It was a little bit of Deja Vu for the Express last night as they gave up a 3-0 lead to the Clippers before storming all the way back. Call them the cardiac kids, the kings of the comeback, whatever it may be, the fact remains that Coquitlam have a nose for never giving up.
Nanaimo had the early jump on Casino night, outshooting the Express 10-7 in the opening 20 minutes and generating two goals. Elliot Perrault’s second of the season and Luke Lavery’s fifth gave the Clippers an early edge and they road that momentum as far as they could. It culminated with Andrew Brown blasting home his fifth of the year on the Powerplay to give Nanaimo their 3-0 lead.
Up until that point the Express had been hanging around but couldn’t seem to get pucks through to Chazz Nixon who was benefitting from his team blocking anything and everything. The defence of the Clippers were certainly buying in, as once the final whistle went for this game, Coquitlam had 47 shots on goal, but that number could easily have been 10-15 higher.
Coquitlam finally broke through at the 14:00 mark of period two as Nate Crema received a pass from a hard driving Nick Wellenreiter. The puck took a deflection on its way to Crema who then poked it past Nixon for his eighth of the season. That was a turning point for the Express who hadn’t quite had their footing in the contest yet. From then on Coquitlam were the better team. They outshot Nanaimo 33-15 overall between the second and third periods and were poised with their puck possession. Eric Young also made a wonderful save as the middle frame carried on to keep the Clippers from snatching any momentum back.
Just over six minutes into the third and Nate Crema was back at it again. David Brandes drove from the blueline to the right side of the attacking zone and took a shot that was blocked and went to Nick Wellenreiter, who then shot the puck and it bounced to the stick of Crema. Right on the front porch, Nate was able to bang the puck home for his second of the night. Last but not least in regulation was Jackson Krill. A wicked wrist shot looked to be stopped by Nixon but it actually squeaked through and trickled over the goal line. His third of the season evened the scoreline and sent this game to the land beyond 60 minutes.
Overtime on Casino Night was wild. A couple minutes into the extra period, Nick Wellenreiter drove hard to the crease and took out Chazz Nixon to give Nanaimo a powerplay but they could not capitalize. In fact, the game was almost ended shorthanded by the Express. Trip Pendy poked the puck away at the blueline and took off down the ice only to be hauled down by a diving Andrew Brown. The referee emphatically pointed to centre ice to indicate a penalty shot. Pendy took the puck in slowly and tried to wrist it short side but Nixon denied the attempt with his blocker. Coquitlam played well in Overtime and held the vast majority of puck possession time before the game found its conclusion in the dying moments. Ryan Staples denied a pass from the Clippers blueline and chipped the puck to a streaking Trip Pendy and the two went down the ice on a 2-on-1. Trip showcased patience and poise by waiting for Staples to get into the play and then held the puck right till the last moment before roofing it over the shoulder of Chazz Nixon. The building erupted and the Express piled off the bench to celebrate with the evening’s hero.
There is nothing quite more poetic than a guy being denied on a penalty shot, only to be given a second chance and ice the game with three seconds left. Pendy was ecstatic during his post game interview and made sure to credit his teammates with playing their hearts out to generate the comeback. He also commented on how much it meant to make up for not converting on the penalty shot. It’s not often a chance to make amends comes up that quickly, and all he could think about was not messing it up. A quality moment for a quality guy as Pendy has been one of the hardest working players on the Express this season. Good defensively, and on offence is always using his speed to set up teammates, as is evidenced by his eight assists already this year.
Jeff Wagner’s wish to win a more conventional hockey game will have to wait as the Express continue to threaten people’s pacemakers far and wide. This team is digging deep and finding ways to drag themselves out of problems. Hopefully soon they will have the chance to showcase a more dominant, play-with-the-lead style of game. But until then, just sit back and hang on cause the rollercoaster is only just getting started.
Coquitlam head on the road this coming weekend as they take on the Powell River Kings on November 8th and 9th at Hap Parker Memorial Arena.
FORTIS BC ENERGY PLAYER – Sam Frandina
MARINER BREWING THREE STARS
3rd – NAN – Chazz Nixon – 43 Saves on 47 Shots
2nd – COQ – Trip Pendy – Overtime Winner
1st – COQ – Nate Crema – 2 Goals
– Ian Wilson
