BCHL Bulletin, Coastal Conference, WHL

BCHL Today: Cioffi leaves the Coquitlam Express, and more

Written by Brian Wiebe on

 

Cioffi parts ways with the Express

Dan Cioffi steps down as Head Coach

If – and when – the BC Hockey League season begins, the Coquitlam Express will have a new coach. The team announced on Saturday that head coach and assistant general manager Dan Cioffi had stepped down.

According to a news release on the Express website, Cioffi leaves the team “to focus and pursue a new opportunity”. He was hired by Coquitlam last April and led the Express to an 8-3-0 record during last fall’s training season.

Cioffi spent the 2019-20 season as the head coach of the Valley West Giants of the BC Major Midget League. He’s had previous coaching and management stops in the BCHL in Trail, Langley, Salmon Arm, and Burnaby.

Chiefs commit Christano joins WHL’s Kelowna Rockets

Goaltender Nicholas Cristiano has signed with the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League and will spend the rest of the season with them.

The 2004-born netminder committed to the Chilliwack Chiefs for the 2021-22 season in late December. It remains to be seen whether his signing with the Rockets affects his plans to join the Chiefs this fall.

The Langley product was 3-0 with a 1.31 goals-against-average and one shutout in five exhibition games with the Fraser Valley U18 Thunderbirds in the BC U18 AAA League this season.

Brian's been involved in the BCHL in a variety of capacities for 17 years. From 2002 to 2012, he served in several roles around the Merritt Centennials organization, including as team president, board member, beat writer, colour commentator, webmaster, media and communications coordinator and marketing assistant. He's been writing about the BCHL since 2008 and served as colour commentator on the TSN 1040 broadcasts in 2012-13. BCHLNetwork is one of Brian's many passion projects that he balances around his full-time job as an instructor in the Radio Arts and Entertainment Program at BCIT in Burnaby.