LANGLEY, B.C. – The Cowichan Capitals continued their early-season road swing with a split over the weekend, picking up a 5-3 victory over the Coquitlam Express on Friday before falling 5-1 to the Langley Rivermen the following night.
Coming off their first win of the season Wednesday in Chilliwack, the Capitals carried that momentum into Coquitlam with another strong offensive performance. The Express opened the scoring just over three minutes in, but Cowichan responded with four consecutive goals to take control.
After a strong effort from Raphael Messier to keep the puck alive in the offensive zone, he regained possession below the goal line and quickly spotted Brendan Finley in the slot. Finley made no mistake, tucking a shot under the bar for his first goal of the season and first in the BCHL.
With exactly one minute remaining in the opening period, the Capitals struck again, this time on the power play. Working the half wall, Messier played a give-and-go with Trace Frieden before finding Tristan Gravenor in the slot, who made no mistake for his first of two goals on the evening.
The 2-1 advantage held until the latter stages of the second, when Gravenor went back to work on the man advantage. Parked on the doorstep, he redirected a Ludovik Gauvin point shot to double Cowichan’s lead.
The Capitals weren’t done. With just 16 seconds remaining in the period, Loik Leduc sent a perfectly placed wrist shot into the top corner for his first BCHL goal, sending Cowichan into the second intermission with a commanding 4-1 advantage.
Coquitlam made things interesting with a pair of goals in the third, but the Capitals held firm. With the Express net empty late, Kayden Turner found the open cage while shorthanded for his first goal of the season, helping seal the 5-3 victory.
Gravenor led the offence with two goals and an assist, while Gauvin and Messier each collected two helpers. Making his first start of the season, Noah Sinagowitz was busy at the other end, turning aside 34 of 37 shots to earn his first victory of the campaign.
Less than 24 hours later, the Capitals were back on the ice in Langley looking to make it three straight wins, and once again, Cowichan found an early spark.
Just 1:45 into the game, John Lumsden sent a shot toward the net from the wall that found its way past Rivermen netminder Karsen Chartier, giving Cowichan an early 1-0 advantage.
Langley responded less than four minutes later, and from there the game began to swing in the home side’s favour. The Rivermen broke the 1-1 deadlock with three unanswered goals in the second period, carrying a 4-1 advantage into the final frame. Langley added another early in the third to close out the scoring in a 5-1 final.
Despite the result, Evan Maillet faced a steady workload throughout the night and turned aside 35 of 40 shots. The weekend split leaves the Capitals at 2-3-0 through their opening five games, with both victories coming on the road.
Cowichan’s extended road swing continues this weekend with a trip north for a pair of games against the Prince George Spruce Kings on Friday and Saturday night.
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