For the third night in a row, the Eagles waited until the third period to turn on the offense. The story on Sunday at the South Surrey Arena was very similar to the one Friday night, except this time the visiting team was the Trail Smoke Eaters.
Once again, Surrey went into the final frame down by two, and once again, a flurry of late goals pulled the Eagles out of the fire.
After managing just one goal through forty minutes, the Eagles exploded for five goals in the third, starting with a short-handed goal by Tyler Morley, who picked up Michael Krgovich’s rebound.
Richard Vanderhoek tied the game with a slick wrist shot that found the corner, and a minute-and-a-half later, Surrey’s comeback was completed when Neil Blunden’s point shot deflected off a skate in front of the net, and went past Trail goalie Garrett Beckwith.
The Smoke Eaters called a time out, but it wasn’t enough to cool off the Eagles. Jason Grecica scored his second of the night, and Andrew Wallace wrapped up the game with a goal on the back of a hard-working forecheck by Tyler Morley, who finished the night with three points.
The game’s final goal belonged to Trail, as Nick Sandor completed a hat trick in the loss.
With the win, the Eagles extend their winning streak to six, are a league best 9-1 in their last ten games, and take sole possession of first place in the Coastal Conference.
“We got out worked by Trail in the first two periods. But we decided to turn on the jets and come out in the third and play hard,” said Kuss. “When we play like that, we play pretty well.”
“We just have to be careful moving forward, playing teams like Victoria and Westside, if we allow them to take the big leads, we may not be able to come back,” Kuss cautioned. Kuss also spoke about Surrey’s turnaround after losing five of seven games early in the year.
“Guys are starting to get used to playing with each other,” explained Kuss. “Early on there were a lot of new faces trying to gel. It’s starting to come together. We knew we had guys who could put the puck in the net – it was just a matter of time. Hopefully that continues.”
The Eagles are back on home ice this Wednesday, Oct. 21 versus the Westside Warriors. Puck drop is 7pm at the South Surrey Arena. Tickets are available at the Eagles box office or by calling 604-531-GOAL (4625).
