Burnaby, B.C. – After winning on Wednesday night against the Powell River Kings, the Eagles looked for their 2nd win in as many nights against the Coquitlam Express. However, the Eagles surrendered 3 third period goals en-route to a 5-2 loss against Coquitlam in a game which could’ve went the other way. Eagles head coach Cam Keith agreed with the sentiment. “We created quality offensive chances but just lacked finish.”
It was a quiet opening period inside the Scotia Barn, with the Eagles staking themselves to a 1-0 lead off the back of Buddy Johnson’s 2nd goal of the season. In the 2nd, Coquitlam scored two goals, one on the powerplay from Ryan Tattle and the other shorthanded from Tyler Schleppe to take the lead. The Eagles responded right away when Christian Fitzgerald netted his 2nd goal of the season on the same powerplay, a minute after the team gave up the short-handed goal.
In the end, the Eagles ran out of gas. The Express got goals from Alek Sukunda, Tattle, and Schleppe to run away with this one. Tommy Scarfone had an off night, giving up 4 goals on 27 shots against.
Despite the loss, Cam wasn’t disappointed with the effort from his team. “I thought for the most part we competed hard and gave ourselves a chance to win. Some guys are still shaking off the rust and it will take time to get back to game form.” The Eagles put 38 shots towards the Coquitlam goal, but Dylan Kruss was able to stand tall and keep the Eagles at bay.
As the Eagles record falls to 2-2 through the pod season, it’s been a positive return to play for Cam’s team. Especially with the younger players on the roster. “The young players showed a lot of poise and creativity. We are excited to watch them developed as the pod season progresses.”
The Eagles’ season continues on Saturday afternoon, with a 1:00 pm date against the Powell River Kings set for inside the Scotia Barn. You can watch that game live on BCHL TV (Powered by HockeyTV), and on Mixlr.com/eaglesbchl.
