The Eagles enter the 2017-18 BCHL Showcase Weekend with hopes of making restitution for the
pair of games they dropped last weekend at the hands of the Prince George Spruce Kings.
The first game sees the Eagles play against Salmon Arm Silverbacks who have played four
games on the season, while the Eagles have also played four.
Surrey was looking for a strong game from the number one line of Wesley, Westgard and
Brushett who to date have played exceptional.
While it takes time to set the lines and get the chemistry working, to date the line combination
looks to be working for new bench boss Brandon West and assistant coach Linden Saip.
The game started with lots of aggressive-yet-disciplined play by the Eagles as they had chance
after chance directing shot after shot on Tallarico only to be turned aside.
The Eagles had chance after chance and it wasn’t until the 16:10 mark of the first that Surrey’s
Mack Merriman notched his first BCHL goal, as he put the puck past Tallarico on a break-out
play on the left side, with helpers going to Didyk and Ross.
The first saw the Eagles outshot Salmon Arm by a commanding 20-2 margin with Horawski not
forced to make any key saves.
The Eagles were given two PP chances in the period, while the Eagles were stingy not allowing
Salmon Arm any opportunities to get on the board.
The second saw the Eagles start strong again, but it was Salmon Arm that had the better chances
throughout the period while managing to capitalize getting their first marker on the board while
on the PP at 6:03.
It was Kingston that got his second of the season from Mitchell as the period was wrapping up at
the 19:57 mark with the shots being more respectable ending 11-9 for Surrey.
The third started with both clubs playing strong aggressive play only to see Salmon Arm
capitalize at 6:03 with Mitchell getting his second of the season giving the Silverbacks a 2-1
lead.
Press as they might, Surrey rebounded and tied the game at two at 16:27 with Robert collecting
his first of the season after being set up from Fea, who also collected his first helper of the
season.
As the period was wrapping up, both teams had several chances, with the Eagles collecting more –
having one ring off the post and a second sit on the line only to end the game and force OT.
Moving to the OT period one expected that the Eagles had a better chance as they were on the
PP with Schandor sitting in the box for the remaining time of 44 seconds.
They managed to kill off the penalty going back to full strength unable to get one past Tallarico.
Silverbacks managed to capitalize after a failed chance by the Eagles with an end to end rush
turning it over on the left side while inside the attacking zone.
Salmon Arm managed to rush up ice getting a chance on the right side of the net with the puck
coming out of a scramble allowing Chorney to jump on the loose puck at 2:18 sending over the
shoulder of Horawski giving the Silverbacks their second win on the early season.
The Eagles outshot Salmon Arm by a commanding 48-18 margin controlling much of the play,
but the end result sees they give up a heartbreaker.
FortisBC Player of the Game was Silverbacks Max Wutzke who finished with 1 assist, but stellar
all-around play.
Game Stars:
1st Mack Merriman (1 goal)
2nd Marcus Mitchell (1 goal/1 assist)
3rd Nic Tallarico (SA 48/SV 46)
Eagles next game sees them play Trail Smoke Eaters Sunday, September 24th at 4 PM in Chilliwack.
