SURREY — On Tuesday night in their final game of 2014, the Surrey Eagles let the home fans get the New Year’s celebrations started one night early.
Defenseman Zane Schartz scored twice for the second-straight game and Joe Drapluk buried with just 45 seconds left on the clock as the Eagles swept a home-and-home series with the Chilliwack Chiefs, taking the second game on home-ice 3-2.
There was some question after Surrey’s 3-0 shutout win in Chilliwack on Sunday as to whether the team’s top center would be available for Tuesday’s rematch, as Joe Drapluk left that game late in the contest. An Eric Roberts point-shot deflected up into Drapluk’s face, and he was dripping blood as he left for the dressing room.
Several stitches in his mouth and a day off from practice on Monday was all it took, however, as the Eagles’ leading scorer was good to go on Tuesday night. And it’s a good thing he was.
With the game tied 2-2 into the the final minute of regulation and seemingly headed for overtime, Joe Drapluk hopped on a bad giveaway in the Chilliwack zone, stealing the puck on the forecheck against Chiefs defenseman Brandon Tkachuk. The Chiefs had been carelessly coughing up the puck repeatedly in dangerous positions throughout the game, so much so that Chilliwack head coach Jason Tatarnic used his time-out early in the second period to try and settle his team down in their own end. But while Chiefs goalie Aiden Pelino had bailed out his defence earlier in the game, this particular turnover proved to be costly. Drapluk cut out front and buried the puck past Pelino with just 45 seconds remaining in the game.
It was the goal that locked up the win, but Drapluk never would have gotten to play the hero had Zane Schartz not set the table for victory. Schartz has been on fire since returning from the Christmas break, recording consecutive multi-goal games against Pelino and the Chiefs. And for a second straight game it would be Schartz who opened the scoring, giving the Eagles their first lead of the game at 13:30 of the the first. Darius Davidson tried to cut up the middle towards the goal, but was hit off the puck when a pinching Schartz scooped up the loose puck in close and finished the play.
Ryan Bowen would tie the game for the Chiefs before the first was done at 17:13. Surrey goalie Christian Short made the initial save off a Dennis Cholowski point-shot, but Chilliwack’s Kurt Black dug the rebound off the end boards and poked it out front for Bowen, who put the puck up high above the glove of Short.
Things would stay tied for much of the second, though the Chiefs took the lead with just 32 seconds left in the middle frame, in a very similar fashion to their first goal. Again Short made a series of initial saves, but the Chiefs dug the puck loose along the wall, this time with Mason Boh finding Tipper Higgins on the door-step at 19:28.
Chilliwack had the opportunity to put the game away in the third with a full two-minute 5-on-3 powerplay advantage. The game was a penalty-filled affair with plenty of rough stuff after the whistles. While those post-whistle skirmishes had typically seen off-setting penalties, the Eagles went down two skaters with just 9:19 remaining, still trailing by one. But the penalty kill came up huge, and the kill set the stage for a tying goal.
Surrey’s Owen Johnson got called for a hook with four minutes to go, taking the Eagles off a seemingly critical powerplay in the game’s late stages. It proved to be a most fortuitous penalty, as Schartz added his second goal of the night in the ensuing four-on-four situation, beating Pelino on the back-hand from just below the right circle.
Drapluk would go on to add the game-winner, and the Eagles rode out the final 45 seconds to a second consecutive victory over the Mainland Division-leading Chiefs. Christian Short made 24 saves, and now has wins in three consecutive starts.
The Eagles will look to continue their winning ways this weekend on a three-game island road trip that takes them through Alberni Valley on Friday, Cowichan Valley on Saturday, and Powell River on Sunday afternoon.
Their next home games will be the following weekend, as the Eagles host the Merritt Centennials on Friday, January 9th, and the Vernon Vipers on Sunday, January 11th, in the first home games of 2015. For tickets, call 604-531-GOAL
