Following the “chippy” game on home ice against the Chiefs, the Eagles next opponent were again the Express in the third meeting of the teams in less than three weeks.
The first two meeting of 2017 saw the Express outscore the Eagles in the first meeting by a 5-2 score, with the second meeting taking place January 12th where the Express again pulled off a 4-3 win, so payback for this game is imperative.
Not only is it a re-match it’s the first game in which the Eagles dress Keelan Williams who is returning following a lengthy injury setback.
While the Eagles are looking at redemption for the previous games one positive note on this game is the return of goaltender Keelan Williams who has been out of the line-up since joining the club December 3rd.
Keelan Williams joined the Eagles after being dealt from the Warriors in exchange for the playing rights to Logan Mostat and the ever elusive future considerations player.
Playing strong from the back end is what coaches expect and failure to stick to the game plan, only adds to more practice time from the goal out.
This game sees the Eagles dress two A/P call-ups in the line-up that sees two Delta players namely Owen Williams and Mackenzie Merriman hitting the ice, while the Express dress Christian Buono
Head Coach Blaine Neufeld is expecting a somewhat different performance from the “boy’s” in this game following an extensive practice after the loss to the Chiefs on Sunday.
The Eagles started strong in this game outshooting the Express by a 20-9 margin after one, but trailing by a score of 2-1 with only one tripping minor to Brandon Kennedy of the Express.
The second started with an aggressive style of play at both ends of the ice that saw Cole Williams sent to the “sin-bin” early in the period giving the Express a couple of chances with the Express coming close as the minor was wrapping up.
Both teams traded chance after chance with both Davidson and Cooper being tested from various areas on the ice with the Eagles Fuller getting “tagged” for a cross checking minor at 8:51.
The Eagles did an exceptional job keeping the Express to the outside but managed to give them a couple of close chances only to ring them off the post keeping it a 2-1 game.
Surrey went on the PP pinning the Express deep in the zone trying for that ever elusive perfect shot that saw them hammer one off the post turning aside any chance of tying the game at two.
With the Eagles pinning the Express deep in the zone it was Eagles A/P Owen Williams getting his first as an Eagle after getting set up from Westgard and Robert at 16:58.
With the Eagles outshooting the Express by a 30-17 after two, the game was becoming more interesting as both clubs took a 2-2 tie to the dressing room.
The Eagles got an early jump in the third with Davidson getting his 26th of the season putting the Eagles up by a 3-2 margin at 2:37 only to be followed by Express Lawrence tying the game at 5:59.
The lead however was short-lived as Express Jake Toor took a pass from Leone coming out of the corner, while being alone in front of the net capitalizing on a giveaway by the Eagles.
With time working against the Eagles, they found themselves in penalty trouble with McAvoy taking a minor giving the Express another PP chance only to be followed by a T/O by the Eagles with 0:46 seconds remaining in the contest.
With the F/O in the Express zone Stewart took the draw giving Dupont a solid chance only to miss the net with 27 seconds left in the 3rd.
The Eagles pressed, but were unable to penetrate the strong defence for the Express seeing them pull off a 4-3 win.
The win sees the Express sweep the three game January series games by a 13-8 margin and also taking three stars in the game.
Final shots on the night saw the Eagles outshot the Express by a 41-23 difference on the scoreboard.
Surrey managed 6 minors while the Expres only got tagged with 4 through 60 minutes of play.
Coquitlam walked away with the three stars as well as the FortisBC Energy Player of the Game.
The Eagles next face off against the Langley Rivermen on home ice at 6:30 pm.
