Apparently, lightning never strikes twice, but try telling the Surrey Eagles. For the second time, in three games, in six nights against the Langley Rivermen, the Eagles scored five second-period goals to skate away with the win. The repeat performance coming Saturday night in an emphatic 7-1 B.C. Hockey League road victory.
Coming off a rather tumultuous affair between the two teams the night before in Surrey, the game was quiet and tame—for the first 20 minutes, after which Langley led 1-0. It was all Eagles from that point forward. Jason Lin, Brett Bliss and Hudson Schandor all tallied before the second period was five minutes old. Holden Katzalay’s team-leading fifth and six goals—the first an absolute thing of beauty—four minutes apart later in the stanza more or less sealed the deal. Goals by Brandon Santa Juana and Sean Ramsay in the third period cemented it. In addition, the Eagles powerplay, which came into the game ranked 16th in the 17-team league, struck for three goals.
“I think this team needed to play a few games in a row to get into a rhythm,” said a deservedly happy Eagles head coach Cam Keith after the game. “We had a lot of jump tonight. Even thought we didn’t find the net in the first, we wanted to keep it simple, which we did. We didn’t really give up much, and we stuck to the game plan. I was extremely proud of the guys. We kept it simple and we waited for our chance and when we found our chance we just rolled,” Keith said of the second period outburst.
There were a number of notable individual performances for the Eagles, who evened their record at 4-4. Veteran Hudson Schandor, whom Keith described as being snake-bitten this year, had a goal and two helpers. Playing with fellow BCHL vets Katzalay and Christophe Tellier, the team’s top line threatened throughout.
Katzalay’s first goal was a double-deke dazzler. Corralling the puck in the face-off circle, the lanky center channeled his inner Mario Lemieux. He left a lunging defenseman in his wake, then shiftily opened the pads of Riverman goalie Braedon Fleming to slide it home. The goal made it 4-1 and ended the night for Fleming, who had posted the shutout in Langley’s 3-0 victory in Surrey the night before. The loss dropped the Rivermen to 2-6.
“That whole line tonight was the best that we’ve seen from them all year,” Keith said of his top forward unit. “They flowed together, especially when the opportunities were there. They cashed in a few times and could have cashed in a few more and that’s a big plus for us. We need those big three guys going for us to be successful.”
Rookie defenseman Jason Lin and fellow rookie, smooth-skating centerman Sean Ramsay, both potted their first BCHL goals and got the keepsakes post-game in a raucous Eagles dressing room. Last year’s Eagles rookie of the year and MVP Brandon Santa Juana also tallied his first goal of the season.
Lin, who saw associated player duty on a limited basis last season for the Coquitlam Express, like Schandor had a three-point night. His goal celebration, following a slick move at the Langley blueline before letting go a strong wrist shot from well out, was pure old school, as if it was his 400th, career tally, not his first. “Jason really felt comfortable out there, and we saw it tonight for the first time,” said Keith. “He’s a methodical hockey player. There’s not a lot of emotion to his game and I don’t mean that in a negative way. He just plays within himself and gets the job done. And as we saw tonight, he’s also a kid who can make plays, so we’re really excited for him, especially as he’s only a 17-year-old.”
Keith was most suitably impressed with his young team’s performance as they improved their road record to 3-1. “These kids have never played with each other, none of them,” he said somewhat in amazement. “They have kind of been feeling each other out, getting to know the tendencies of other players and what their intentions are, understanding each other’s style. And right now,” with the Eagles in the midst of a stretch of six games in eight days, “is when they have to jell together. I’m hoping this game launches that.”
Next up will be improving the team’s not-so-impressive 1-2 home-ice record. The Eagles will attempt to do so on Sunday afternoon when they host the Interior Division-leading Cowichan Valley Capitals at South Surrey Arena.
