The Coquitlam Express is hoping to score big when the BC Hockey League (BCHL) team hosts its annual Score for Cancer game on Dec. 21, 7 p.m., against the Alberni Valley Bulldogs.
The fundraising effort for the Canadian Cancer Society is a legacy of former Express captain Ryan Tattle, who collected pledges for every point he scored during his final season with the team. He ended up raising more than $124,000.
Since then, the Express has continued to dedicate one game a season to boosting the search for a cure to cancer. In total, the initiative has raised $155,520.
Tattle, who’s from Port Moody and is now playing his third season at the University of Connecticut, will be at the game.
There will also be a special 50/50 draw, as well as auction items with proceeds going towards the fundraising effort.
The Express has slipped to fifth place in the BCHL’s Coastal Conference, with 27 points in 24 games.
The team has lost its last four games, including a 5-2 setback to the ninth-place Prince George Spruce Kings on Friday, Nov. 29.
Coquitlam has allowed 23 goals during its skid, while scoring just eight times.
On Sunday, Dec. 1, general manager Tali Campbell announced the Express acquired 18-year-old defensemen Jack Sullivan as well as future considerations from the Blackfalds Bulldogs in exchange for 19-year-old defensemen Alex Bosland.
Bosland joined Coquitlam this season after splitting his 2023-24 season with the Powell River Kings and Brooks Bandits. He had four points in 23 games.
Campbell said the team has had its eye on Sullivan for some time.
“He plays a good 200-ft hockey game,” he said in a news release, adding the 6’1” defender from Buffalo, N.Y., can also chip in on offence.
Sullivan had one point in 10 games with Blackfalds but in 2023-24 he was the 10th leading scorer in the US High School - Prep U18 league with 77 points in 65 games for Nichols School in Buffalo.
The 67th-ranked prep hockey program in the United States has been the launching point for several players who’ve gone on to NHL careers, including Brooks Orpik and Ryan Sittler.
The Express play the Chilliwack Chiefs in Chilliwack on Saturday, Dec. 7, then return to the Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex to face the Powell River Kings on Sunday, Dec. 8, at 3 p.m.
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