The first home game of the season might be fun for hockey fans and players, but it's a nightmare for coaches.
The pre-game festivities can create long delays between the warm-up skate and puck drop and many younger player's focus is taken off the game, said Coquitlam Express coach Barry Wolff.
His team took advantage of the home-opener curse on Friday against the Langley Rivermen but fell victim to the same phenomenon the next night at the Poirier Sports and Leisure Complex.
"We came out flat," he said of both matches. "These opening nights are a great thing for the team, but as a coach you hate them."
It took a few minutes for his players to find their legs on Friday in Langley, but once Corey Mackin opened the scoring with five minutes left in the first on a feed from Ryan Rosenthal, Coquitlam filled the net.
Two more goals in the second period, including a short-handed marker from Bo Pieper, who went on to score a hat trick, helped the club to a 6-2 victory.
Saturday, however, was a different story.
Coquitlam fell behind early when Jakob Reichert put a puck past Express goalie Pierce Dushenko but Coquitlam responded with two goals of their own, including a power play marker from Canon Pieper.
Langley scored three unanswered goals before the end of the first, but the Express managed to force overtime with singles in the second and third frame.
However, despite a strong effort from the home team in the extra period, Coquitlam came up short when Kevan Kilistoff ended the game on a feed from Evan Anderson.
Despite the loss, Wolff said there is a lot for his team to be happy about.
The play of the Pieper brothers, who took turns being the first star of the game this weekend, is encouraging this early in the season.
"Both the brothers bring it every night," he said. "They are going to score lots of goals. We just got to get them shooting. They have the tendency to pass a lot."
Coquitlam will take on Prince George this weekend at home. The puck drops on Friday at 7 p.m. and on Sunday at 2 p.m.
