On a weekend when the Coquitlam Express had a lot on their plate, the BC Hockey League team got a taste of everything.
The Express had a tie, a win and a loss in the three games they played in less than three days.
It’s little wonder the loss — 5-1 to the visiting Chilliwack Chiefs — came on Sunday afternoon at the Poirier Sports and Leisure Complex. By then the team had just run out of gas after a thrilling 2-2 tie in double overtime Friday against those same Chiefs in Chilliwack, and a 4-1 win on home ice Saturday against the Surrey Eagles.
The Express were so spent by Sunday afternoon, they didn’t hit the ice as much as flop onto it and proceeded to spot the Chiefs a 4-0 lead before Joshua Wildauer was able to get one of those back with his sixth goal of the season. But that didn’t happen until 11:34 into the third period.
The Express managed only 16 shots at Chiefs’ goalie Mathieu Caron, while Clay Stephenson faced 29 shots in the Coquitlam net.
The lethargic effort was a marked contrast to the opening of the Express’ weekend in Chilliwack, where they haven’t been able to get a win against the Chiefs in 20 tries.
After spotting their hosts a 2-0 lead in the first period, Coquitlam kept raining shots at Chiefs’ keeper Caron, who was called upon to make a number of big saves. But he couldn’t stop them all, and Christian Sanda and Hayden Delorme were finally able to break through with goals in the second and third period to send the game to extra time.
Despite holding the shot advantage in both overtime periods, the Express couldn’t score the winner and fulfill coach Jason Fortier’s pre-game prognositcation that his side’s hard luck against the Chiefs would end that night.
The momentum of the Express’ effort Friday seemed to carry into Saturday’s game against the Eagles as Coquitlam took a 2-0 lead into the third period on goals by Jack MacNab and Eric Linell. Jackson Ross got the Eagles back into the game seven minutes into the third, but goals just 17 seconds apart by Colby Pederson and MacNab ensured the hosts of their tenth win of the season.
After a couple of days off to rest and digest, the Express are back on the ice at Poirier Wednesday at 7 p.m. when they’ll host the Eagles, who are tied for first in the Mainland division.
