When Coquitlam Express defenceman Ben Israel took a two-minute penalty early in the second, the Surrey Eagles could be forgiven for thinking it was an opportunity to expand their 3-1 lead.
But two short-handed goals - one unassisted marker from Express sniper Ryan Rosenthal and another from Canon Pieper - swung the momentum back toward Coquitlam and erased the lead Surrey was spotted in the opening frame.
Unfortunately for Express fans, the home team was unable to sustain the effort, dropping two more goals in the later half of the second.
A power play marker by Jace Hennig five minutes into the third period was not enough to spur the Express' offence, with the team eventually losing the game 5-4.
Coquitlam's struggles started early on Wednesday night.
Surrey's Brett Mulcahy was the first to light up the scoreboard, followed by Joseph Drapluk, who potted the second of the game.
Hennig managed to make it 2-1 when he buried a pass from Israel, but the Eagles' Nicolas Pierog added an insurance marker on the power play to make it 3-1 with one second left in the first.
Israel was given his two-minute penalty for a blow to the head, which also came with a game misconduct.
Express goalie Gordie Defiel stopped 34 of the 39 shots he faced, while at the other end of the rink, Devon Fordyce stopped 31 of 35.
Coquitlam will head out on the road this weekend, visiting Trail and Salmon Arm, before taking on division rivals the Langley Rivermen on Thursday at the Langley Events Centre.
The club returns to the Poirier Sports and Leisure Complex on Oct. 25 at 7 p.m., when they take on West Kelowna, before playing Chilliwack on Oct. 27 at 2 p.m.
