Win Streak Snapped
Chilliwack, B.C. – After a hard fought shootout win on Friday night, the Surrey Eagles couldn’t overcome the great goaltending of Mathieu Caron early and couldn’t slow down the Chilliwack Chiefs offence in a 5-2 defeat on Saturday night.
Chilliwack struck first just a minute twenty into the game when Ray Fust banged home a shot in tight through the legs of Eagles starter Max Prazma. Surrey tied it up 5 minutes later when Buddy Johnson deflected home a Christian Fitzgerald shot, and Surrey proceeded to carry play through the remainder of the first period.
Disaster struck in the second however, as Chilliwack scored 3 goals over the next 20 minutes, and took all the momentum out of Surrey’s game. Abram Wiebe, Frankie Carogioeillo, and Brody Gagno were the goal-scorers. Chilliwack heavily out-shot Surrey 19-9 in the middle frame, and put the game out of reach.
The teams exchanged goals in the 3rd period. Tommy Lyons scored one of two short-side snipes for the Chiefs, before Buddy Johnson added his 2nd of the game late in the 3rd as a consolation prize on a night where the Eagles couldn’t find a way to beat Mathieu Caron. The final shots on goal were 41-31 for the Chiefs, the only difference being the surge in the 2nd period.
While the score was lop-sided, it certainly wasn’t due to a lack of effort from the visitors. Surrey had a number of great chances in the opening 30 minutes, including some great looks to equalize the game after falling behind by 1 early in the 2nd. Caron stood tall, and made his best save off a Fitzgerald breakaway where he didn’t bite at all and stoned the Eagles leading scorer in tight. Carogioeillo’s power-play goal swung momentum in Chilliwack’s favour, and the Chiefs never looked back.
While Caron stood tall in one end, Prazma fought through some growing pains in the other. The Eagles starter gave up 5 goals on 41 shots, a few of those being goals he’d probably like to have back. However, Prazma made a couple of excellent stops throughout the game as well, showcasing why the Eagles coaching staff has such high hopes for him. All in all, a mixed bag for the Calgary native, but a necessary one as he continues his development during the exhibition schedule.
The Eagles power-play struggles continued tonight as well, as they went 0 for 6 with the man-advantage in the loss. Combined with their 1 for 7 outing on Friday, the Eagles went 1 for 13 with the man-advantage, and currently sit last in the Mainland Cohort for their power-play success percentage.
For now, it’s time to reflect on the good and the bad of a weekend which saw the team go 1-1. The Eagles will look to even up the mini exhibition series against the Chiefs on Friday, October 23rd for their last game against the Chiefs in October. Puck drop is slated for 7:00pm, and the broadcast will go live at 6:50pm.
