CHIEFS EDGE EXPRESS

Oliver Lester - Photo courtesy of Garrett James

The Chilliwack Chiefs put the full court press on the Express in the third period en route to a 3-2 win Saturday night. Click here for boxscore

The visitors really limited the chances the Express were able to generate with the game on the line.

The Chiefs put the Express in an early hole within the first five minutes of the game.

Kaden Pickering snapped a shot that trickled through Clay Stevenson for a power play goal at 3:08.

Colby Pederson had 3 goals in his last 2 games
Photo courtesy of Garrett James

That goal was followed 1:35 later by a goal from Anthony Vincent who converted a set up by Skylar Brind'Amour off the rush for a 2-0 Chiefs lead. The goal for Vincent was the start of a great night for the Chiefs forward.

Colby Pederson found himself on a breakaway moments later but couldn't get a shot away. Then Josh Bruce was set up in the slot, but was unable to get off his best shot.

Jordan Schulting got the Express on t
he board when his point shot beat Mathieu Caron low along the ice moments after a power play expired.

A major reason Chilliwack was able to get out of the first period lead was Anthony Vincent who had three shot blocks in the first period alone. His most notable one come in the final moments of the first period when he took an Express shot off the face.

Shots were few and far between for both teams in the second period. Clay Stevenson made his best save of the night on a rebound chance for Kaden Pickering.

Colby Pederson evened things up for the Express roofing a backhand for a shorthanded goal. It was Pederson's 3rd goal in two games after striking twice Friday night in Merritt.

Chilliwack started the third period with purpose. They were controlling the puck and playing with speed in the Express zone. It didn't take long for them to get rewarded. Jake Gresh snapped a wrist shot up over the shoulder of Stevenson for a 3-2 Chiefs lead at 1:11.

That shift and goal really set the tone for Chilliwack for the final 18:49 of the game. They spent the majority of the period controlling the puck in the Express zone and along the boards. It wasn't pretty, but effective at killing the clock.

Jordan Schulting had a goal in the first - Photo courtesy of Garrett James

The Express chance to get the equalizer came 7 minutes into the period when Corey Andonovski was assessed a double minor for high sticking. The Express were only able to muster one shot in the four minute power play. They finished 0 for 6 on the power play.

On a number of occasions Chilliwack was able to pin the puck along the boards and just kill the clock. There was one scrum that allowed 20+ seconds to run off the clock. Then in the final minute of the 3rd period the final 40 seconds was mostly tied up in a scrum to the right of the Chilliwack net which was allowed to run for so long, the clock ticked down to 0:00 to seal the win for the Chiefs.

The final shots in the third period finished 14-2 in favour of the Chiefs. Over the course of 60 minutes, the Chiefs outshot the Express 29-12.

The Express are back in action Wednesday night when they host Merritt. 

EXPRESS @ CENTENNIALS HIGHLIGHTS

Highlights from Friday's 5-2 win for the Express in Merritt.

Highlights produced by Eddie Gregory.

AMBROSIO COMMITTS TO LAKE SUPERIOR STATE

Alex Amborsio (#10) Commits to Lake Superior State.
Photo courtesy of Damon James.

Coquitlam Express captain Alex Ambrosio has committed to Lake Superior State.

Extremely honoured and excited to announce I have committed to play D1 hockey for Lake Superior State University this coming semester. A huge thank you goes out to all my family, friends, teammates, coaches and the Express organization who have all helped me along the way #Lakers

— Alex Ambrosio (@ambro_10) December 22, 2017

The commitment is effective immediately.

The 20 year old Burnaby native was in his third and final season in an Express uniform. Prior to the start of the season he was named captain for 2017-18.

This season he had 9 goals and 16 assists for 25 points in 33 games. Those numbers were second highest on the Express as of the Christmas break. His 16 assists matches his career high in that category that he accumulated last year in 50 games. Ambrosio was also well on his way to surpass the 29 points he tallied in 2016-17.

In 134 career BCHL games, all with the Express he had 30 goals and 42 assists for 72 points. He also had 1 assist in 4 playoff games in 2016.

During his time in an Express uniform, Amboriso left an indelible mark on and off the ice as a first class individual. That is the mark he will leave behind as he moves on to the next stage of his hockey career.

Lake Superior State plays in the WCHA conference. Previous Express alumni to commit to Lake Superior State include goaltender Gordy Defiel. And former captain Mitch Nardi.

The Express would like to congratulate Alex
on this opportunity. And thank you for everything you have given to this organization. The BCHL is about moving players on to the next level, this is a well deserved next step.

COMETS VS. KINGS HIGHLIGHTS

Highlights from Saturday's 2-1 OT win for the Comets (Express) over the Powell River Kings.

Highlights produced by Eddie Gregory.

COMETS CROWN KINGS IN OT

Former Captain Jackson Cressey took part in a ceremonial face-off.
Photo courtesy of Damon James

The Coquitlam Comets go into the Christmas break on a winning note after a 2-1 overtime win over the Island division leading Powell River Kings. Click here for boxscore

Troy Robillard - Photo courtesy of Damon James

The Express wore their Comets uniforms in their annual tribute to the junior team that played from the 60's into the early 80's in Coquitlam.

Comets manager Sandy Michie would have been very proud how today's modern day Coquitlam team played for 63 plus minutes. They were solid in their own zone, the penalty killing was strong and were full value for the victory.

The Comets started the game by peppering the Powell River goal with pucks. They forced Kings goaltender Matteo Paler-Chow to be on his game early on. His best save off the first period came on a rebound chance for Christian Sanda.

Eventually the Comets broke through. Eric Linell started the play by navigating his way out of his own zone. Then when he entered the Kings zone he fed the puck back to Lucas Wong who let a point shot go that was tipped home by captain Alex Ambrosio.

The second period belonged to the Comets penalty killers. They were whistled for three separate infractions in just under six minutes. When the Kings were able to generate chances they had to face a dialed in Brock Hamm.

Jason Fortier leads a timeout - Photo courtesy of Damon James

Entering the third period the Kings had all five of the game's powerplays. The Comets finally got their first in the opening moments of the third period.

Jason Fortier tweaked his defenseman tonight. He played Jordan Schulting at centre with Jonathan Sheardown and Tyler Chyzowski who dressed for his second straight outing as an AP. That line consisting of two natural defensemen as forwards certainly didn't look out of place.

Four minutes into the third the Comets lost the services of Landon Fuller who got cut diving back to break up a play at his own blueline. To make matters worse, Fuller was called for tripping and didn't return to the game.

Eric Linell celebrates OT winner
Photo courtesy of Damon James

The remaining Express blue liners all stepped up in his absence the rest of the way. They weathered two more Kings powerplays in the final 6 minutes of the game.  The Comets finished the game with a perfect 8 for 8 night on the penalty kill.

Powell River was finally able to get a puck past a very stingy Brock Hamm. They needed a crafty deflection by Hunter Findlater of a Carmine Buono point shot with 1:07 remaining in the third period to break Hamm's shutout bid and tie the game at 1.

This was a very entertaining game for 60 minutes. The teams each had 22 shots through three periods.

Powell River had a decent start to overtime with puck control and giving the Comets trouble coming out of their zone.

Once the Comets broke free Troy Robillard rushed into the Kings zone, then found a lane to the net and took full advantage of it and Eric Linell buried the rebound giving the Comets a 2-1 win heading into the Christmas break. For Linell it was his second overtime winner in just over a week.

Now the Express are off on their Christmas break until December 29th when they will travel up to Merritt. They will return home the next night vs. Chilliwack.

SPRUCE KINGS @ EXPRESS HIGHLIGHTS

Highlights from Prince George's 3-1 win over the Express Friday night.



Highlights produced by Eddie Gregory.

SPRUCE KINGS GET LUCKY BOUNCE TO GET PAST EXPRESS

An unfortunate bounce for the Express ended up being the difference allowing Prince George to defeat the Express 3-1 Friday night. Click here for boxscore

Dylan Anhorn was credited with the game winning goal.

For most of the night neither team was willing to give the other much ice to create chances.

Corey Cunningham opened the scoring for the Spruce Kings when Jay Karanen's point shot bounced to Cunningham in the slot who beat Brock Hamm at 3:50.

The Express had chances moments later to equalize. Sam Kozlowski was stopped on a breakaway, Eric Linell was stopped on a 2-1 by Evan DeBrouwer among the first period chances.

A Prince George turnover allowed the Express to pull even. Eric Linell converted a giveaway scoring his 17th of the season at 7:57 to tie the game at one.

The game stayed tied until the third period when the Spruce Kings caught a lucky break while shorthanded. Dylan Anhorn cleared the puck from his own zone and it went into a vacated net by Brock Hamm who went out of his net to play the puck. The Express argued the puck had hit a player on the Express bench and the goal should have been disallowed. There was minimal discussion by the officials that allowed the goal to stand.

It took the Express some time to recover from the tough break. But once they did, they continued to generate chances.

Josh Bruce had back to back chances in the final minutes. Including a good look from the slot.

In the final three minutes the Express had a late power play, but they still weren't able to get the equalizer. They finished the night 0 for 4 on the power play.

The effort was there for the Express, despite what the boxscore shows. They were a tough break on the game winning goal from this game at least going to overtime.

Ben Brar then finished off the scoring by hitting the empty net with 4 seconds to play.

The Express will play their final game before Christmas Saturday night when they host Powell River. It will be the annual game where the Express will honour Coquitlam Comets, a junior team from a previous generation.