Locked in the grips of a three-game losing streak, the Coqutlam Express turned to their top producers to bring Philadelphia freedom.
Corey Mackin and Brett Supinski, who both came to the B.C. Hockey League from the City of Brotherly Love, combined for four points to lift the Express to a 4-1 road victory over the Prince George Spruce Kings Saturday at the Coliseum.
It was another productive weekend for Mackin, a 19-year-old Ferris State recruit, who picked up a goal and an assist to add to his league-leading 27-goal and 48-point totals. He had a goal and two assists in Friday's 6-4 loss to the Spruce Kings.
"As a team I thought we played really well defensively tonight and as line, too, we've been clicking really well," said Mackin. "Yesterday we played well but we had a couple of third-period breakdowns that cost us."
Supinski, a 19-year-old in his first BCHL season, also contributed a goal and an assist Saturday after a three-point effort the previous night against the Kings. He now has 19 goals and 38 points, third-best in the league. Playing with Mackin, a holdover from last year's league-champion Express team has helped Supinski establish himself among the BCHL's elite group of forwards.
"It's a pleasure playing with him," said Supinski, who will suit up in the NCAA next year for Union College. "I thought we played great as a team and hopefully we keep it going."
Coquitlam goalie Chris Tai made 33 stops and had a shutout going into the 9:48 mark of the third period when Jeremiah Luedtke took the puck off the backboard and chipped one in from a sharp angle. Tai joined the Express in late October and the North Delta native has supplying quality netminding ever since.
The win left the Express (10-14-1-4) nine points back of the Kings (16-11-0-2), who slipped to second when the Chilliwack Chiefs (17-8-0-1) leapfrogged them with a 5-3 win Saturday over Surrey.
The Kings were missing seven regulars due to injuries, including defencemen Alex Stoley, Karan Toor and forwards Justin Rai, Chad Staley, Jarryd Leung and Riley Hawes. D-man Ryan Fritz was serving a suspension.
"We played well but when you're missing that many guys that's a lot of holes," said Express head coach Barry Wolff. "There aren't many teams with the depth that can recover with that and credit to them, they banged hard and never quit."
Probably the most frustrated Spruce King was forward Braiden Epp, who had three breakaways and a penalty shot but was unable to score. He had Tai beat with his first rush but nailed the crossbar. Then with 8:47 gone in the second period he was sprung free with the puck on a perfect four-line feed from defenceman Raymond Grewal and got hauled down. But Tai played the penalty shot well and dropped to his knees to smother Epp's shot and preserve a 2-0 lead.
"That first one off the crossbar kind of rattled me and got under my skin, the goalie had my number and I couldn't score on him," said Epp, who scored two third-period goals Friday, including the winner. "We're missing our top guys and we're supposed to step up and its tough I couldn't bury a couple but that's the way it goes sometimes."
Coquitlam scored twice in the opening period. The first came on a power-play effort from Supinski, who went wide with a backhand deke to pick the corner on Jesse Jenks. Near the end of the period Supinski hammered a hard shot at Jenks and Cole Bevan followed up on the rebound.
Mackin caught the Kings on a bad line change a scored on a breakaway 13:47 into the second period. and Maryland native Daniel Fritz made it 4-0 with a shot from the point on another Express power play late in the period.
"The guys didn't quit but you could see they ran out of steam," sad Kings head coach Dave Dupas. "Playing 2 1/2 lines for two games at a high tempo in a physical game is tough to do but that being said you still have to win, no matter how many guys are out. There are some guys who hadn't been getting much ice time who are getting that chance right now and maybe a couple of them let that chance slip away.
"[Epp] is one of those guys who did step up and he opened some eyes here. If he continues to play like that he's going to earn himself a lot of icetime."
LOOSE PUCKS: Dupas said Staley and Leung could be back by this weekend to face Chilliwack in a two-game set at the Coliseum... Kings forward Taylor Allen has returned to his home in Calgary to await a trade. Allen, 20, came to the Kings in the off-season and had hoped to earn a spot as a top-six forward... If Jenks and Kings forward Brogan O'Brien make the cut for Team Canada West for the World Juinior A Challenge they will miss five Kings games in December. They leave for the tryout camp in Calgary on Dec. 7.
