#13 Noah Alvarez passes the puck back from the face-off.
By Malcom Cooke
The Nanaimo Clippers fell 5-4 to the Coquitlam Express on Saturday night. The Clippers got out to an early 1-0 lead, but then the Express scored late in the 1st and early in the 2nd to go up 2-1. The Clippers tied it at 2-2 before a flurry of goals late in the 2nd made the game 4-3 Coquitlam. Each team scored once in the 3rd to reach the final total of 5-4. Joel Plante, Emmett McHardy, Luke Buss, and Conner DeTurris scored for the Clippers.
The Express started the game with heavy pressure in the Clippers zone. Tyler Hodges had to make a few key saves to keep the game scoreless in the early part of the 1st period. The Clippers caught a break when Joel Plante pickpocketed an Express defender and scored his 14th goal of the season. The Clippers were up 1-0 less than 3 minutes into the game. The Clippers' power play had a chance to add to their lead after Gabriel Westling was hooked trying to escape his defensive zone. The power-play unit came up short but continued offensive pressure which led to Jack Edwards nearly putting the Clippers up 2-0 if not for a kick save by Express goalie Ethan Simcoe. Nanaimo’s power-play unit got a second chance to make something happen in the final stages of the 1st period but came up empty. The Express answered with a goal of their own to tie the game at 1-1. Noah Alvarez took an interference penalty in the final minute of the 1st period, meaning the Clippers would start the 2nd period on the penalty kill. The Express outshot the Clippers 11-9 in the 1st.
Coquitlam took a 2-1 lead while on the power play, less than a minute into the 2nd period. Noah Alvarez took another penalty on his first shift after the Express scored. The Clippers' penalty-kill unit was able to run out the clock on their 2nd attempt. Cole Lonsdale nearly tied the game on a similar play to the one Plante scored on. This time, Express goalie Ethan Simcoe was ready for it. Chase Hull managed to pickpocket an Express defender at the blue line and feed Emmett McHardy on a 3-on-0 attack. McHardy scored his 5th goal of the season to tie the game at 2-2 midway through the 2nd. The Express retook the lead late in the 2nd on a broken play that saw Express forward Drew Garzone with way too much time and space in front of the Clippers net. Coquitlam added to their lead moments later, increasing their margin to 4-2. Luke Buss cut the Express lead to 4-3 shortly after they had gone up by 2 goals. The Clippers would go into the 2nd intermission down a goal but with momentum on their side. McHardy took a penalty at the end of the 2nd which meant the Clippers would start the 3rd period on a full 2 minute PK. The Express outshot the Clippers 13-10 in the 2nd.
The Clippers managed to kill off the McHardy penalty to start the 3rd period. Gabriel Westling got whacked in the face while attempting to backcheck. There was no call on the play and the Express capitalized on the confusion to score their 5th goal of the game, going up 5-3. The Clippers were awarded a power-play shortly after the Express scored, but could not cut into the lead. A similar play happened when Isa Parekh tried to cut into the middle of the ice and got whacked in the face by an errant stick, giving the Clippers their 4th power-play of the game. The Clippers would have a 5-on-3 chance after some aggressiveness after the whistle by the Express. Unfortunately, nothing would come of it. The Clippers cut into the lead with less than 2 minutes to go on a snipe from Conner DeTurris, but it would be too little too late. The Express held on for a 5-4 win. The Clippers outshot the Express 32-28 in the game.
Joel Plante took home the game’s 3rd star. Micheal Rubin and Jake Manfre of the Express won the other 2 stars of the game. FortisBC Energy Player of the Game went to Samuel Boisvert.
The Clippers are in action again on Friday, Jan 12th when they face the Victoria Grizzlies. Tickets can be purchased at the Frank Crane box office on game day, or at tickets.nanaimoclippers.com.
Catch all of the exciting action at a 2023-2024 Nanaimo Clippers game.
Tickets can be purchased at tickets.nanaimoclippers.com.
