The Coquitlam Express spotted the Nanaimo Clippers a 3-0 lead and never recovered en route to a 5-3 loss Sunday in Nanaimo.
It was the second consecutive defeat for the Express on its weekend swing across the middle of Vancouver Island as the team was shutout 4-0 by the Alberni Valley Bulldogs on Saturday.
Sunday, the Clippers scored three straight power play goals before Coquiltam’s Ray Hamlin was able to answer back with one of his own seven minutes into the second period, shovelling in a rebound on a Coco Armstrong shot from the slot.
Less than five minutes later Tyler Kopff got the Express to within a goal, again on a power play, when he corralled a carom off the back boards and tucked the puck past Clippers goalie Aidan Campbell.
Nanaimo’s Willyam Gendron scored the game’s first even-strength goal at 14:09 of the second period to restore its two-goal advantage heading into the third frame.
Six minutes after the break Mateo Dixon lifted another rebound over Gendron to again close the gap to one goal, 4-3, but a goal at 11:01 by Nanaimo’s Ka Daniells rounded out the scoring even as the Express outshot the home team 12-7 in the final frame.
In fact, Coquitlam ended the game with a 36-31 edge in shots with Express goalie Adam Manji making 26 saves.
Saturday in Port Alberni, the Bulldogs scored once in the first period, once in the second and twice in the third in its 4-0 win over the Express.
Bulldogs’ goalie Hobie Hedquist stopped all 31 shots he faced, with Zach Shaughnessy also stopped 31 shots in Coquitlam’s net.
The Express will get a chance to avenge that defeat Wednesday, when Alberni Valley visits the Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex at 7 p.m.
