The BCHL's leading scorers worked their magic in the third period to hand the Coquitlam Express their first road loss of the season Saturday in Salmon Arm.
Landon Smith set up Alex Gillies for the winner that put the SilverBacks on top 4-3.
"We played well, just one costly mistake in the third," said Express head coach Barry Wolff. "We should have got it deep and we didn't. We made a D-to-D pass and we turned it over and they went in on a breakaway."
Ryan Rosenthal had a goal and an assist for Coquitlam, while Jace Hennig and Corey Mackin chipped in singles. Gordie Defiel made 32 saves for the Express. Salmon Arm opened the scoring early in the first period before the Express battled back with a pair and headed into the intermission tied at 2-2, with the teams trading second-period markers.
Gillies finished the game with a pair of goals while Smith notched a goal and two assists. The pair sit atop the BCHL scoring - Smith with 9-16-25 and Gillies with 17-7-24.
"He's good, no question," Wolff said of Smith. "Him and Gillies, they hurt us."
But the Express has no shortage of firepower with three players in the top 10 in scoring.
Adam Rockwood has four goals and 20 assists for 24 points, while Mackin has 10-11-21 and Rosenthal 12-7-19.
"Your offensive guys sometimes don't buy into the defensive side and those guys really have come forward learning the defensive part of the game so it's a huge credit to those guys," said Wolff.
The Express opened the road trip Friday with a 5-2 win over the Smoke Eaters in Trail.
Rosenthal led the Express attack with a pair of goals, while Zach Hodder had a goal and two assists and Joey Santucci and Canon Pieper each supplied a goal and an assist. Pierce Dushenko made 29 saves for the Express, who led 2-0 after one and 4-1 after two.
Special teams played a key role in the game with the Express going one-for-three on the power play while holding the Smoke Eaters off the scoresheet in six man-advantage opportunities.
"Our penalty kill has always been good. They bought in right away. It just took us some time to figure out some time on the power play. Obviously Hodder is a big addition there," said Wolff.
Wolff points to composure as a major asset for Hodder, a 20-year-old defenceman the Express reacquired earlier this month from the Moose Jaw Warriors of the WHL.
"He knows where to throw the puck, he knows when to shoot, he knows when to pass," said Wolff.
The Express are in Langley Thursday night to face the first-place Rivermen. Coquitlam sits two points back in second place with an 8-5-0-2 record.
"For us, we just take it one game at a time. But we owe them because they beat us the last two games so it's definitely one marked on our calendar," said Wolff.
The Express will host the West Kelowna Warriors Friday at 7 p.m. and take on the Chilliwack Chiefs at 2 p.m. Sunday in the Poirier Sports and Leisure Centre.
