The Surrey Eagles took a two-goal lead on the Langley Chiefs through 20 minutes and shook off a hard-fought comeback to notch a 5-4 homeice victory over their Lower Mainland rivals on Friday night.
Michael Krgovich opened the scoring four minutes in on a feed from Neil Blunden, who tallied his first of two helpers on the night. Halfway through the first, Langley and Surrey combined for three goals in just 1:11, beginning when Chiefs sniper, Colton Beck got his team on the board with an unassisted power play marker.
But the Eagles weren’t willing to give up their lead so quickly. 30 seconds later, the Eagles lineof Bradley McGowan, Manraj Hayer, and Chris Santiago hooked up, with McGowan restoring his team's lead.
Eagles' Head Coach Shane Kuss spoke about that line coming into their own. following the game: “They’ve played really well. They’re getting points every game and their speed is really working on teams. We’ve found some chemistry there.”
40 seconds after McGowan’s goal, Erik Cooper widened the gap for the Eagles, giving them a two-goal lead heading into the second. But goals from Max Fielder and Mac Roy evened the game in the middle frame and set up a decisive third.
On an early third period power-play, Grant Toulmin fed Krgovich , who buried the chance for his second of the night. Those two would figure in the scoring a short time later, when Krgovich led a three-on-two and Toulmin grabbed his own rebound to feed a wide open Richard Vanderhoek.
Roy dangled between two Eagles defenders and beat Lessard on a backhander in close to draw Langley back within a goal, but Surrey held on late to secure two points.
The Eagles are back home Saturday at the South Surrey Arena when they face the Quesnel Millionaires at 7:00 PM. Meanwhile, the Chiefs are idle until Sunday when they once again Surrey at the Langley Events Centre.
