Vancouver Canucks fan favourites may have been in the crowd on Friday but it was Coquitlam Express goalie Tyger Howat who stole the show.
The 20-year-old netminder picked Canucks alumni night to post one of his most impressive performances of the season, turning away 41 of the 42 shots he faced in a 4-1 victory over the Trail Smoke Eaters. After letting in one goal late in the first period, Howat put up a wall in front of the net, earning first star honours while local legends like Dave Babych and Cliff Ronning looked on.
Coquitlam saw scoring throughout its lineup.
Blake Hayward opened up the scoring when he buried a three-way passing play from Owen Stout and Taylor Green midway through the second before Stout took the lead with a power play marker three minutes later.
Mathew Michie also scored for the Express in the middle frame, before Colton Kerfoot netted the team’s fourth of the game, again on the power play.
Stout received second star honours for his two point night, while Trail’s Nick Halloran, who scored the lone goal for the visitors, was the third star. But things did not run as smoothly for the Express on Saturday night, when they hosted the Prince George Spruce Kings.
Despite a valiant effort in the third, where Coquitlam scored three goals, the team had dug themselves too much of a hole in the first 40 minutes.
Spruce Kings forward Adam Brubacher scored the first of the game, before his linemate Tanner Campbell made it 2-0 midway through the first. A goal from Corey Hoffman gave the visitors a 3-0 lead going into the final frame.
Stout finally managed to get the Express on the board when he buried a pass from Jack Surowiec, but Prince George’s Campbell quickly restored the three-goal lead on the power play. Coquitlam tried to crawl back, with Stout setting up Blake Hayward to make it 4-2 and Taylor Green scored to make it 4-3.
But even with Express goalie Lawson Fenton pulled for the final minute of the game, Coquitlam could not find the equalizer, with time eventually running out on the home team. With the loss, Coquitlam hangs on to a playoff berth with an 18-18-4-0 record, while the Spruce Kings are behind them in the Mainland Division with a 10-29-2-0 record.
The Express home stand continues this weekend, when the club hosts the Langley Rivermen on Friday night (puck drop is at 7 p.m.) and the Nanaimo Clippers Sunday afternoon for a 2 p.m. start.
