First place in the BC Hockey League’s overall standings will be on the line Wednesday at 7:15 p.m., when the Penticton Vees visit the Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex to meet the league-leading Coquitlam Express.
The Express stayed one point ahead of the Vees with a 2-1 victory over the visiting Vernon Vipers on Saturday. It was the team’s 12th win in as many home games this season, which bodes well for Wednesday’s showdown that will be the second game in Coquitlam’s current eight-game homestand.
Against the Vipers, a pair of goals by Joshua Wildauer and Noah De La Durantaye in the first period was all the Express needed as Clay Stevenson made 29 saves to preserve Coquitlam’s victory. In fact, he fell just four seconds short of recording his fourth shutout of the season when Vernon’s Dawson Holt found the back of the net with his team employing an extra attacker on the ice.
The Express fired 23 shots at Vernon goalie James Porter Jr.