The Surrey Eagles were searching for their first win of the season, while putting their talents on display in Game One of the 2016 BCHL Showcase in Chilliwack. Though the effort came late in the final frame, it was the Cowichan Valley Capitals who would finish strong with a 3-2 victory.
Marc Audet rarely saw action from time to time, but the CV offense found the loose pucks; he’d make 23 total saves on 26 shots, while Adam Marcoux’s busy night ended in stopping 54 of 56 attempts.
The first period was quiet with no scoring and only one penalty awarded to Surrey’s newest acquisition Ryan Markovic. The Eagles, however, were able to keep the puck in the offensive zone, generating 16 shots on Marcoux.
Time took longer in the middle frame for a significant event to occur; unfortunately, it saw Cowichan defenseman Josh Owings sneak a floater through traffic behind Audet to take a 1-0 lead. The designated away team would pick up a late penalty, leaving the Eagles with a man-advantage heading into the final 20 minutes.
Not being able to convert on the power-play came at a cost; CV’s Rhett Kingston would make the game a two-goal deficit until Andrew Kemp found a route to the cage to cut the lead to one at the (literally) halfway mark of the third period. Cowichan would counter with a back-handed breaker with less than two minutes to go in regulation, but Alternate Captain Darius Davidson would give the home team some hope, netting his second of the season with 43 seconds left. Pulling the goaltender, however, would not help as the Eagles drop their fifth straight game and their fourth one-goal decision.
Surrey’s record now stands at 0-5-0-0, while Cowichan Valley improves to 3-1-1-0.
Andrew Kemp’s third goal of the season would be rewarded with the third star; Adam Marcoux and Josh Owings would round-up the top 2 stars.
Mitchell Williams’ speed on the backhand and through the neutral zone would earn him the Fortis BC Energy Player of the Game.
The Surrey Eagles will play their second and final game of the 2016 BCHL Showcase at the Prospera Centre in Chilliwack, Sunday afternoon at 1PM against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks. Surrey will return to the South Surrey Arena, Thursday, September 29th when they battle with the Chilliwack Chiefs. Puck drop is 6:30PM.
