Fredericton Express head to BSHL finals after crushing Elsipogtog Hawks

Fredericton Express defenceman John Harty guides the puck up ice. (Credit: Tyler Farrer/Tyler Farrer Photography)

The Fredericton Express are headed to the championship round of the Beausejour Senior Hockey League in their inaugural season.

The team defeated the Elsipogtog Hawks 8-2 in game six of the semi-finals on March 14 at the Grant-Harvey Centre.

The sold-out crowd was entertained throughout the game, cheering on their home team goal after goal.

The first period began with aggressive play.

Before the puck dropped, Express forward Brett Gallant got into a shoving match with Hawks forward Brodie MacArthur. 

Shortly after, Express defenceman Seth Fillmore was shoulder checked into the boards by Hawks forward Wayne Jones, causing a stoppage in play. Both teams returned to their dressing rooms as an ambulance drove onto the ice and paramedics attended to Fillmore.

Half an hour later play resumed. The majority of action took place in the Elispogtog zone, with Express defenceman Declan Jones and forward David Brewer nailing off shots. 

Just after the halfway mark of the period, Express forward Adam Crowe passed the puck to forward Peter Trainor, who deked Hawks goaltender Jonah Capriotti out of position to score the first goal of the game.

Towards the end of the first, Hawks forward Brett Bernard got called for hooking. While on the penalty kill, Elsipogtog scored short-handed when forward Brett Bernard fired a shot attempting to dump the puck into the Fredericton end, tying the game. 

The second period saw Trainor score his second goal in the first minute while on a power play. An awkward bounce from behind the net put the puck on his stick which he slid into the net to retake the lead. 

The next ten minutes saw back-and-forth play between zones. This was broken once Gallant raced the puck up the middle, passed to forward Benji Curtis who scored off a hard shot.

Express forward Cole Young scored off a breakaway 25 seconds later, earning his first goal of the season and bringing the tally to 4-1.

After killing a cross-checking penalty, Fredericton scored once again in the last five minutes of the period. Breaking out of their zone, forward Ryan Tesnik passed the puck to Crowe, who shot the puck top-shelf to widen their lead by four.

Fredericton began the third period with a power play goal by Tesnik a minute and 30 seconds in. This was followed by a high-sticking penalty called on Express forward Adam Carle.

Despite being shorthanded, Trainor was able to break from his own zone and score by putting the puck through Capriotti’s five-hole.

Halfway through the third Crowe passed the puck to Trainor in front of the Elsipogtog net, who flipped it in for his third goal of the game and earned him a hat trick for the second game in a row.

Near the end of the game, a fight broke out between Express defenceman Connor McCluskey and MacArthur. After exchanging blows, McCluskey was able to take his opponent down to the delight of the cheering fans. 

Elsipogtog was able to score once more off a shot by forward Vincent Deslauriers, but it was already too late for a comeback.

Season-ticket holder Charlie Glendenning has been to nearly every Express home game this season and can’t wait for the finals against the Dalhousie Marauders.

“I’m really happy to see the success and support that the team has had in their first year,” he said. “We’ll hopefully get to see them win the championship and it will be really even better if it happens at home.”