The Burnaby Express skated to a 5-2 win over the Powell River Kings in front of more than 500 hockey fans at the Gibsons and Area Community Centre last Thursday (Sept. 3).
The exhibition game showcased the Coastal Conference rivals from the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) in one of the last pre-season tests for both clubs before the regular season begins this weekend.
Festivities started with a pre-game player meet and greet barbecue and ball hockey game with food organized by the Lions Club in partnership with the Sunshine Coast Skating Club.
Then it was time to hit the ice with pre-game festivities including a ceremonial puck drop featuring Doug McCormick, president and governor of the Kings, and Darcy Rota, president of the Express. Gibsons' Sarah Loverock sang a stirring rendition of the national anthem.
The first period was fast-paced and pretty even with both teams generating quality-scoring chances.
Burnaby opened the scoring at 8:23 of the opening frame on a power play goal from Sean Dinsmore.
Powell River responded with a power play goal of their own at 14:15 as Brenden Forbes beat Express goalie Mark Trousdell from in close to tie the game at one.
The Kings rounded out the scoring in the first with another power play goal, this one from Matt Garbowski at 16:56 of the period. The goal was set up by a great passing play by Jordan Grant and Brandon Formosa.
Burnaby found their legs in the second period and slowly took over the game. The Express finished their checks and battled harder along the boards, getting to the loose pucks and created a lot of scoring chances. Burnaby scored twice in the period, and had it not been for the play of Kings' goalie Josh Watson, Powell River could have been down a lot more than 3-2.
Jon Puskar from Brad Reid and Dylan Herold at 4:40 and Matt Ridley from Kai Ohs and Brodie Jamieson at 10:36 provided the offence for the Express.
Burnaby continued to pour it on in the third, peppering new Kings' goalie Mike Garteig with lots of shots. The Express scored two goals in less than a minute, one on the power play to put the game away.
Rich Manley from Luke Challier and Matt Lus at 7:09 followed by Herold from Ridley and Ohs at 7:53 put an end to the scoring.
Following the game, both organizations praised the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) for their efforts in organizing the game.
"It's been first class. Our organization from our players to our staff have been treated royally. We're delighted to be here," said Rota, the former Vancouver Canuck who delighted hockey fans young and old with an autograph session between the first and second periods. "For us, we have a number of positions we're still battling for with the hockey club and players playing in their first exhibition game tonight. We have eight 20 year olds in camp and we're only allowed six on our roster, so we have some real tough decisions to make."
Rota said he was pleased with the effort from the club and hoped the fans enjoyed the experience.
"I want to thank the fans in Gibsons for coming out and supporting this. It's been very well run," he said.
Kings general manager Kent Lewis was also impressed with the fan support.
"Tom Poulton in general worked his rear end off. We just came down to play. The response was fantastic," said Lewis. "We came down here last year for a practice and worked with some coaches and both times it's been a great experience. I think it was a good game and both teams had good jump."
Lewis said the Kings have lots to work on as they prepare for the start of the season.
"We had a lot of young guys in the line-up. We sat four or five guys and we wanted to get a look at a few kids," he said. "I didn't see enough grease around the net. I didn't see us get a lot of scoring opportunities. We're going to have to be a lot better and improve that part of our game as we go on because we're going to have to be greasy. The offence is not going to come as easily as some may think."
Express head coach Dave McLellan said he was pleased with his team's effort.
"This was our second to last exhibition game. Some guys did a few things to improve their chances and I think some guys did a few things to not improve their chances. It really is an evaluation process," McLellan said.
The Express have teamed up with the SCRD the past two years to help with the Sunshine Coast Hockey School. McLellan said that and Thursday's exhibition game are both ways of spreading the word about the BCHL and what the league stands for.
"I hope the fans enjoyed it and had an opportunity to see junior A hockey and see what it's all about," he said. "I think it's vitally important to show the product and what the BCHL is all about. We're really happy the Sunshine Coast had us. This is a grassroots level of hockey, and the more you can reach out, the better."
