Despite a packed house of 2,300 fans, it wasn’t the homecoming the Coquitlam Express hoped for.
The Express lost 4-1 to the Chilliwack Chiefs Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 24, at the Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex in a special mid-day BC Hockey League game for kids and teachers from School District 43 (SD43).
The young crowd provided a raucous, welcoming atmosphere for the team that was playing its first home game since Dec. 16.
Since then, Coquitlam played seven times on the road, losing all but one.
Wednesday, the Express’ woes continued as Chilliwack carried a 3-0 lead into the third period on goals by Stone Rolston, Savin Kirk and Brendan Ruskowski.
Coquitlam’s Sebastian Bradshaw gave the school kids something to cheer about when he scored after 8:32 had been played in the final frame. But that’s as close as they were able to get.
Brady Milburn gave the visitors added insurance on the power play when he sliced his way through three Express defenders and fired a shot over Adam Manji’s glove with 5:10 remaining in regulation time.
Chilliwack’s win was its first in five games while Coquitlam lost its fourth straight.
Adam Manji faced 44 shots in the Express net while Chilliwack’s Vladimir Nikitin stopped 34 of the 35 shots he faced.
Coquitlam hosts the Cowichan Valley Capitals on Friday, 7 p.m., at Poirier. It’s the team’s first Dyslexia Awareness game with information booths and representatives from dyslexia advocacy groups on hand to share information and answer questions about the learning challenge that affects reading and writing comprehension.
BCHL expanding
The BCHL announced Saturday, Jan. 21, five teams from the neighbouring Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) — the Blackfalds Bulldogs, Brooks Bandits, Okotoks Oilers, Sherwood Park Crusaders and Spruce Grove Saints — will join the circuit next season.
In a statement on its website, the league said further details on scheduling and new divisional alignments have yet to be worked out.
The AJHL, which is comprised of 16 teams, said on its website it was caught off-guard by the announcement.
"No official notice has been provided to the AJHL from the respective teams," said a statement.
The Alberta league immediately cancelled several games involving the departing teams.
The BCHL caused a stir last summer when it announced it would operate independently of Hockey Canada sanctioning, allowing teams to more readily recruit players from other provinces and even Europe.
The sport's national governing body didn't take too kindly to the BCHL's departure, imposing bans on any its referees from participating in league activities as well as restricting any involvement from teams, players and officials under its jurisdiction. That means even minor hockey players are barred from playing mini-games between periods, a popular feature of many teams during intermissions.
