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Express douse Smoke Eaters, 5-2

Massimo Rizzo scored two goals and added an assist, and Jack Watson made 32 saves, to lead the Coquitlam Express to a 5-2 win over the Trail Smoke Eaters, Saturday in Trail.
Massimo Rizzo of the Coquitlam Express
Massimo Rizzo

Massimo Rizzo scored two goals and added an assist, and Jack Watson made 32 saves, to lead the Coquitlam Express to a 5-2 win over the Trail Smoke Eaters, Saturday in Trail.

It was the team’s fifth straight win since a 4-3 overtime loss to the Wenatchee Wild on Feb. 1.

After each team scored in the first period. Rizzo put Coquitlam up 2-1 in the second frame when he batted a puck out of mid-air and past Smoke Eaters goalie Logan Terness.

Adam Trotman made it 3-1 midway through the third period and Danny Pearson increased the margin to 4-1 less than four minutes later with a shot that eluded Terness’s blocker.

Walker Erickson got one of those goals back for Trail with 2:28 left in regulation time. But with six seconds left on the clock, Rizzo scored his second goal of the game into the empty net to ice the win.

The Express, which clinched the BC Hockey League’s regular season title on Friday with a 3-2 win over the Penticton Vees, plays its last home game prior to the playoffs on Wednesday, 7:15 p.m., against the Surrey Eagles.