Eagles derail Express, Stay Hot on Home Ice

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The Surrey Eagles continued to be dominant on home ice Friday night, as they defeated the Coquitlam Express 6-0 at the South Surrey Arena in BC Hockey League action.

Since the team came together at training camp in early September, the Eagles have had a vibe that fans of the team haven’t seen in a decade.  The team scores goals at a rapid pace, they’ve had strong goaltending from both netminders all season long, and the stands at The Nest in Surrey have been full every game.  You’d have to harken back to the 2012-13 BCHL season, when a Eagles squad led by Brady Shaw, Michael Stenerson, and future Stanley Cup Champion Devon Toews, marched their way to the Fred Page Cup Final and took down the highly favored Penticton Vees.  It’s been a long ten years since the last glory days down at the South Surrey Arena, but this season has been something special so far for Surrey, and it’s fans.

Friday night was “Movember” night at the South Surrey Arena, as the Eagles dawned special jerseys for the game.  The team’s Movember fundraiser is support of Men’s Health has already raised nearly $9,000, smashing their initial goal of $5,000, and that number will increase after the Eagles announced that they’d be donating $2.50 from every adult ticket sold to the Movember Foundation.  During the pregame ceremony, the Eagles also honoured the memory of former assistant coach John Short, who passed away this past summer after a bout with Colon Cancer.  Short was an instrumental part of Surrey’s RBC Cup National Championship victory back in 1998.  Eagles owner Ron Brar, along with Short’s wife and children, unveiled the John Short Memorial Leadership Award, which will be awarded to the Eagles player that best exemplifies leadership on and off the ice at the team’s year end awards show in March.

Friday night also marked the start of Family Weekend for the Surrey Eagles, as parents and siblings from across North America made their way up to the White Rock area to see their boys play.  Another jam packed crowd at the South Surrey Arena was on hand to see the Eagles take on their cross river rivals, the Coquitlam Express, in another edition of the BCHL’s Battle of the Port Mann.  Surrey would strike early, as the Expo Line of Cole Galata, Aaron Schwartz, and Jake Bongo, would gain the attacking zone.  Schwartz fed Galata behind the net, who looked to dish off to Bongo in the slot.  The pass was blocked, but the loose puck squirted out to defenseman Ollie Gabrielson at the top of the right face-off circle, who made no mistake, ripping it bar south past Express goaltender Brady Smith to make it 1-0.  The Expo Line went back to work again, as Bongo and Galata came in on a two-on-one, Bongo fed Galata in front, who ended up crashing the net, taking the puck and the goaltender with him.  The referees would initially call it a goal, before calling it back for Goaltender Interference after deliberation.  The Eagles wouldn’t have to sit with that on their conscience for long, as Zachary Wagnon gained the Coquitlam zone along the right wing boards, made a nice pass to himself off the wall to get past a defender, before he dished it back to Ryden Evers at the top of the faceoff circle, who ripped one high, beating Smith to give Surrey a 2-0 lead, and this one would count.

Jump forward to the 2nd period , after a strong penalty kill by the Eagles, Savek Brar and Ethan Riesterer went in hard on the forecheck against a tired Express powerplay unit, and forced a turnover below the goal line.  Riesterer took the puck behind the net, fed it into the high slot for a fresh off the bench Cole Galata, who pumped it five hole on Smith for his second goal of the night, but first one that counted.  3-0 Surrey.  Early in the third period, Surrey won an offensive zone faceoff, Ty Brassington and Ollie Gabrielson would throw it back and forth at the blue line a couple of times before Brassington let go a seeing eye shot from the far point, through traffic, beating Brady Smith to make it 4-0.  Ethan Riesterer would add to the Surrey lead twice in the second half of the third period, first wiring a laser beam high slot over the shoulder of the netminder for his seventh of the season.  Riesterer’s eighth of the campaign would come in the final minute of the third period, as he knocked home the rebound from a Jacob Bonkowski wraparound chance.  The Eagles picked up their eighth straight victory at the South Surrey Arena, and their “ninth” home win overall, as their victory over Prince George at the BCHL Showcase in Chilliwack was classified as a “Home” game.  Eli Pulver made thirty-nine saves between the pipes for the Eagles, as he registered his league leading fourth shutout of the season.

Following their victory on Friday night, Surrey improves their overall record this season to 16-3-0, still sitting two points back of the Nanaimo Clippers for first in the Coastal Conference, but the Eagles do have a pair of games in hand over Nanaimo.  Surrey continues their weekend on Sunday, when the Chilliwack Chiefs make their way to South Surrey Arena for the for the fourth matchup of the season between the two teams.  The Eagles took the first three matchups, winning 1-0 on September 30, 4-1 on October 7, and 4-3 on October 8.  The Eagles will be celebrating “Star Wars Night” at Sunday’s game, with $2.50 from every adult ticket sold going to Wigs For Kids BC and the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation.

Elsewhere of note in the BCHL, the Penticton Vees bodies the Alberni Valley Bulldogs 7-1 to push their undefeated start to 22 games, the Langley Rivermen defeated the Merritt Centennials 5-1, and the Nanaimo Clippers beat the Powell River Kings 6-4 to keep their two point lead over the Eagles for first in the BC Hockey League’s Coastal Conference.

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