Surrey, B.C. – The Surrey Eagles (5-7-0) returned home after playing 4 games on the road, and looked to climb back to .500 for the first time since the beginning of the season. Unfortunately, the Eagles’ special teams failed them in a 4-2 loss against the Nanaimo Clippers (9-5-0) inside the South Surrey Arena.
The Eagles were 0 for 6 with the man advantage, and surrendered a powerplay goal against in a tightly contested affair between two coastal conference teams. Nanaimo’s powerplay goal off the stick of Max Itagaki tied the game and swung momentum in Nanaimo’s favour. Max Prazma played well in the defeat, making 32 saves on 36 shots against. However Cooper Black was even better, and made 37 saves on 39 shots. Jake Bongo and Trent Wilson scored in the game for Surrey.
Eagles Head Coach Cam Keith wasn’t disappointed with his team’s effort at 5 on 5, but noted his team’s lack of discipline being a big factor in the loss. “I thought it was one of those games which could’ve gone either way with momentum. We took too many undisciplined penalties which ended up hurting us.”
When asked about his struggling powerplay, the Eagles head coach made it clear he wants to see his special teams units to take more shots in order to gain confidence. “We need to simplify things and get shots with bodies in front. We need quicker puck movement as well, but we need to simplify and see a more shoot first mentality.”
It was a big night for one Eagles player however, as White Rock native Cade Penney made his debut with the Eagles in the game. Penney previously played with the Madison Capitols in the USHL, and Cam was impressed with his debut performance. “He played extremely well. He’s really good with the puck, and you can see his edgework and skating is really efficient on the Olympic ice. It’s a really nice feeling to have him on the backend.”
The Eagles will look to bounce back in the 2nd of a 4 game homestand, and will host the Langley Rivermen inside the South Surrey Arena on Tim Horton’s Minor Hockey Night! All minor hockey players wearing their minor hockey jersey will be granted free admission for the game. Tickets are available on our website, but if you can’t make it to the rink you can catch the broadcast live on BCHL TV (Powered by HockeyTV), and on Mixlr.com/eaglesbchl.
