Burnaby, B.C. – The Surrey Eagles (16-2-1) battled through adversity, and scored 4 unanswered goals to earn their 12th straight win of the 2021 pod season in a spirited affair against the Powell River Kings (7-10-2).
In a game where Eagles head coach Cam Keith needed a night off, associate coach Brad Tobin took the reigns behind the bench and was tasked with handling a team soaring through their season. It wasn’t all roses for the Eagles however, as they struggled to find their game early on. “We were a bit sluggish to start the contest. It took us until midway through the 2nd period to find our legs. Once that happened we settled in and played our game.”
Surrey trailed 2-0 at the halfway mark of the 2nd period off a first period goal from Ethan Riesterer and a powerplay goal in the 2nd from former Eagle Adamo Santia. Tyson McLean was able to get the Eagles on the board with a breakaway tally against Kings starter Jacob Drapeau, and then the officials were forced to take control of the game. McLean, Ben Brunette, and Ian Kern were all given 10 minute misconducts late in the 2nd, and Josh Kagan was ejected from the contest setting up a wild 3rd period.
While things could’ve gotten out of hand for Surrey, Tobin praised Surrey’s veterans for keeping everyone composed. “Our veterans did a great job of keeping the focus through a tough start.” In the 3rd period, McLean would score his 2nd of the game after serving his misconduct to tie it up at 2. 27 seconds later Brandon Santa Juana scored his 8th of the season on the powerplay to give the Eagles the lead. Under 3 minutes later, Luke Roberts banked home his 3rd of the season for the Eagles final goal of the game. Max Prazma shut the door for Surrey, stopping 27 shots in the win for his 7th straight in the BCHL.
It was also Tobin’s first win as an acting head coach in 2021, and Brad was happy to be a part of Surrey’s now 12 game win streak. “I was happy for our group to battle hard and get a gritty win. I’m just glad to have played a small part in it.” Tobin was forced to shuffle his lines throughout the game once the misconducts started to pile up late in the 2nd period, and obviously found a mix which worked helping the Eagles skate to the victory.
Surrey will look to wrap up its 2021 pod season with their 13th straight win on Sunday afternoon. Puck drop is slated for 1:00 pm inside the Scotia Barn as the Eagles will play the Coquitlam Express. You can watch all the action on BCHL TV (Powered by HockeyTV) and on Mixlr.com/eaglesbchl.
