Esposito holds down the fort

Ken Henry, The Province

Matt Esposito made 38 saves in a 2-1 win over Lethbridge Friday night

Roberto Luongo is eight inches taller than Matt Esposito, 30 pounds heavier and has at least 10 times as much facial hair.

Esposito, however, does have two things in common with his favourite NHL goaltender: He, too, is Italian; and, more importantly, he possesses the same drive and determination to lead his team to the postseason.

Since being acquired from Everett on Dec. 8, the 17-year-old netminder has compiled an impressive 9-12-2 record and enabled the Chilliwack Bruins to climb within two points of Kelowna for the fourth and final postseason berth in the B.C. Division.

His ridiculously good 38-save performance Friday in a 2-1 win against Lethbridge was proof of how valuable he is to the expansion Bruins. Esposito made 18 saves in the third period, including an absolute robbery of Tomas Kudelka with a cross-crease diving glove save.

"We're gunning for that playoff spot -- we want that playoff spot," Esposito said, sounding a little like Luongo in the latter's recent interview in The Hockey News. "Kelowna's been winning, so it's pretty simple -- we've got to get more wins than them."

Esposito seems intent on making that happen.

The Edmonton native wasn't pleased with his performance during Wednesday's 4-0 loss to Seattle, so he says he took it upon himself to carry the Bruins against a potent Lethbridge lineup that ranks fourth in the WHL with an average of 3.44 goals per game.

Esposito's effort came as no surprise to Bruins head coach Jim Hiller.

"He has a real competitive edge and he comes by it pretty naturally," Hiller said. "You need your goalie to be able to steal you some games ... and we know Matt's capable of that."

Esposito, of course, isn't the only key to Chilliwack's hope of making the playoffs.

The second line of Ken Petkau, Dillon Johnstone and Colby Kulhanek will play a big role, too.

The trio has combined for eight points over the past four games, giving the Bruins (18-37-3-2) a legitimate scoring threat behind the much-heralded top line of Oscar Moller, Mark Santorelli and Josh Aspenlind.

Petkau opened scoring against Lethbridge -- his fourth goal in six games -- and was by far the fastest, most dangerous player on the ice.

Johnstone is also playing his best hockey of the season, forechecking effectively and using his 6-foot-5 frame to create space for his linemates.

"The two of them [Johnstone and Petkau] are coming alive at the right time for us," Hiller said. "We've talked about secondary scoring all year, but it's not just scoring. It's being a threat, being effective. That line is really helping us and has picked up the slack."

ICE CHIPS: Cody Smuk scored the winner against Lethbridge. ... The Bruins improved to 6-3-0-1 against the Central Division. ... 15-year-old prospect Ryan Howse played only a handful of shifts in the final 30 minutes of Friday's game. Hiller put Donnie Glennie in Howse's spot to "go with a more veteran line-up."