Bradley Ong scored with just over five minutes left in the third period to give the Coquitlam Express a 4-3 win over the visiting Chilliwack Chiefs, Friday at the Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex.
The win put the brakes on Coquitlam’s three game losing swoon. More importantly, it also clinched the team’s first title as champions of the BC Hockey League’s Mainland division, with a month still left in the regular season.
The Express led 2-1 after the first period on goals by Joshua Wildauer and Christian Lowe. But the teams were tied at the end of the second, as Ong was the lone scorer for Coquitlam.
That set up the thrilling third period in which the two division rivals rushed end to end, but neither could convert until Ong was able to tip a shot by Nicholas Carabin over the shoulder of Chiefs goaltender, Mathieu Caron.
Clay Stevenson stopped 20 shots in Coquitlam’s net to earn his 28th win of the season.
The Express wraps up its four-game homestand on Friday, 7 p.m., against the Langley Rivermen.
