Burnaby Express captain Dylan Herold made sure that his team's playoffs aspirations would live to see another day, scoring a hat trick in a 4-2 home ice win over the Langley Chiefs on Friday evening.
Colton Beck put the Chiefs ahead early with the lone goal of the first period, beating Express starter Nick Energren at 6:14 of the frame on a set-up from Brandon Thompson. But Herold went to work in the second, drawing Burnaby even midway through the period before netting again less than three minutes later.
Brad Reid doubled the lead for the home side just 41 seconds into the third period on a solo shorthanded effort. And while Trevor Gerling celebrated his recent commitment to Connecticut with a goal at the 5:03 mark, Herold completed the hat trick with an empty netter to seal two points for the Express.
Energren was named the game's first star following a 39-save performance, while Mark Friesen saw 31 shots in the loss.
In other Coastal Conference action, the Cowichan Valley Capitals made sure not to lose ground to Burnaby with a 2-1 overtime victory that kept the club six points ahead of their Coastal Conference rivals. Mike Hammond continued to produce big plays for the Caps, setting up Chase Kaiser's third period goal that tied the game before netting the winner :32 seconds into the extra frame.
Andrew Wallace had put Surrey ahead with less than a minute remaining in the opening period, but the Eagles were held off the scoresheet from there by 27 saves from Laurent Brossoit. Vinny Lessard faced 39 shots and earned first star honours in a losing cause.
