Surrey, BC – Back at home this weekend after posting a 5-2-1 record on their recent eight-game road swing, the youthful Surrey Eagles were primed for a terrific mid-season end to their B.C. Hockey League season as they set out to conclude their December schedule on home ice. That was not to happen as suffered their second straight one-goal setback Sunday afternoon at the South Surrey Arena.
After dropping a 3-2 loss in regulation time on Friday night to their division-rival and defending league champion Prince George Spruce Kings, the Eagles dropped a 3-2 shootout loss to the Island Division’s hottest road team, the Alberni Valley Bulldogs on Sunday. For the visitors, it was their fifth straight win away from home, and third in three nights on their BCHL-norm, three-game weekend. The Bulldogs posted a 5-2 triumph in Wenatchee on Friday night and then a 6-4 win in Langley on Saturday night before completing the rare sweep. Displaying a winning team’s composure and confidence, the Bulldogs went toe-to-toe with the Eagles for all 60 minutes, then overtime, then were a productive thee-for-four in the shootout round to earn the victory.
Surrey outshot Alberni Valley in each period, 18-9 in the third period alone, and 45-33 overall. Despite pressing offensively throughout, the Eagles were repeatedly denied slash stymied by Bulldogs netminder Luke Pearson, who won for the second time in less than 24 hours.
“We had problems scoring today. We didn’t show that killer instinct. Offense wasn’t really our issue though,” said Eagles head coach Cam Keith, who then added with a nod to the victors: “I don’t think we got beat. They just won. Teams get on streaks and find ways to win. We just won a lot of games on the road recently. We found ways. At home this weekend we just didn’t find the way to get it done. We played decently. This was a game that could have gone either way.”
The loss left Surrey positioned fourth in the Mainland Division, three points behind Langley and three points ahead of Prince George, while the win solidified the surging Bulldog’s third-place standing in the Island Division after a stop and start beginning to their season. After taking a 1-0 lead into the third period, Alberni Valley looked in danger of having its win streak snapped after Surrey’s Buddy Johnson and Cristophe Tellier tallied at 2:29 and 12:48 of the third period respectively. However, the Eagles’ lead lasted all of 28 seconds, and while both teams threatened before the final overtime whistle, both Pearson and Eagles netminder Tommy Scarfone stood their ground to force the one-on-one decider.
“Finishing our chances is our challenge, and has been most of the year. Tonight though, we were not offensively challenged. It’s not that we didn’t have or get chances. Right now, we just don’t have ‘that’ goal-scorer, the experienced sniper so to speak,” Keith observed about one of the game’s most important weapons. “It’s always hard to score. Usually it’s experience, your vets, that get you through that,” said the coach of the league’s youngest team.
Surrey now takes its Christmas break with a 14-17-2-4 record. Given they have the league’s youngest roster after going full rebuild after the 2018-19 squad was the only one of the 17 BCHL teams to miss the playoffs, the team, and coach, are obviously looking forward to seeing what 2020 brings. As Keith, who is in his first season behind the Eagles bench can rightly point out about his rookie-filled squad, “I see a team that’s not getting outplayed that badly anymore. I see a team that competes and that is giving its 100 percent every night.”
The Eagles return to action with a three-games-in three-nights string of their own as their 12-game January schedule unfolds. The Chilliwack Chiefs visit The Nest on Friday, Jan. 3 before the Eagles take what’s always their shortest road trip to take on the Rivermen in Langley on the Saturday night and then wrap it up by hosting the Victoria Grizzlies on Sunday the 5th.
