The Surrey Eagles had the 3-1 lead going into the final frame, but the Vernon Vipers found their opportunities on the special teams to come all the way back and winning by a score of 4-3.
Eagles goaltender Forbes Ploszaj made his 12th start of the 2015-16 BCHL season stopping 48 of 52 shots, while Vipers netminder Brendan Barry picked up his first win of the year halting 27 of 30 pucks on net.
The Eagles took flight in the first period after killing off a couple of early penalties. Donovan Ott found the back of the cage off of a rebound from teammate Logan Webber for the game’s first goal under 12 minutes in. Brett Stewart would score a rocket from the blue line that saw the puck entering the net and leaving in the same direction; Gunnar Wegleitner and Nick Azar were credited with the assists. The lamp was lit and the home team led 2-0 after the first frame.
Former Surrey defenceman Latrell Charleson cut the Eagles’ lead to one while on the power-play halfway through the second period, but Tyler Andrews restored the two-goal lead for the home team. The 18-year-old’s sharp angle one-timer from Brett Stewart and Ryan Jones gave the Eagles a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes.
The visiting Vipers took advantage of some unfortunate penalties by the Eagles and sparked a comeback! Three goals, two on the power-play, in eight-and-a-half minutes by Liam Finlay, Riley Brandt, and Mitch Oliver led Vernon to the 4-3 victory for their 10th win of the season.
Eagles’ record moves down to 4-17, while Vernon’s record improves to 10-11-0-1
Forbes Polszaj was named third star of the game, while Vernon’s Liam Finlay and Riley Brandt were named first and second stars respectively.
Brett Stewart dominated on the physical play around the boards for the Surrey Eagles, earning him the Fortis BC Energy Player of the game.
Surrey will host the Chilliwack Chiefs on Wednesday afternoon for a special Remembrance Day game with a 2PM puck-drop. The Eagles will follow with game four of their six-game home-stand with another visit from the Chiefs Friday night at 7PM.
For more information on the Surrey Eagles Hockey Club, please visit surreyeagles.ca or call (604) 531-GOAL (4625).
