Coquitlam Express goalie Carter Woodside made 41 saves Sunday against the Chilliwack Chiefs in the seventh game of their BC Hockey League playoff series.
The only problem: He faced 47 shots, as the Chiefs defeated the Express 6-0 at the Chilliwack Coliseum to win their first-round match-up, four games to three.
The Express were outshot in every game of the series, and the imbalance finally caught up to them. Chilliwack scored once in the first period, four times in the second, then added another in the third.
Coquitlam shooters directed just 20 shots at Chiefs’ goalie Grant Riley, and took more than nine minutes to register their first shot on net in the second period. By then, Chilliwack was up 3-0.
Lachlan Getz had a pair of goals to lead the Chiefs’ attack, while Dawson Good had a goal and two assists.
The loss was a tough way to end the junior careers of Woodside, Express captain Ryan Tattle, Christian MacDougall and Kahlil Fontana. In fact, MacDougall wasn’t even around at the end of the game, as he was ejected following a scrum late in the second period for which he was assessed a minor penalty for instigating, a major for fighting and a game misconduct.
Express general manager Tali Campbell said it was a hard-fought series as the "players continued to believe in each other when everyone thought this team was done."
He added, "I cannot wait to see what we can accomplish next season."
The Chiefs, who finished 20 points ahead of the Express in the regular season standings, now face the Nanaimo Clippers in the next round.
