One of the marquee events of the holiday season has officially arrived! The Express are beyond excited to host their annual Teddy Bear Toss night at the Poirier Sports and Leisure Complex. It’s a rematch with the Surrey Eagles at the Train Station, 7PM PST start time. Be sure to bring tons of teddy bears, stuffed animals, blankets, and all manner of warm clothes as when the Express score their first goal, they will be chucked onto the ice. All of the collected donations are going to support BlanketBC and ensure that those in need get some assistance this holiday season.
On the ice, the Express will need to be a whole lot better than they were last night defensively. They shift gears back to home ice where we have seen that they can utilize their intensity and drive to shut down opposition forces. Now the shoe is on the other foot where the Eagles need to see if their game can transcend ice sheet sized and come away with a weekend sweep. Transition defence in particular will be a major facet of tonight’s outcome. Two of the goals in the 3-0 run for the Eagles last night came on odd man rushes.
On the attacking side of the ice the Express weren’t out of their realm last night. Quality chances were generated and overall they mustered 41 shots on goal. Aidan Fischer had quite a few solid stops including shutting down James Shannon who was all alone in the slot, Jack Bakker who got on a partial break, and Nate Crema who was banging away at a loose puck during a powerplay scramble. If any of those shots go in, the momentum of a game can shift rapidly. The only thing one can do when the goalie is dialed in is to keep chipping away. Kyle Johnson commented after last night’s contest that it felt like the Express were playing frustrated and got away from their gameplan when the goals weren’t going in.
Depth scoring is also a must tonight for Coquitlam who are currently without the services of Joseph Odyniec and Thomas Zocco. Those two guys have been game changers this season so it will be exciting to see what this lineup can achieve when they return. Overall though, guys have to step up and get the job done in their absence. On the flipside of the coin, the Surrey Eagles have been hammered with injuries this season. Most notably they are missing Jackson Anderson, Brady Kudrick and Massimo Fazio. Despite those losses they have been putting up good numbers and finding success from up and down their lineup. Coquitlam did achieve some of that depth scoring last weekend with Max Pendy chipping in and Cale Colwell having a two goal weekend. As a group though the next step needs to be taken.
Put the past behind you, learn the lessons, and get back to work is the key for tonight as the Express and Eagles go at it once again on Saturday Night BCHL hockey.
– Ian Wilson
