the scoring when Simon Denis fired a one timer, but Eagles netminder Tommy Tartaglione came to his left to make a spectacular old school two pad stack save.

Mike Krgovich finally opened the scoring midway through the second when former Express Spencer Bennett weaved his way through the Express defence and put a pass on the tape of Krgovich in the crease who re-directed it home.

The Express would lose another defenceman when Colin De Jersey was hit hard in his own zone. It was the second straight game the second year d-man was shaken up. It was pretty scary because the night before he left after a hit in his own end and was pretty wobbly as he made he was back to the bench. It would be deja vu all over again for De Jersey who again was very wobbly going back to the Burnaby bench.

Another former Express was vital in playing a role in helping the Eagles add to their lead. Steve Ceccanase scored on a one timer with a minute and a half left in the 2nd period. Adam Hartley and Chris Santiago got the assists.

Ceccanase who was sent to Merritt as part of the deal that brought Herold and Brodie to Burnaby was quickly shipped to the Eagles. The former Villanova Knight has now put up 4 goals and 9 points in 9 BCHL games.

So the Express were in a hole going into the third. Up until this point, they really haven't tested the Eagle netminder. The energy level wasn't up to par. And again the Express just weren't sharp. Much like the last time the two teams met.

Adam Hartley rounded out the scoring on a power play tipping a Doug Marshall shot through the legs of Richie Virtanen with 5 minutes to go.

The only thing left to decide was if Tartaglione was going to get the shutout. At this point, it was just a matter of running out the clock. Tartaglione wasn't overly tested in the first 55 minutes. Same could be said for the final 5 minutes. The Express sent 30 shots Tartaglione's way and he had little trouble stopping them all en route to his first shutout of the season.

Final score Eagles 3 Express 0.

The win pulled the Eagles within 4 points of the Express for 3rd place in the mainland division with the Eagles having 3 games in hand on Burnaby.

3 stars

3-Steve Ceccanase (1G,1A)
2-Mike Krgovich (GWG)
1-Tommy Tartaglione (30 saves, shutout)

Powerplays

Burnaby 0/5
Surrey 1/5

The Express have just one game on the schedule this week. They will host the defending BCHL champion Penticton Vees on Saturday.

CHANGE TO COASTAL CONFERENCE PLAYOFF FORMAT

The BCHL has changed the playoff format for the Coastal Conference this season. It is reverting back to a conference format instead of a divisional format as was originally planned prior to the season.

At the start of the season, the Coastal conference was re-aligned to two divisions. The Mainland and Island. Powell River, which in years past has been considered and island team moved to the mainland to form a pair of four team divisions. The Island consisting of Victoria, Nanaimo, Cowichan Valley and Alberni Valley. And the mainland, consisting of Burnaby, Langley, Surrey and Powell River.

Come playoff time, the winner of each division would have a first round bye, then the 2nd place team would play the 3rd place team with the 4th place club missing the playoffs. The first round would see the teams play a best of 5 series with the winner facing the division champion in a best of 7 2nd round matchup. Then the winner of the two division finals series would face each other in the Coastal Conference finals.

This years format has now been changed to go back to last years conference format. The top 2 teams in the conference would get a first round bye. That would leave the 3rd seed to play the 6th seed and the 4th seed play the 5th seed in a best of 5. Seeds 7&8 would not make the playoffs. Then the winners of the first round series play the teams with the first round bye. The number 1 seed would face the lowest remaining team based on regular season points. Then the 2nd seed would play the team with the 2nd lowest remaining team based on regular season points.

If the playoffs were to begin today, Powell River and Nanaimo would have first round byes. Victoria would play Burnaby and Langley would play Cowichan Valley. Surrey and Alberni Valley would miss the playoffs.

The idea behind the change is to keep more teams in the hunt for the playoff race. Surrey's 3-0 win yesterday over Burnaby kept the Eagles within striking distance for the final playoff spot. Just 4 points back with the Eagles having 3 games in hand. Last night's game was a huge 4 point swing in the standings, if the Express prevailed they would have opened up a huge 8 point cushion for the final playoff spot.

But does the change really make for a better playoff race? I don't think so. The Alberni Valley Bulldogs are 10 points back of the final playoff spot and have 2 games in hand on the Express. But, they have just 2 wins on the season. In the old format, they would be 12 points behind Cowichan Valley for the final playoff spot in the Island division.

Does Express head coach Dave Mclellan like the change in the playoff format?

Realistically speaking, does anyone think the Dogs will go on a run, surpass Surrey and catch Burnaby or Cowichan Valley or whoever falls to the 6th seed and grab a playoff spot? I don't think so.

Here's my issue with the change. It doesn't seem right for a league to change the playoff format midseason. Sports is about putting a competitive product on the field game after game. It is the responsibility of the clubs themselves to find the talent, and the coaches to put the players in a position to succeed. Should the teams that have built teams that will make the playoffs possibly be punished by the new system just to keep the weaker links in the hunt longer?

I don't think so. It's not Burnaby, Cowichan Valley or Langley's fault that Alberni Valley and Surrey have gotten off to slow starts.

Now if either, Surrey or Alberni Valley catch a team ahead of them and make the playoffs, then the team that misses is responsible for the failure.

Another reason why the change isn't necessary is because with the divisional format this season, each team in the division faces each other 12 times in the 60 game schedule. That's 12 four point games and a possible 60 point swing in the standings.

Surrey has taken advantage of the system by taking the last 2 meetings of the season with the Express. They have closed the gap between the two teams to just four points.

Thus far this season, the Alberni Valley Bulldogs are 1-2 this season vs. the Cowichan Valley Capitals who are the 3rd place team in the Island division. The Dogs are 12 points back right now with 9 head to head matchups remaining. There's 18 points up for grabs between the two teams in the head to head series. If Alberni Valley picks up 7 wins in those remaining 9 games, all of a sudden we have a race. Thus the change in the format isn't necessary.

At the end of the day, if the Dogs can't find a way to close the gap and end up missing the playoffs. That falls on the responsibility of the Alberni Valley Hockey Operations department.

Now, if Surrey surpasses Burnaby and knocks the Express out of the playoffs, my hat is off to Shane Kuss, his staff and players. Burnaby would have to bare the responsibility should they get knocked out.

If the league feels the system they went into the season with isn't working, then it should re-assess it in the upcoming off-season meetings and make any changes at the BCHL annual meetings.

In my opinion, this won't make for a more competitive race. If Surrey keeps on winning and if the Express continue to struggle. The teams on the ice will keep the fans on the edge of their seat as the season goes along

Gary Bettman would be proud of the way the BCHL is creating a false hope of parity.

BULLDOGS @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

Here's the highlights for Burnaby's 4-3 win over Alberni Valley Saturday night.

Apologies for the poor audio quality. It will be corrected for Saturday's game.



Full game DVD's and highlight packs can be purchased from Cary Derksen at Purplepenguinproductions.ca