With their playoff berth virtually guaranteed, the Coquitlam Express got a quick lesson in consistency.

They converted it just as fast.

The B.C. Hockey League squad recovered from a humiliating 8-0 home ice loss at the hands of the Merritt Centennials on Friday with a sturdy 4-1 victory over Coastal Conference rival Cowichan Valley Capitals on Saturday.

One good turn deserves another, but in this case perhaps familiarity of their opponent played a factor in both results.

Coquitlam were facing the Cents for the one and only time this year, and after an evenly played first period, saw the second-best Interior Conference squad steamroll past them with a flurry of goals.

Licking their wounds the next day, the Express surrendered an early marker to the Capitals but this time responded in kind.

It resulted in their second win over Cowichan this month - and pulled them within three points of their Coastal rival in the battle for third place.

"We really wanted to bounce back from the night before," remarked centre Mitch Nardi, who scored twice and set up another on Saturday. "We came out strong but [Cowichan] scored quickly and we were wondering - 'Oh oh, what if it's happening again?'"

First period goals by Clinton Atkinson and John Siemer, both on setups by Alexander Kerfoot, quashed that threat.

But the Capitals kept pressing and had as many quality scoring opportunities as Coquitlam in the first 40 minutes. Turning them aside and giving his team a huge boost was starter Cole Huggins, who improved his goals against average to 2.59 - fourth-best in the league.

"I'm proud of the boys in how they responded from that loss," remarked head coach Jon Calvano. "It was a divisional game against a playoff rival. We haven't had many great starts in the last five games or so, but the boys rallied around Huggins, who played a great game."

Nardi iced it with tallies in both the second and third, giving him 12 points in his past nine games. The 18-year-old Ontario native has picked up the pace since the Christmas break, and with 15 goals and 27 assists in 50 games, is relieved to be contributing offensively.

"Our offence has been a big part of our success, and I wasn't potting many before the break," Nardi said. "It's great to contribute that way but as a team it's really important to take away points from teams close to us or ahead of us in the standings- We still have a shot at first if we keep playing as well as we can."

At 31-18-2-2 and just seven games left in the regular season, the Express' window for catching Surrey - who lead Coquitlam by seven points and Powell River by a single point for Coastal Conference supremacy - is closing. But catching Cowichan Valley, who have six games remaining, is very possible.

"It's tough because we don't have any games left against Surrey, so we can't take any points away from them," noted Calvano. "First, second, third or fourth, I'm not greedy. With only four teams making the playoffs, we've got to remain focused on that and that's what we as coaches are preparing for."

Nanaimo, who sit fifth and trail Coquitlam by 11 points, are mathematically alive with eight games to play. To clinch the playoff berth, the Express need two wins, two Nanaimo losses or a combination of the two.

Coquitlam's next test comes Friday, 7 p.m. at the Poirier Sports Centre against Alberni Valley, while Nanaimo visits Surrey.

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