The Coquitlam Express' Fred Page Cup victory and trip to the Western Canada Cup tournament last year came as a surprise to many junior A hockey fans.
But the team will shed its underdog status for the 2014-15 season and will likely have a target on its back after all of last year's success.
Not that that is a concern to head coach Barry Wolff.
"The guys are chomping at the bit to get back at it," he said in an interview ahead of this weekend's start of the exhibition season. "It is so fun and special when you have that kind of success. They are keen to do it all over again."
After a fairly average regular season, which saw the Express finish third in the Mainland Division, the club managed to find its winning ways at just the right time of the season.
They brought down the Prince George Spruce Kings in six games in the opening round, before defeating the division champions Langley Rivermen in the second round. In the BCHL finals the squad defeated Interior Division champions the Vernon Vipers, who also fell in six games.
But after securing the BCHL's Fred Page Cup, the Express' goal of winning the 2014 RBC Cup - Canada's top junior 'A' hockey title - fell short at the Western Canada Cup tournament. The club split the four games they played 2-2, allowing the Dauphin Kings of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League to head to the national tournament, which was held in Vernon in May.
If the team is going to have success this season, they are going to have to find a way to win without the help of some of their top scorers from last year's campaign.
Players like Ryan Rosenthal, Adam Rockwood and Bo and Canon Pieper, who were counted on throughout the season to put the puck in the net on a nightly basis, have graduated out of the league.
But Wolff believes there is more than enough experience in his dressing room this year. He said he will be looking to players like Jackson Cressey, Nicholas Rasovic, Joey Santucci and Corey Mackin to fill some of the holes left behind by this year's departing players.
Mackin was close to a point-a-game player last year, scoring 24 goals and 26 assists in the 57 games he played, while Santucci was also able to put the puck in the net, scoring 23 goals and 18 assists. Cressey and Jackson contributed less offensively, but Wolff said that after last season the two 18-year-olds are ready to take the next step in their playing careers.
"To have that experience in the room is great," Wolff said. "They remember what it took and falling short. That is in the back of their minds as well."
When the exhibition season starts this weekend, Wolff said he would ice a lineup of mostly younger players, to give them some experience at the junior A level. But by the time the exhibition season wraps up in Coquitlam on Sept. 12, the Express roster should be complete.
The Coquitlam Express kick off the exhibition schedule against the Langley Rivermen tonight (Friday, Sept. 5) at the Langley Events Centre. The team will return home tomorrow (Saturday, Sept. 6) for a second exhibition game against Langley at the Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex. Face off is at 7 p.m. both nights. For more information and a complete schedule, go to www.coquitlamexpress.ca.
