Here's how the game went. Walpole got things going in the first minute when Matt Harrington put home a Lou Malvasi pass to get the early one-goal lead. Ben Oskroba and Danny McAuliffe added first period goals, giving the home team the 3-0 lead. Though Portland got one back early in the second on the power play, it was all Walpole after that. McAuliffe and Georgiy Gurianov scored second period goals and in the third, Brian Greene, Cody Armstrong and Gurianov delivered for Walpole. Austin Grosvenor picked up three assists. Zach Andrews was again stellar between the pipes making 26 saves.

On Saturday, the Express traveled to Salem, N.H. for their last road trip with the Boston Bulldogs at the Ice Center. After a back-and-forth scoreless first period the Express broke the seal in the second as Bentley-bound Oskroba slipped past two Bulldogs defensemen and ripped a backhander past Bulldogs goalie Raimonds Ermics for the 1-0 lead. The lead would be short-lived, though, as just 4:28 later the Bulldogs tied the score with a rebound off a goal-mouth scramble. In the third, the Bulldogs took the lead at the 15:15 mark with a power play tally. Walpole’s play turned sloppy for the next five minutes until Gurianov took a Matt Venoit feed just inside the Bulldogs blueline and fired a slap shot far side, top shelf to tie the game at 2.

The Express kept up the pressure and forced the Bulldogs into penalty trouble. Venoit connected on the man advantage off a nice Steve Charest give-and-go beating Ermics through the five-hole for the eventual game winner. Derek Kump made 30 saves for his forth win in five games against the Bulldogs this season.

“Perserverance was the word of the night for us," said Coach Mark Kumpel. "We got down by a goal in the third and the boys responded by getting it going and taking over the play. I’m very happy with the way we won.”

With the win over the Bulldogs, the Express need just one point in their remaing three games to capture the AJHL North Championship and a first-round playoff match-up with rival Hartford Jr. Wolf Pack. The Express will finish off the regular season this coming weekend with three games. On Friday, they willl host the Boston Bulldogs at the Hyannis, Mass. Youth and Community Center at 7:30 pm. Then they travel to Laconia, N.H. to play the Leafs on Saturday at 7:00 pm and again Sunday at 2:10 pm.

While the A team marches toward the AJHL North Division championship, the Express B team hits the road for their final away game of the regular season when they take on the N.Y. Saints in Ramapo, N.Y. on Sunday at 11:00 am. Their last regular-season game will be played at Iorio Arena against the N.J. Rockets next Saturday and Sunday.