Clay Stevenson stopped all 29 shots he faced, and Massimo Rizzo scored a hat trick to lead the Coquitlam Express to a 5-0 win over the Langley Rivermen in their BC Hockey League game Friday at Coquitlam’s Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex.
The shutout was Stevenson’s sixth of the season, the most ever by an Express goalie.
Coquitlam scored three times in the first, then added one in each of the next two periods.
Joey Berkopec opened the scoring with his first goal as a member of the Express when he roofed a shot over Rivermen goalie Braedon Fleming 5:24 into the game. Rizzo then added his 14th and 15th goals of the season to put the home team up by three heading into the break.
Bradley Ong scored in the second period and Rizzo wrapped up his second hat trick of the season with less than three minutes left in the game.
Greg Lapointe also had a three-point night for the Express, all of them assists.
The win puts Coquitlam five points ahead of the Penticton Vees in the race for first overall in the league standings. The Express have a game in hand.
Coquitlam hits the road for a pair of game, tonight in Wenatchee against the Wild, and on Feb. 4 the team is in Port Alberni to play the Alberni Valley Bulldogs.
