Surrey, B.C. – The Surrey Eagles battled hard and again out-shot their opponent inside the South Surrey Arena on Wednesday night. Unfortunately, just like Monday the Eagles weren’t able to find the goals they needed and lost their 2nd in a row by a score of 3-1 at the hands of the Chilliwack Chiefs.
Just like Monday Eagles Head Coach Cam Keith was happy with how his team performed throughout the night as the Eagles looked dangerous during all 3 periods. “It was nice to see the guys build some chemistry and we had a lot of offensive opportunities tonight. We didn’t get the result we wanted but we are focusing on the process and it was fun to watch as a coach. It was nice to see everything coming together and the kids having fun, moving the puck around and we’re taking the positives from it.”
The Eagles out-shot the Chiefs 40-20 but were unable to beat the Chilliwack goaltending tandem more than once. Cole Savage started the game and made all 21 saves he was tasked to make in just over 30 minutes of action. Brady Smith earned the win, giving up 1 goal on 19 shots faced in just under 30 minutes. Max Prazma took the loss for Surrey after only giving up 2 goals on 19 shots.
AJ Lacroix scored the game winner and the empty netter for the Chiefs, while 15 year old Dryden Kuramoto opened the scoring for Chilliwack. Jacob Bonkowski got his 1st goal as an Eagle in the loss. The Eagles special teams also failed them tonight, going 0 for 4 on the power-play.
Despite it all, there’s still a lot to like from an Eagles team which seems to be snake bitten so far in the exhibition schedule. It’s one of the reason’s why there’s still a ton of optimism in the Eagles dressing room regardless of the result. “We understand not to be focused on the result but that our process was there. We were creating scoring opportunities through puck movement and second efforts after we lost possession. There was a lot of speed tonight, we were tenacious on our forecheck. There were so many positives we’re reiterating in the room and making sure we don’t get frustrated and get outside our game. It’s early so we’re not too worried about wins and losses. Obviously we’d like to see some of the pucks go in but right now it’s about staying together as a team and staying positive.”
Tonight’s game featured a lot of debut’s for Cam Keith’s veterans this exhibition season. While the result wasn’t there, the coach feels something special building with this group following another strong performance on the ice. “Pretty much all our vets were excited to play with some of the younger guys tonight. You can already see them smiling on the bench together and seeing those early relationships build. From our newer guys to the guys we had last year, it’s all about creating a family feeling early. I feel we got a real solid group here that’ll bond and grow together like the last few years. This could be a really special team moving forward.”
The Eagles will continue to move forward and search for their first win of the exhibition schedule on Friday, in a rematch against the Coquitlam Express. Puck drop is slated for 7:00pm in Coquitlam, and you can catch all the action live on BCHLTV and Mixlr.com/eaglesbchl.
