Maybe the Coquitlam Express forgot to pack goals on their bus.
For the second time in their three-game road trip, the Express were shut out Wednesday, this time 5-0 by the Merritt Centennials. The loss was also the team’s sixth in a row, although two of those were in shootouts.
Even though the Express were playing their second game in two nights, they carried the advantage in play against the host Centennials, outshooting them 40-32. More than half their shots — 21 — were in the third period.
But they were unable to beat Merritt netminder Austin Roden, who made several big saves and earned the game’s first star.
The Centennials scored once in the first period, once in the second and added three more in the final frame.
The loss means the Express still have their three-point advantage over the Langley Rivermen in the run for third place in the BC Hockey League’s Mainland division. But the Rivermen now have two games in hand. Both teams have already qualified for the playoffs.
The Express return to the Poirier Sports and Leisure Complex, where they hope they stashed their goals somewhere under the trainer’s table. They host the Prince George Spruce Kings Friday at 7 p.m. and the Wenatchee Wild Sunday at 3 p.m., their final home game of the regular season.
