Express Take Big Standings Lead

VS
3                                       Final Score                                        6
Brubacher, Basilico, Stoley	Goal Scorers	Cressey (3), Turanski, Udahl, Bertsch
39	Total Shots	30
13	1st Period Shots	9
15	2nd Period Shots	10
11	3rd Period Shots	11
1 for 4	Power Play	0 for 6
Corey Hoffman	3rd Star
	2nd Star	Jackson Cressey
	1st Star	Noah Turanski
7-21-0-2	Current Record	11-11-1-3

With Prince George’s captain out, Coquitlam’s took over.

Jackson Cressey scored the first goal for Coquitlam, and the last, as he completed a hat-trick in a 6-3 win over the Spruce Kings. It was the third meeting between the two teams, after they split a pair in Prince George with PG winning the first night 3-2, then the Express exacting revenge the next night with a narrow 2-1 decision. 

The first goal in the first was a rebound, where Cressey was able to get a hold of the puck in front of the net after a shot from Charlie Barrow. Three minutes later it was Noah Turanski getting a point shot through a screen to earn his first goal of the season.

In the second it was all Prince George though. Liam McCloskey shut the door on all 10 shots, and the power play that had been sputtering managed to get rolling. The man advantage had been shutout in the past three games, and was definitely missing the big shot of Jake LeBrun from the left faceoff point. Adam Brubacher would finally break through, and drill a shot past Fenton to tie LeBrun in goals scored with 11 on the season. Then a few minutes later Bryan Basilico stole the puck on the left boards, and managed to drag the puck to his backhand and just squeeze the puck in past a sprawled Fenton tying the game at two.

Alex Stoley gave Prince George their first lead 1:03 into the third period with his first goal of the season. Corey Hoffman won the faceoff back to him, and he skated down the left boards before cutting towards the net, and sending a shot in off the far post and in.

Then mayhem struck as the Express scored two goals in 19 seconds starting less than a minute after Prince George scored to regain the lead at 4-3. The first was a beautiful play by the speedy Erik Udahl as he sped up the left side of the ice, and then while falling across the slot managed to get a shot past McCloskey for a beautiful goal. Then it was the captain Cressey scoring his second of the night to restore his team’s lead. Bertsch would score just before the halfway mark, to double the lead. Corey Hoffman thought he had scored to get the game within one goal a few minutes later, but the refs determined that the goal went off the crossbar instead of the back bar and out.

 Jackson Cressey completed his hat-trick scoring shorthanded into an empty net for Coquitlam’s first goal while down a man on the ice.

Crowning Moment:

Prince George had the lead early in the third, but couldn’t hold on as Coquitlam came back to score twice quickly to regain the lead on home ice.

Prince George now sits 10 points back of Coquitlam for the 4^th and final playoff spot in the Mainland Division, while the Express also hold four games in hand. These two teams will meet again next Thursday in Prince George for a rematch with Coquitlam now leading the season series 2-1. Prince George managed shutdown the 11^th ranked Coquitlam power play, stopping them on all six opportunities.   

SCORING SUMMARY

PERIOD 1

1-0 Coquitlam Express at 5:41 - Jackson Cressey from Charlie Barrow and Jarell Pinchuk

2-0 Coquitlam Express at 8:54 - Noah Turanski from Luca Leone and Owen Stout

PERIOD 2

2-1 Prince George Spruce Kings at 5:55 (PP) - Adam Brubacher from Corey Hoffman and Adam Burnett

2-2 Prince George Spruce Kings at 14:10 - Bryan Basilico (unassisted)

PERIOD 3

3-2 Prince George Spruce Kings at 1:03 - Alex Stoley from Corey Hoffman

3-3 Coquitlam Express at 1:51 - Erik Udahl from Noah Turanski

4-3 Coquitlam Express at 2:10 - Jackson Cressey from Alex Ambrosio

5-3 Coquitlam Express at 9:41 - Cameron Bertsch from Jake Brien

6-3 Coquitlam Express at 19:03 (SH) (EN)- Jackson Cressey from Alex Ambrosio

Didur Stars Again

VS
1                                        Final Score                                        4
Braiden Epp	Goal Scorers	Szeto, Sinclair, Fregona, White
35	Total Shots
5	1st Period Shots	16
15	2nd Period Shots	6
15	3rd Period Shots	7
0 for 3	Power Play	0 for 2
Ethan De Jong	3rd Star
	2nd Star	Bo Didur
	1st Star	Adam Sinclair
7-20-0-2	Current Record	16-11-0-0

The Spruce Kings finally managed a goal against Bo Didur. He had a shutout streak of nearly 5 ½ periods before Braiden Epp managed to get a tip past him. It would be the one goal Prince George scored in a 4-1 loss to the Langley Rivermen.

In the first Prince George was heavily outgunned being outshot 16-5. Despite that stat, the period ended scoreless. Sam Tanguay earned his first start in net since last Wednesday, and was brilliant in the first period keeping Prince George in the game.

The second period was a different story, as Langley only had six shots, but scored on two of them in a span of just under a minute. First it was Zachary Bleuler at the side of the net taking a shot, and the rebound bounced right to Justin Szeto who scored on the rebound for the first goal of the game. Then it was Adam Sinclair getting wide open in the slot, and wristing a shot past the glove of Tanguay.

Prince George would eventually break past Didur in the third as Matt Stief took a shot from the slot that was tipped in front by Epp to bring the game within one goal. It would the Spruce Kings getting the next goal though, as Justin Fregona scored his team leading 19^th goal which is good for 5^th best in the BCHL tied with Matthew Hoover from the Nanaimo Clippers. Torrin White would eventually score the late empty netter on a sharp angled shot to seal the deal at 4-1.

Turning Point:

A pair of no goal calls hurt the Spruce Kings. The first was called on the ice as a good goal, but then the refs consulted, and determined that Braiden Epp falling into Bo Didur was enough under his own power and didn’t give Didur a chance to make the save. Then it was Parker Colley on a wraparound that he thought went in, but the refs said otherwise.

Prince George will play in Coquitlam on Friday night. The Spruce Kings currently sit six point back of the Express, but Coquitlam holds four games in hand.

SCORING SUMMARY

PERIOD 1

No Scoring

PERIOD 2

1-0 Langley Rivermen at 6:47 - Justin Szeto from Zachary Bleuler and Jason O'Neill

2-0 Langley Rivermen at 7:38 - Adam Sinclair from Cameron Ginnetti and Torrin White

PERIOD 3

2-1 Prince George Spruce Kings at 7:37 - Braiden Epp from Matthew Stief and Kyle Johnson

3-1 Langley Rivermen at 12:23 - Justin Fregona from Adam Sinclair

4-1 Langley Rivermen at 19:29 (EN)- Torrin White from Max Kaufman

Langley Rematch

VS
7-19-0-2	Record	15-11-0-0
63 (17th)	Goals For	102 (4th)
118 (15th)	Goals Against	84 (7th)
18.75% (13th)	Power Play	19.85% (7th)
73.64% (16th)	Penalty Kill	75.00% (15th)

Venue: The Langley Event Centre

Game Time: 7pm

Season Series:  Langley won the first meeting this season 5-0 in their home opener.

 Game Overview:

In the first meeting between these two teams since the Prince George booted Langley from the playoffs last year, it was all Rivermen. Langley was having their season opener at the Langley Event Centre, and contained the Spruce Kings to just 10 shots all game long. It was Sam Tanguay’s first game as a Spruce King, and allowed five goals on 23 shots. Prince George will look for a better result this time around after being shutout 4-0 last night in Chilliwack. The loss of Jake LeBrun to injury has been big to the team as they lost their captain, and leading goal scorer. Prince George needs some more players to step up, especially the depth players who may have been playing a more defensive style.

Prince George Away Record: 3-11-0-2

Spruce Kings Leading Scorer: Adam Brubacher – 9G/13A/22Pts

Langley Home Record: 10-5-0-0

Rivermen Leading Scorer: Matthew Graham – 14G/19A/33Pts

Player to watch:

Spruce Kings:

Last night Jarod Hovde made it onto the score sheet, but probably not the way he wanted with a pair of penalties. The young forward had a golden chance on a seam pass in front of the net, but couldn’t connect on the shot. Hovde is more of a defensive forward, and excels on the penalty kill, but with the team struggling to score, they need to start getting goals from other players. Cavin Tilsley is also in a funk for scoring, as his last goal came a little over a month ago

Rivermen:

Only one player had a multi-point game in the first meeting against PG, and that was Ben Butcher who has since been moved to the Vernon Vipers. One goal in the game that put a dagger into the heart of the Spruce Kings was an early power play goal by Dominic Franco. With 13 points this season, Franco is very shot heavy with nine of his points being goals. Prince George will need to shut him down, along with Justin Fregona who leads Langley in power play goals. In their first meeting Fregona had one goal at even strength. The Rivermen have a strong power play, wand they went 3 for 11 in the first meeting with Prince George.

Broadcast Info: For all games, you can listen to the action on Mixlr or watch live at BCHL FASTHockey